A quarterlyIRGINIA journal of ornithological sightings in theIRDS Commonwealth V published by the Virginia B Society of Ornithology Volume 13 Number 1 Summer Records June–July 2016 Virginia Birds Regions Cities/towns numbered on map 1. Abingdon 18. Fredericksburg 31. Petersburg 42. Virginia Beach 2. Alexandria 19. Galax 32. Poquoson 43. Waynesboro 3. Bedford 20. Hampton 33. Portsmouth 44. Williamsburg 45 Frederick 4. Bristol 21. Harrisonburg 34. Radford 45. Winchester Clarke Loudoun 5. Buena Vista 22. Hopewell 35. Richmond North Fairfax Arlington 6. Cape Charles 23. Lexington 36. Roanoke Warren Fauquier 15,16 Shenandoah 25, 26 7. Charlottesville 24. Lynchburg 37. Salem Rappahannock Prince 2 Page William 8. Chesapeake 25. Manassas 38. South Boston Madison Culpeper Rockingham21 Stafford 9. Chincoteague 26. Manassas Park 39. Staunton King Highland Greene George 10. Clifton Forge 27. Martinsville 40. Suffolk Augusta Orange 18 39 Westmoreland 11. Colonial Heights 28. Newport News 41. Tazewell Spotsylvania Bath 43 7 Louisa Caroline Richmond West Essex East 9 12. Covington 29. Norfolk Albemarle King and Queen Northumberland 12 Rockbridge Central King William 13. Danville 30. Norton 10 Lancaster Alleghany Nelson FluvannaGoochland Hanover 23 Middlesex 14. Emporia 5 Amherst Henrico Accomack Botetourt Buckingham Powhatan 15. Fairfax New Gloucester Craig Appomattox 35 Kent Mathews 16. Falls Church Bedford Chesterfield Charles James Giles Roanoke 24 CumberlandAmelia 22 City City 44 17. Franklin Buchanan 3 Prince York 6 Montgomery37 36 Campbell Edward 11 41 Bland Nottoway Prince Dickenson 31 32 Northampton Tazewell 34 George Surry 28 Pulaski Charlotte Dinwiddie 20 Wise Franklin Coastal Russell Lunenburg Southeast 29 30 Wythe Floyd Sussex Isle of 33 Southwest Smyth South Central Wight Carroll Pittsylvania Halifax 14 42 Lee Scott 1 Mecklenburg Washington Grayson 27 38 Southampton17 40 8 4 19 Patrick Henry 13 BrunswickGreensville Virginia Birds VSO Officers VSO Board of Directors Editors President Terms expire 2017 Bill Williams Jeff Trollinger, Henrico Bruce Johnson, Lovettsville [email protected] Past President Michael Lott, Fredricksburg Louise Menges Joe Coleman, Round Hill Laura Neale, Fairfield Vice President [email protected] Terms expire 2018 Regional Editors Lenny Bankester, Alexandria Patti Reum, Bluegrass Matt Anthony Secretary Russell Taylor, Vienna Fred Atwood Christine Stinson, Ferrum Dave Youker, Yorktown Terms expire 2019 Nick Flanders Treasurer Mary Ann Good Terri Cuthriell, Smithfield Lesley Bulluck, Bon Air Clyde Kessler Raven Editor Dan Bieker, North Garden Michael Lott Andrew Dolby, Fredericksburg Bill Williams, Williamsburg Janet Paisley Newsletter Editor Zak Poulton Andrew Rapp Len Alfredson, Arlington C. Michael Stinson Membership Secretary Bill Williams Shirley Devan, Williamsburg Submissions Send reports and photographs to the Regional Editors. Photographs should be the highest electronic quality possible. Send with release form, which can be found on the VSO web site: www.virginiabirds.net. Articles for consideration can be sent to [email protected]. Season Reports due to Regional Editors Fall (Aug–Nov) 15 Dec Winter (Dec–Feb) 15 Mar Spring (Mar–May) 15 Jun Summer ( Jun–Jul) 15 Aug Terms and Abbreviations Species name in bold first time mentioned (VARCOM Review Birds BOLD CAPS); county names are in italics. Abbreviations ad. (ads.) adult(s) BBS Breeding Bird Survey CBC Christmas Bird Count Cr. Creek et al. and others f. female fide vouched by FOS First of Season Ft. Fort Gold Book Virginia’s Birdlife, An Annotated Checklist. Virginia Avifauna No. 7, Fourth Edition, 2007. Hwy. Highway Is. Island(s), Isle(s) imm. (imms.) immature(s) junc. junction juv. (juvs.) juvenile(s) L. Lake Ln. Lane MAPS Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship m. male m. obs. many/multiple observers Mt. Mountain, Mount NAP Natural Area Preserve NP National Park NWR National Wildlife Refuge ph. photographed by (initials) Pk. Park Pt. Point R. River Rd. Road Res. Reservoir RP Regional Park Rte. Route SF State Forest SP State Park VARCOM Virginia Avian Records Committee VDGIF Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries v. r. voice recording VSO Virginia Society of Ornithology WMA Wildlife Management Area * specimen collected On the cover: Black-necked Stilt with 4 chicks, photographed on Craney Island 23 Jun by Bill Williams Virginia Birds is printed on recycled paper by PIP, Lynchburg. Published October 2016 DOVES: The Virginia Avian Record’s Committee’s Next Step into the Digital Era The Virginia Society of Ornithology (VSO) launched its quarterly journal, Virginia Birds, in 2004. Coincidentally, that same year, the Virginia Avian Records Committee (VARCOM) took its first step into the digital age