Virginia Birds A Quarterly Journal of Ornithological Sightings in the Commonwealth Published by the Virginia Society of Ornithology Volume 10 Number 3 Volume 10 Number 4 Winter Records (East) Spring Records Dec. 2013–Feb. 2014 March–May 2014 S (Dec–Feb) Winter F S Season can besentto VSO found onthe form,whichcanbe withrelease qualitypossible.Send the highestelectronic shouldbe Photographs Editors. andphotographstotheRegional reports Send Submissions ummer (Jun–Jul) ummer pring (Mar–May) pring Virginia Birds Regions all (Aug–Nov) On thecover: [email protected]. web site: web Inge Curtis captured this image of a Snowy Owl 11 Mar 2014 at Craney Island, Portsmouth. Island, 2014 at Craney Owl 11Mar thisimage ofaSnowy captured Curtis Inge 15 J 15 M 15 D 15 A Rep www.virginiabirds.net un orts RegionalEditors dueto ug ec ar Independent cities numbered on map 1. Alexandria 15. Fredericksburg 29. Poquoson 2. Bedford 16. Galax 30. Portsmouth 3. Bristol 17. Hampton 31. Radford 4. Buena Vista 18. Harrisonburg 32. Richmond Hopew 33. R 5. Charlottesville 19. ell oanoke 6. Chesapeake 20. Lexington 34. Salem 7. Clifton Forge 21. Lynchburg 35. South Boston . Articles forconsideration 8. C 22. M 36. S olonial Heights anassas taunton 9. Covington 23. Manassas Park 37. Suffolk 10. Danville 24. Martinsville 38. Virginia Beach 11. Emporia 25. Newport News 39. Waynesboro 41 12. Fairfax 26. Norfolk 40. Williamsburg Frederick Clarke 13. Falls Church 27. Norton 41. Winchester Loudoun 14. Franklin 28. Petersburg Fairfax Arlington Warren NorthFauquier 12 Shenandoah 22, 23 1 Rappahannock Prince Page William Madison Culpeper Rockingham18 Stafford King Highland Greene George Augusta Orange 15 36 Westmoreland Albemarle Spotsylvania Bath 39 Richmond Caroline Essex West 5 Central East Louisa King and Queen Northumberland 9 7 Rockbridge King William Nelson Goochland Hanover Lancaster Alleghany 20 Fluvanna 4 Middlesex Accomack Amherst 32 Botetourt Buckingham Powhatan New Kent Gloucester Craig Appomattox Henrico Mathews Bedford Chesterfield Charles 21 Cumberland James Giles Roanoke Amelia 19 City 40 3334 2 Prince City York Buchanan Campbell Edward 8 Bland Montgomery Nottoway 28 Prince 29 Dickenson Tazewell 31 GeorgeSurry 25 Northampton Pulaski Charlotte Dinwiddie Franklin 17 Wise Russell Lunenburg Southeast 26 Coastal Wythe Floyd Sussex Isle of 30 Wight Smyth South Central 38 Southwest Pittsylvania Halifax 27 Scott Washington Carroll 11 6 Patrick 24 Mecklenburg Southampton 37 Lee 3 Grayson 35 16 Henry 10 BrunswickGreensville 14 Editors' Notes sightings. This journal is an historical document, an archive. These are the stories that have been a vital part of Virginia’s This Virginia Birds issue completes the publication’s ornithology since 1929. They are your stories. They are the first ten years of contributions to Virginia’s ornithology. birds’ stories. From the Summer 2004 issue through Spring 2014 issue no less than 25 different volunteers sought out, Bill Williams back-checked, collated, organized, interpreted, and then Joe Coleman synthesized thousands of observations from scores of Louise Menges birders and researchers to “edit” at least one or more of Terms and Abbreviations the journal’s 279 (of a possible 320) published Regional reports. Fred Atwood, Adam D’Onofrio, and Lynda Species name in bold first time mentioned (VARCOM Re- and Roger Mayhorn were Regional editors when view Birds bold and all caps); county names are in italics. the Virginia Birds egg was hatched for the inaugural Abbreviations: Summer 2004 issue. They continue in that capacity through today, bringing consistency and continuity to ad. (ads.) adult(s) their respective East, Southeast and Southwest report BBS breeding bird survey Regions. To them and all who have helped fledge and CBC Christmas Bird Count sustain Virginia Birds, THANK YOU only begins the conversation about how much and how valuable your Cr. Creek work is and continues to be. et al. and others With this issue we welcome Louise Menges to the f. female editorial “staff”. Louise will be handling the final fide vouched by copy edits and formatting for each Virginia Birds FOS First of Season publication. Her more than 35-year career in a Ft. Fort similar capacity for the College of William and Mary Gold Book Virginia’s Birdlife, An Annotated Checklist. Chemistry Department proved to be excellent training Virginia Avifauna No. 7, Fourth Edition, 2007. for her new career in ornithology! We are confident you will note her handiwork right away. Hwy. Highway I. Island(s), Isle(s) An overriding theme among all of the Spring 2014 Regional reports was the presence of notable imm. (imms.) immature(s) overwintering species that extended their Virginia Jct. Junction sojourns far into the season. We could easily have juv. (juvs.) juvenile(s) chosen to marquis one of many waterfowl species L. Lake that just could not pull themselves away from MAPS Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship the Old Dominion’s hospitable conditions; given the meteorological alternatives further north