FreeLists / va-bird / [va-bird] Thoughts from Florida trip

[Birdconsv@xxxxxxx]

I recently returned from a week in Florida and have a couple of thoughts to 
share that I believe are pertinent to Virginia birding.  First, there is a 
really enormous source population of Eurasian Collared-Doves there. They are 
pretty much everywhere, and in some places such as St. Petersburg (where I 
spent 
most of my time), they may outnumber Mourning Doves.  I even saw them as far 
north as Florence, South Carolina, and at the Carolina Sandhills NWR which is a 
bit farther northwest than Florence (and just below the North Carolina state 
line.)  It's seems hard to imagine that they won't be reaching us in numbers 
before too many more years.  (I checked eBird and the map did not show them for 
the two places I mentioned, though I recognize that not all birders dutifully 
submit their observations.)

Second, I continue to be perplexed by the decline in our Loggerhead Shrike 
populations--nearly to extirpation in much of northern Virginia.  In Florida 
they are widespread (though not numerous), and their habitat preferences don't 
appear to rule out Virginia. There I saw them in manicured city parks, along 
busy roadways in semi-industrial areas, and along roads of varying rural 
landscapes.  We, of course, have all of those habitats here, so something else 
must be 
at work.  I hope someone can figure it out before we lose the last of these 
attractive and interesting birds.

Dave Davis
Arlington