[va-bird] Prince William Forest Park BBS, Pr Wm Co, 6/24/06

VA BIRDers,

 

Yesterday marked the ninth USGS Breeding Bird Survey of Prince William
Forest Park, including portions next to and used by MCB Quantico; it mostly
lies in Prince William Co. with small portions in Stafford Co.  This
piedmont survey covers mainly upland forest which contains a few streams and
the route passes for a short distance through Joplin (Rt 619) which has some
open fields.  Prince William Forest Park, a unit of the National Park
Service, is the largest piedmont forest in Virginia (ca. 17,000 acres) and
has many trails for hiking and a few fishing streams.  The protocol for the
survey is the same as described recently by Fred Atwood and others, count
all birds at 50 stops of 3 minute duration each separated by 0.5 miles.

 

The big highlight for this year's count was the addition of Northern
Rough-winged Swallow to the species list, bringing the 9-year total to 76
species.  Because this was the latest date the route has been run and there
was a significant storm the evening prior to the count, I thought some
impact on the data may occur.  Fortunately this does not appear to be the
case; the species count was 45 (ave=48) and counts of birds detected were
close to the 8-year average.  The exceptions were Wood Thrush (28, ave=40)
and Ovenbird (48, ave=65); but I would caution against drawing any
conclusions concerning long-term trends for these exceptions.

 

The route (and the Park) has large numbers - and in some cases the highest
concentrations - of many neo-tropical migrants; numbers detected for a
selected few are: Eastern Wood Pewee (17), Acadian Flycatcher (35), Red-eyed
Vireo (leading the group with 74), Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (16), Wood Thrush
(28), Pine Warbler (35), Ovenbird (48), Hooded Warbler (12, actually down a
bit from the ave=16 but the fire in prime habitat along the scenic drive may
be responsible), and Scarlet Tanager (22).  Some Northern Virginia species
that are uncommon in the piedmont were noted in low numbers such as
Yellow-throated Vireo (6), Northern Parula (9), Black & White Warbler (1),
and Worm-eating Warbler (1).  Yellow-billed Cuckoo was nearly at the average
count (11, ave=9); ditto for LA Waterthrush (4, ave=3).

 

Special Thanks goes to "gate keeper" Brad Watkin, much appreciation to
Michelle Gardner-Quinn for keeping time and the tallies, and a big thank you
to Paul and Tim for facilitating access.

 

It's a bit cooler down in the park than in the city making it a fine place
to hike and bird in the summer; about a half hour south of Fairfax Co via
I-95 and an hour north of Richmond.

 

Kurt Gaskill

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