it’s m. male convenient to rationalize why. Instead we chose to m. obs many/multiple observers feature a Snowy Owl, a species that knocked birders Mt. Mountain, Mount off their couches throughout the winter season. Not NAP Natural Area Preserve only is this a stunning cover photograph, but this NWR National Wildlife Refuge individual, first detected December 5, 2013 at Craney Island (Portsmouth) and last observed there March 11, ph. photographed (by + initials) 2014, was too emblematic of the season’s big story to Pt. Point let it pass. A second Snowy Owl was last reported at R. River another Virginia location well into March. See if you Res. Reservoir can find that data-point in one of the Regional reports. Rte. Route The Summer 2014 Virginia Birds, Volume 11, Number SF State Forest 1, will be ready for publication by the time you receive this issue. Our goal is make that and subsequent issues SP State Park available to VSO members in both a hard copy and VARCOM Virginia Avian Records Committee an electronic copy, and much like the organization’s VDGIF Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries Newletter, the electronic copy will include color. VSO Virginia Society of Ornithology In the meantime we welcome your comments and WMA Wildlife Management Area suggestions and encourage your input with your bird * specimen collected Winter Reporting Period (East) December 2013–February 2014 Editor: Fred Atwood East Flint Hill School 10409 Academic Drive Oakton, VA 22124 [email protected] Essex, Gloucester, King George, King William, King and Queen, Matthews, Middlesex, Northumberland, Richmond, and Westmoreland counties (Note that the northern and eastern shores of the Northern Neck overlook Maryland waters.) The Northern Neck, composed of King George, present in only average numbers for recent years. Westmoreland, Richmond, Northumberland, and The most exciting finds of the winter were Greater Lancaster counties, is bordered by the Rappahannock White-fronted Goose, Snowy Owl, Least Sandpiper, and Potomac Rivers. The Middle Peninsula includes Vermilion Flycatcher, Lapland Longspur, Painted King William, King and Queen, Essex, Middlesex, Bunting, Vesper Sparrow, and Brewer’s Blackbird. Gloucester, and Mathews counties and is bordered by Abbreviations: Beaverdam (Beaverdam Park, the Rappahannock and Pamunkey/York Rivers. The Gloucester); Bethel (Bethel Beach, Mathews); Mattaponi R. is the boundary between King William Birthplace (George Washington’s Birthplace National and King and Queen and it joins with the Pamunkey Monument, Westmoreland); Cole’s Pt. (Cole’s Point, R. to form the York R. in West Point. Even though the Westmoreland); Dameron (Dameron Marsh NAP, northern and eastern shoreline of the Northern Neck Northumberland); Hughlett (Hughlett Point NAP, overlooks the Maryland waters of the Potomac River, Northumberland); K. G. Ponds (ponds along Rt. 3 near those Maryland birds are reported here. Sealston, King George); Leedstown (Westmoreland); During the ’13 –14 winter season in the Northern Mulberry (Mulberry Is. Private Hunting Preserve, Neck and the Middle Peninsula, 142 species were Richmond); Muse (end of route 624, Muse Rd., recorded. The data for this season’s report were overlooking the Potomac R., Westmoreland); New primarily gleaned from eBird, e-mail postings on the Point (New Point Comfort Preserve, Mathews); NNAS VSO’s va-birds listserve, the Northern Neck Audubon (Northern Neck Audubon Society); The Pocket (in Society’s NNASnet, and the Region’s three Christmas Pamunkey Indian Reservation along Pamunkey River, Bird Counts. Last winter’s influx of some irruptive King William); Wayside (Wayside Park, King George); species, including Red-breasted Nuthatch, Purple Wilna (Wilna Tract of Rappahannock River Valley Finch, Pine Siskin, Evening Grosbeak, and Common NWR, Richmond). Redpoll, was not repeated this year, and all of those CBCs: WBCBC (Washington’s Birthplace, 15 species were absent or very scarce. Because of the Dec); WCBC (Walkerton CBC, 5 Jan); and MCBC cold weather freezing lakes up north, some aquatic (Mathews CBC, 5 Jan) species such as Black Scoter and White-winged Scoter were present in high numbers and unusual locations. Other waterfowl species were up from last year but 4 Virginia Birds Volume 10 • Number 3 (East) WATERFOWL–HERONS (FA), 145 American Black Ducks in The Pocket 5 Jan Six Greater White-fronted Geese were found near (m. obs.), 1230 Northern Pintails for the WCBC, The Pocket 11 Jan (ABr), probably the same birds that and 110 Green-winged Teal in The Pocket 25 Jan were photographed there in late Nov. A flock of 51 (AB, EO). Gadwalls were present in good numbers; Snow Geese was found on the MCBC and 44, the 375 found at K. G. Ponds 7 Dec (FA) was the all- including 13 blue morphs, were in Leedstown 17 Feb time eBird high. During a cold spell which froze the (FA); both are high numbers for the Region. Single water in all of the marshes, the K. G. Ponds at birds were also noted at Suggett’s Pt., Richmond 2 Jan LaGrange Lane were 99% frozen.