Gleanings…from the Web

This edition's summary covers reports to the Virginia Birds listserv for the period from January 25 th to April 30 th. Individuals interested in subscribing to this listserv or reading its archives can find directions on the VSO web page (www.vabirds.org). Inclusion in this column does not imply that the sighting has been accepted by VARCOM (the VSO's Records Committee), or verified in any other way. Nor does omission of a sighting from this column imply that a particular sighting was not credible or noteworthy. All inaccuracies in reporting dates, etc are the responsibility of the author.

The many sightings over this period will be divided into reports first of waterbirds, then landbirds, and finally raptors, and in each of these groups reports will be reviewed roughly on a monthly basis, first encompassing primarily February, then March, and finally April.

Beginning with waterbirds, February was relatively slow. Nearby on the Outer Banks of North Carolina several Dovkies were seen during the VSO weekend trip 2/7-2/9, and at Fort Story , Virginia Beach, there was a flyby of four Razorbills on 2/17. Five Sandhill Cranes in Smyth Co. from mid January through the end of the month were the seventh record for southwestern Virginia . A Ross' Goose was found at Kerr Reservoir in Mecklenburg Co. the weekend of 1/25, and there was a Red-necked Grebe both on 2/14 off Riverbend Park on the Potomac River in Fairfax Co. and at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (CBBT) that same weekend. Single White-winged Scoters were found inland both on 1/28 on South Holston Lake in Washington Co. and on 2/14 on Lake Orange in Orange Co. Unusual gulls seen were all at Neabasco Creek in Prince William Co.: an adult California Gull on 1/28, and both an Iceland and a Glaucous Gull on 2/5. Sightings of uncommon sea ducks at the CBBT, all on the weekend of 1/25, included up to four Common Eiders, five Harlequin Ducks, and four Long-tailed Ducks. One female Long-tailed Duck was also seen in Centreville, Fairfax Co. on 1/30.

An influx of Red-necked Grebes across the state highlighted unusual waterbird reports in March. Apparently the grebe movement was the result of a freeze up of the Great Lakes , which has not occurred since the last Red-necked Grebe invasion was seen here in 1994. The total number of Red-necked Grebes reported across the state numbered close to 200, while in West Virginia reports of approximately 440 individuals had been reported as of mid March. The following is an approximate summary of the sightings, with the number reported being the maximum for a given location. In western Virginia : 5 Russell Co, 1 Washington Co. , 1 Giles Co. , 1 Galax. In the Lynchburg area: 2 in the city, 3 Amherst Co. , 1 Prince Edward Co. Moving just west, north and east: 1 Botetourt Co. , 2 Bath Co. , 4 Augusta Co. , 1 Fluvanna Co. , 5 Richmond and Chesterfield Co. , 3 Portsmouth , and 3 the Eastern Shore. Farther north and in northern Virginia proper: 2 Westmoreland Co., 1 Spotsylvania Co., 2 Orange Co., 4 Greene Co., 2 Rockingham Co., 2 Stafford Co., 74 Fairfax Co./Alexandria/Arlington/Reston (highs of 23 at Burke Lake and 20 at the Occoquan Sewage Authority), 37 Prince William Co./Manassas, 3 Fauquier Co., 18 Loudoun Co., 11 Warren and Clarke Co., and 3 Frederick Co.

Other waterbirds made up many of the highlights in late February and March. Among gulls there was a Little Gull at Fort Story , Virginia Beach 2/22 and a Black-headed Gull there 2/23. And at the Prince William Co. landfill there was a report of a Thayer's Gull on 2/25 and an Iceland Gull on 3/19. Ross' Goose was reported both from Halifax Co. (2 on 3/3, 5) and Augusta Co. (3/6), Greater White-fronted Geese were found in Pulaski Co. (5 on 3/7) and Fauquier Co.(one each from different locations 3/7 & 3/8), and an inland Brant was found in Fauquier Co. (3/19). Also unusual inland were single Red-throated Loons in Bath Co. (3/16) and Loudoun Co. (3/22), as well as two in Fairfax Co. on Belmont Bay (3/22). Noted at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (CBBT) were three Common Eiders (2/21 & 24) and three female Harlequin Ducks (3/15 & 19, with an earlier pair 2/21). Long-tailed Ducks were seen in Prince William Co. (one 3/12), the CBBT (one or more 3/15) and in Middlesex Co. (two on 3/17), and a Eurasian Wigeon was at Craney Island in Portsmouth (3/4 & 13). Finally, the following were among birds seen on a pelagic trip out of Virginia Beach 3/1: 54 Northern Fulmars, 2 Red Phalaropes, 1 Glaucous Gull, 4 Black-legged Kittiwakes, 309 Dovkies, 32 Razorbills, and 25-30 Atlantic Puffins.

