FreeLists / bristol-birds / [Bristol-Birds] Re: First Osprey nests in Buchanan County

["Wallace Coffey" <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Roger Mayhorn:

WOW!!  This could be Southwest Virginia's or Western Virginia's first ever
nesting record for the Osprey!!!!  What a tremendous discovery !!

I didn't see mention that Ospreys are at the nest, working on the nest, or
appear to be on eggs.  Of course it is too early for eggs and Ospreys have
probably not returned to the region (we do have a few winter records).

 I suppose you found what you believed to be last season's nest and will be
watching for the return of the birds.  Excellent !  What rules out these
from having been Bald Eagle's nests from previous years ?  Of course eagles
will be present at nest sites at this time of year.

I can't find a published record for Osprey nesting south and or west of the
New River in Southwest Virginia.  For that matter, I have not seen a record
for Western Virginia !  My most recent information is "A Guide to the Birds
of the New River Gorge Area" (1990);  Clapp's "Egg Dates for Virginia Birds"
(1997); Kinzie's "Birds of Roanoke Valley" (1985); Decker's "......Smyth
County" (1999), Peake's "...Virginia Cumberlands" (2001); Murray's
".....Rockbridge County..." (1957); Mellinger's ".....Rockingham County"
(1998); Larner's ".....Augusta County" (1998) and the Virginia "blue book"
(1987), "red book" (1979) and "green book" (1952).  None mention nesting in
the Ridge and Valley Region of Virginia.

If there have been earlier nestings in Western Virginia one would assume
they have occured in the upper drainages of the Shenandoah, Roanoke, New
River or one of the Tennessee tributaries.

Perhaps, Roger Clapp of the U.S. National Museum in Washington (who is a
subscriber to Bristol Birds Net) will be able to post anything that would be
useful about more recent nesting records of the Osprey in Western Virginia.

Ed Talbott:  do you have a date for the fledgling you saw being fed by an
adult last year?  This is very valuable information.  I am sure Clapp would
like to have any such data for the breeding bird book he is working on for
Virginia.

Let us know something soon.  We're excited to learn more.

This species may be part of an expansion of the range into the Levisa and
Big Sandy drainage from Kentucky.  This is where we need to know something
more about the breeding status of this species in Eastern Kentucky and that
drainage.

Thanks for the great discovery.  Keep up the really good birding work in
Buchanan County and the region.  Go guys go!

Let's go birding.....

Wallace Coffey
Bristol




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Bird Club, Bristol Bird Club, Clinch Valley Bird Club
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