As part of the studies of mercury contamination on birds in the South
and Shenandoah Rivers, Ariel White and I floated the entire
contaminated portion of the South River from Waynesboro Water Treatment
Plant to Port Republic on April 14-16. The objective was to find
kingfisher nests, which were being dug in abundance. There were an
amazing 16 sites with one or more nest holes. It appeared that only
one bird had begun incubation, all others were digging nests. Of the
16 sites, 12 had 1-2 birds present near the hole. The others may not
be active this year but contained nests last year. In only one site
are the birds re-using the same hole as last year, although all of last
year's holes have survived. The effort involved in digging a 6-foot
hole is immense, but the advantages of having a new hole (often just
feet from the old one) must outweigh the digging costs. Rough-winged
swallows were present in abundance and often use the previous year's
kingfisher holes.
Other interesting birds seen using the river were:
10 osprey (none stayed to nest last year)
3 Louisiana waterthrushes (lower than expected, only 1 singing)
1 spotted sandpiper (the forerunner of a huge wave that moves through
the river)
2 Wilson's snipe
2 pied-billed grebes
6 blue-winged teal
4 hooded mergansers
and the first eastern kingbird of the season on 4/16
Daniel A. Cristol, Associate Professor
Department of Biology
College of William & Mary
PO Box 8795, Williamsburg, VA
(757) 221-2405/6483 (tel/fax)
dacris@xxxxxx
http://dacris.people.wm.edu/
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