Finally in April, very exciting was the sighting and photographing of a single West Indian Whistling Duck, native to but threatened in the Caribbean on 4/29 in Great Dismal Swamp. A number of significant waterbird reports were made away from the Coastal Plain. A Yellow-crowned Night Heron was at the Banister River Wildlife Management Area in Halifax Co. 4/27. Five Long-tailed Ducks were found in Rockingham Co. 4/7, with one also in Staunton on 4/10-4/11, as well as two at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (CBBT) 3/30. A Common Moorhen was also found in Staunton 4/11. In northern Virginia , two female White-winged Scoters were at Beaverdam Reservoir, Loudoun Co. 4/3, as well as a Red-throated Loon earlier on 3/28, and another in Fauquier Co. 4/7. Four Ibises, likely Glossy Ibises, were also seen in Fauquier Co. on 4/19, and another two were seen in Prince William Co. 4/25, as well as a Cattle Egret also on 4/25. Six Eared Grebes were on South Holston Lake in Washington Co. 4/14, and on the College Creek Hawk Watch in James City Co., eight White Pelicans passed on 4/22. Turning to the CBBT, a single Parasitic Jaeger was seen 4/13. A single female Common Eider was present there 3/30, and two females were seen 4/7. And reports of Harlequin Ducks included two on 3/30, three on 4/3, one female on 4/7, and four females on 4/18. Finally, after the large influx of Red-necked Grebes in late February and March, a single bird was still seen as late as 4/25 in Arlington Co.

Considering landbirds next, winter passerine visitors from the north were no more common in February than earlier in the winter. A single Snow Bunting was found in Fauquier Co. on 2/7, and several Red-breasted Nuthatches were found in Highland Co. the weekend of 2/1. Purple Finch reports early in this period were of five in Prince Edward Co. through early January and up to three in Buchanan Co. during February. Lapland Longspurs were reported from Highland Co (one on 1/25), Fauquier Co. (five on 2/7), and Rockingham Co. (one on 2/8).

A male Painted Bunting visited a Cape Charles, Northampton Co. feeder beginning in 2/22 and was still present until at least 4/13, as was a Rufous Hummingbird at the same site beginning 12/11, while a male Baltimore Oriole was present there beginning 1/26 into at least late February. Single Orange-crowned Warblers were seen both at Dyke Marsh, Fairfax Co. (1/25) and in Danville (1/31), and snow and ice in the Williamsburg area concentrated 126 Fox Sparrows along the road edges there on 2/17. Two sightings of Brewer's Blackbirds were made, one individual in King William Co. 2/21 and two in Essex Co. 3/7. Purple Finches reports continued to be few in number later in the period, with four birds continuing at a Buchanan Co. feeder, as well as six in Orange Co. 2/27, and one in Staunton 3/26. Lapland Longspurs were seen in Highland Co. (1 on 2/22), Augusta Co. (23 on 2/26) and Danville (5 on 3/2), and Red-breasted Nuthatches were noted in Bath Co. (3/8), Spotsylvania Co. (3/10) and Bath Co. (3-4 on 3/16).

Considering landbird sightings into early spring finally, a pair of Red Crossbills was seen nest building in Rockingham County beginning on 4/3, with the last report on 4/14. The site was in the vicinity of a previous nesting in 1980, and the only other nesting for Virginia recorded in the Bluebook was in 1932 in Washington Co. Also seen in the same vicinity on 4/3 was a late Red-breasted Nuthatch. Purple Finches in April were seen at feeders in Augusta Co. (4/5) and at two locations in Loudoun Co. (4/12 & 4/15). And unusual early spring migrant reports included a Swainson's Warbler at Breaks Interstate Park, Dickenson Co. (4/18) and a Philadephia Vireo in Frederick Co. (4/27)

Turning finally to raptors, an impressive concentration of birds was of about 100 Bald Eagles at Occoquan Reservoir NWR in Woodbridge on 1/29. Just a day earlier 53 were seen at nearby Leesylvania S. P. Golden Eagles are a winter raptor sought after, most reliably in Highand Co. and around Lake Moomaw in Bath Co. Sightings reported were of three on 1/25 (two in Highland Co. and one at Lake Moomaw), two on 2/1 at Lake Moomaw, and five to six in Highland Co. the weekend of 2/1. Other notable sightings of raptors in late January/February were of Rough-legged Hawks (one in Highland Co. 1/25, three there the weekend of 2/1, and four at Burke's Garden, Tazewell Co. 2/7), Peregrine Falcons (one each near Chincoteague NWR on 1/25 and at Dyke's Marsh 1/26), Merlins (one each in Rockingham Co. 1/28, Manassas 2/1, Prince Edward Co. 2/15, and Burke's Garden 2/17), Short-eared Owl (2-3 near Chincoteague NWR on 1/25), and Long-eared Owl (a roadkill in Fauquier Co. on 2/7).

In late February/March, notable raptor sightings were as follows: single Golden Eagles in Highland Co. (2/28) and Wythe Co. (3/15), Rough-legged Hawks in Highland Co. (2 on 2/22), Tazewell Co. (4 on 3/8), Loudoun Co. (1 on 3/8 & 10), and Augusta Co. (1 on 3/14), single Merlins at Dyke Marsh, Fairfax Co. (3/6) and the CBBT (3/18), and Long -eared Owls in Louisa Co. (2 on 2/25) and Fairfax Co. (1 on 3/24).

Considering April finally, there was a lingering Short-eared Owl in Fairfax Co. (4/27) and single Golden Eagles in Russell Co. (4/4), Rockingham Co. (4/6), Highland Co. (4/5-4/6), and James City County on the College Creek Hawk Watch (4/14). Also noteworthy were the following reports of Merlins: Dyke Marsh, Fairfax Co. (4/9), Great Falls, Fairfax Co. (4/19), Lorton, Fairfax Co. (4/19), and on the College Creek Hawk Watch (4/22). And Peregrine Falcons were reported from the following locations: Occoquan NWR, Prince William Co. (4/20), Nokesville, Prince William Co. (4/22), and Augusta Co (two on a Big Spring Weekend Count, 4/26-4/27).

-Gene Sattler