VA BIRDers,
Earlier this week (6/9) I did the 7th run of the Prince William Forest Park
USGS Breeding Bird Survey route. The BBS methodology is to make 50 different 3
minute stops and count all the birds, each stop is separated by 0.5 miles; the
survey starts about half hour before sunrise. Prince William FP is a unit of
the National Park Service and is accessed from the signed exit of I-95 near
Quantico, about 30 minutes south of the beltway at Springfield and about 1 hour
north of Richmond's I-295 bypass. This is the largest forested area in the DC
area (14,000 acres) and is one of the largest (3rd?) piedmont forest on the
east coast.
The bottom line is that the results were pretty much average. Of the 50
species observed (average=49) two new species were added: Barred Owl and Blue
Grosbeak. High counts were set for Red-shouldered Hawks (3, ave=1+), Blue-gray
Gnatcatcher (28, ave=17), and Indigo Bunting (10, ave=5). Low counts for
species regularly seen were Red-bellied WP (3, ave=6.6), American Crow (13,
ave=24), and Carolina Chickadee (5, ave=22). It is difficult to draw
conclusions on new highs or lows since a great number of counts and runs need
to be analyzed. With that caveat, recent results are suggestive that Carolina
Chickadees may be having problems as the prior 2 runs produced 10 and 11
individuals; a trend? In any case, I will send a note to the USGS folks and
ask if any regional trends have been detected.
On the positive side, the park continues to prove a vast breeding ground for a
wide range of neo-tropical migrants that are easily observed by any visitor
taking the trails along babbling creeks and/or driving the many miles of
forested roads. Some selected tallies for the 2.5 hr count are:
YB Cuckoo - 4, close to recent average, no cicadas at the park
E. Wood Pewee - 16
Acadian Flycatcher - 29, look for their distinctive nests with material hanging
down like streamers
E. Phoebe - 3, check each bridge crossing over creeks
Great Crested Flycatcher - 2, about average!
White-eyed Vireo - 3, not much habitat for this species in a forest
Yellow-throated Vireo - 1, again close to average!
Red-eyed Vireo - 72, easy to see
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 28, large numbers prob. due to road bias
Wood Thrush - 38, again, easy to see these
Northern Parula - 6
Black-throated Green Warbler - 1, found once before on the first run; late
migrant? or....?
Pine Warbler - 30, always easy to find in spring and summer
Prairie Warbler - 3, found near the few openings with emergent trees
Black & White Warbler - 1, probably breeds on Mawavi Road
Worm-eating Warbler - 1, nearly average
Ovenbird - 63, easy to see
Louisiana Waterthrush - 5, several tallies by just chip notes as these birds
are becoming silent in June
Kentucky Warbler - 1
Hooded Warbler - 20, many more were heard, mainly along the one-way portion of
the scenic drive
Scarlet Tanager - 16
Blue Grosbeak - 1, a surprise on the Breckinridge Reservoir Rd, singing near 2
different Hooded Warblers which were also singing!
Indigo Bunting - 10
Kurt Gaskill
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