After temperatures up to 77 degrees in Norfolk over the weekend, the
long-term forecast after Tuesday is for normal chilly January temperatures.
Having
spent a good part of the day looking at loons (most of which have cleared out
of
the lower Bay, some three weeks later than normal!), it occurred to me that
we have yet to enter the Winter in full, and that we have much to look forward
to yet. The records of birds from the past month or so from states to our
north could give some indication of species that could arrive on our shores in
days to come. Some of these are far-northern species rarely recorded in
Virginia. So if your winter birding needs focus or motivation, and you've
already
enjoyed the Black-throated Gray Warbler and Clark's Grebe (fantastic birds,
both), here are my Top Ten reasons not to stay indoors when it gets cold:
1) HOARY REDPOLL: This fetching, frosty version of the commoner Common
Redpoll arrived in small numbers (3) at Assateague Island, only a few miles
north of
Chincoteague NWR, on 29 December 2003, among some 200 Commons. John Buckalew
collected one nearby at South Point (in Maryland) 20 February 1949, but
otherwise I don't know of confirmed local records. Virginia has just two
records,
from Monterey and from Middletown, both western Virginia, in 1994. There are
no coastal Virginia reports.
2) BLACK GUILLEMOT: Paul Lehman just (28 December 2003) found Delaware's
first record, and that bird appears to have vanished. Virginia has only a few
reports, all sight records, two from the CBBT (30 November 1985 and 26 December
1996) and one from the ocean at Back Bay 23 February 1986. There is a report
in print of a specimen taken at Cobb Island by Captain C. H. Crumb in the late
nineteenth century, but the specimen is apparently lost. Maryland has reports
from Assateague Island 28 December 1989 and in Anne Arundel County 11 March
1993, but there may be more from that state. The March record illustrates that
we should continue to look for alcids and other seabirds well into the warmer
end of winter.
3) BOHEMIAN WAXWING: One is still at Island Beach State Park in coastal New
Jersey. Maryland has had a coastal record as recently as 10 years ago.
Virginia has no photographically documented record of the species as yet.
Though
this does not seem to be a flight year for the species, stray birds may take up
with flocks of starlings rather than Cedar Waxwings. Watch berry-laden trees
carefully, for this and the next species:
4) VARIED THRUSH: Most long-time Virginia birders saw the individual that
attended the feeders at the Beverages' house in Monterey, but that was about a
quarter century ago, and some of us are still looking! One was reported
several
months ago at Chincoteague, and that bird (or another) could still be around.
They often flock with American Robins. Watch robins coming and going from
holly trees. Unless attending a feeder, vagrant Varied Thrushes can be very
shy.
5) ALLEN'S HUMMINGBIRD: Cape May still has one, plus a Ruby-throated,
attending feeders there. Last winter, an Allen's spent all winter in Manteo,
NC. In
December 2002, after a cold snap, many hummers appeared to desert the
northern states and appeared in Virginia, among other mid-Atlantic states. So
it's
good to keep feeders up and stocked.
6) MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD: Virginia has yet to record this species, but Matt
Hafner saw one fly by in early November in coastal Maryland, and that bird
could
well turn up on the Virginia coast, which has abundant bluebird habitat
(Eastern
Shore in particular).
7) SLATY-BACKED GULL: Adults have been reported in New Hampshire, Ohio, and
Nova Scotia in the past 2 weeks, and the photographs of some of these birds
look good. Extensive photographs, especially of upper- and underwing patterns,
will be necessary to confirm a Virginia record. Best bet: landfills or CBBT.
8) YELLOW-NOSED ALBATROSS: These have been popping up with maddening
frequency -- lately in Texas and Massachusetts -- away from our latitudes, and
Virginia's two records, both in winter, lack photographic documentation. A
pelagic
trip seems a good way to look for these (Brian Patteson and others photographed
one just off Cape Point, NC three years ago), but MANY of the reports of this
species are from shorelines. We're overdue for another!
9) TUFTED DUCK: One was at Chincoteague not too long ago, but we still need a
good photograph to confirm the species in the state (another report from Lake
Anna is undocumented). The Delaware bird is apparently no longer around, so
we should watch freshwater lakes, especially those with diving ducks, even
borrow bits around subdivisions for a firm state record.
10) ROSS'S GULL: Perhaps a Holy Grail in birding, the state has only one
report, not accepted by the state's committee. Flocks of Bonaparte's Gulls
(which
have not yet been seen in any numbers in Virginia this winter) from November
to early April are the key to finding this species so far south of normal
range, it would seem. Fort Story, Back Bay, Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.
(And
do phone someone to put it on the internet if you see one!)
Ontario and North Carolina have winter Gray Flycatchers; Georgia has a
Yellow-billed Loon inland. What will be next in Virginia, after such a great
start
to our winter?
For those skeptical about re-locating individual birds first noted in states
to our north, by the way, consider that up to 24 American White Pelicans had
been hanging around Belmont Bay, Maryland until recently. On 29 December 2003,
Joy Yoder, Karen Heatwole, and party found a White Pelican at Craney Island.
On 3 January 2004, 11 showed up at Pea Island NWR in North Carolina and 11
showed up at Cape Henry, Virginia. Granted, these are gigantic birds, but we
pretty much know where they must have come from! (The 24th pelican is still
unaccounted for.)
Of course, the real reason to get out and enjoy the winter birding is the
common species, of which the state has a great variety.
Loonless in Cape Charles,
Ned Brinkley
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