[nnasnet] heads up

From: Tom Saunders <birdnerd53@xxxxxxxxx>
To: nnasnet@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Wed, 4 Dec 2013 10:40:10 -0500
All,


   1. Snowy owls are being spotted all over the east coast right now,
   including several seen in Virginia. Keep your eyes peeled, especially in
   open areas and on beaches and please report any sightings to this list. A
   snowy was seen at Windmill Point back in the 2000/2001 era.
   2. The 2013 Christmas Bird Count season starts on December 15. For many
   birders, me included, participation in CBC's is a high point of the birding
   year. To see how you can get involved, go to
   
http://birds.audubon.org/get-involved-christmas-bird-count-find-count-near-you
   3. The following report from our friends down in Williamsburg is
   interesting and enlightening: Chesapeake Bay cormorants continue steep
   ascent -
   
http://www.ccbbirds.org/2013/12/03/chesapeake-bay-cormorants-continue-steep-ascent/


   By Bryan Watts

   On 23 May, 1978, while out conducting fieldwork, Charlie Blem (avian
   ecologist from Virginia Commonwealth University) discovered 6 pairs of
   double-crested cormorants nesting on the James River near Hopewell,
   Virginia.  This was the first documented breeding of the species within the
   Chesapeake Bay region.  The historic event was little noticed and there was
   no indication that in just over 3 decades the species would take root and
   become one of the dominant fish consumers within the estuary.  However,
   during the 2013 breeding season, a survey conducted by The Center for
   Conservation Biology documented more than 5,000 pairs breeding in 12
   colonies throughout the Chesapeake Bay.  This population would be expected
   to consume nearly 3000 metric tons of fish annually.

   Growth in the Chesapeake Bay breeding population has been both rapid and
   dramatic.  As recently as 1993, a survey conducted by the Center documented
   only 354 pairs.  During a visit in that year to Smith Island, Bryan Watts
   and Mitchell Byrd discovered 6 nests built on top of old brown pelican
   nests.  In 2013, this colony is the largest in the Bay supporting nearly
   2,500 pairs.

   Cormorants of several species are now considered nuisances within
   numerous locations across the globe.  In North America, populations were
   recovering from widespread shooting during the 1940s and 1950s only to be
   reduced to new lows by the 1960s due to the impacts of DDT.  Since the
   banning of DDT, historic populations have experienced dramatic recoveries
   leading to conflicts over the destruction of habitat required by other bird
   species, nutrient inputs into waterways, and fish consumption.  Impacts of
   overwintering populations on the aquaculture industry throughout the
   Southeast lead the Fish and Wildlife Service to issue an aquaculture
   depredation order for 13 southern states in 1998.  Conflicts with
   commercial and recreational fishing have led to the ongoing control of
   northern breeding populations.

   The Chesapeake Bay has always been a significant wintering site for
   northern populations.  For the decade prior to the discovery of breeding
   there was a documented increase of cormorants using the Bay during winter.
    The current size of the winter population is not known but believed to be
   substantial.  Northern birds that have not reached breeding age also
   oversummer in the Bay in unknown numbers.  The rise of the breeding
   population greatly increases the fish demand during the summer period.





   Michael Wilson
   Center for Conservation Biology
   College of William and Mary & Virginia Commonwealth University
   P.O. Box 8795
   Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795
   phone: 757-221-1649
   fax: 757-221-1650
   email: mdwils@xxxxxx
   web: www.ccbbirds.org

Happy Holidays
Tom Saunders
Balls Neck
[nnasnet] heads up

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