when then- VARCOM Secretary, Sue Heath, created an online mechanism for Committee Members to independently review and vote on scanned records documentation. Prior to that, VARCOM operated much like many other Bird Records Committees. Observers mailed written reports, photographs (often 35 mm slides), or other media to the Secretary, who dutifully compiled them into review packages that were then circulated by conventional mail among Committee Members in round-robin fashion. Hand-written votes and comments were mailed back to the Secretary for compilation. Records were re-circulated as needed by mail until the review process for each record was completed. Needless to say, this vetting procedure was time consuming and expensive. As innovative as VARCOM’s initial 2004 web-based process was, it had its limitations. Much of the records documentation, including photographs, continued to be received by conventional mail, with a slow progression towards reports being posted to the Secretary by e-mail. Nevertheless, record documents had to be digitally scanned and organized into review packages that were then made available to the committee via an online link. Committee Members were given a timeline to complete their reviews. Their individual votes and comments for each record were recorded on a form that was e-mailed back to the Secretary for compilation. While this saved time and costs, it was still essentially a manual process that involved considerable effort by the Secretary. Because there was no public access to the results of committee deliberations, VARCOM’s actions were unknown until its annual report was published in The Raven. Additionally, there was no online means to view photographs associated with significant records. In July 2009, VARCOM Secretary Amy Gilmer developed a proposal for an automated VARCOM Database and Online Submission Project. The proposed project had three key features: an online mechanism for submission of reports; an online mechanism for voting by Committee Members; and, an online archive of VARCOM records. The proposal was presented to the VSO Board of Directors, who endorsed the project with funding for the 2010 budget year. A contract programmer was selected but, due to unanticipated circumstances, was unable to fulfill the contract. The project was dormant until 2011 when VARCOM Chairman Bob Ake suggested it might be a suitable senior class project for an undergraduate computer science student group he was mentoring at Old Dominion University (ODU). Because it was a class activity, there was no financial cost to the VSO. Through Bob’s guidance the class developed a program known as DOVES (Database for Ornithological Verification and Submission) using the Ruby on Rails programming language. Their work was completed in May 2013, although some finishing touch programming remained. Those programming responsibilities were assumed by ODU graduate students, who refined and enhanced DOVES capabilities under a grant received from the VSO. DOVES was transferred to a commercial web host in July 2013. Trial testing of the DOVES records submission component was initiated in early 2014. Since then approximately 70 different observers have posted more than 200 submissions which have been reviewed by the committee via the system’s records voting component. In the summer of 2015, VARCOM received additional VSO funds to correct problems revealed during the testing process and to create an online archive of all existing Accepted records, including those reviewed prior to the DOVES inception. This work was completed in May 2016. One of DOVES most exceptional components is its publicly accessible archive of all Accepted records. Anyone may view summary documentation for these records, including the pictures that were submitted as supporting evidence. Only those photographs that VARCOM has been granted specific permission to use for the publicly accessible archive are posted. DOVES was officially launched to the public on October 1, 2016. 4 Virginia Birds Volume 13 • Number 1 We encourage anyone wishing to submit a report to do so by logging into the DOVES site at http://vsodoves.org then registering as a user. The VSO’s step into the digital age of avian records was skillfully brought to completion by the 2013 ODU Computer Science Senior Class Blue Team: Dr. Janet Brunelle, Dr. Ajay Gupta, Scott Pardue, Bharath Kongara, Avinash Gosavi, and Grant Atkins. To them we owe a very sincere debt of gratitude. Wendy Ealding and Bob Ake Two ready-to-fledge Common Nighthawks photographed by Bill Williams at Craney Island, Portsmouth 7 Jul Virginia Birds Volume 13 • Number 1 5 Regional Reports North Editors: Michael Lott Mary Ann Good 1729 Jefferson Davis Hwy. 18280 Lincoln Rd. P.O. Box 339 Purcellville, VA 20132