Agreed.
Claire Kluskens
On Jan 19, 2014, at 2:34 PM, KEN LIPSHY <wuzupdoc12@xxxxxxx> wrote:
Keep posting!
Folks may not respond but they always pay attention.
I am always hearing about posts that folks have read.
Kenneth Lipshy
Www.crisismanagementleadership.com
On Jan 19, 2014, at 2:28 PM, "David Gibson" <davidrhorer@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:oss my sightings--then great! If not, then that's the way it goes. (I
Kurt, Why do you think the posts are becoming an "anachronism"? I have one
thought about this. I'm from MA--and Fred Atwood and I have conversed about
this. Massbird is a lot more "chatty" than Va-bird (that was Fred's
word--and I concur). Both listserves have almost the same # of subscribers
(I've researched this). But up there, when you post something mildly
interesting or even not so, you generally get a good # of responses (wow,
where exactly, that's cool, nice bird, I've never birded there before,
etc.). Down here, the opposite is true (this is my experience). I rarely get
responses to my posts and even have found myself wondering--did I make a
mistake and post to the wrong address. Up in MA you tend to get feedback.
(And that is encouraging--and encourages one to keep posting.) Down here not
so much. My tendency is to think--if no one is interested or no one takes
notice, why should I bother. I'll just continue to post to ebird and if
other folks happen to stumble acr
exaggerate a bit here--but to make a point). Va-bird is, IMO, a relatively
quiet place. I also wonder if broadening the bird discussion a bit on this
listserve would help. Up in MA there's more discussion of bird-related topics
than there is here--and that seems to generate more discussion--though
sometimes the moderator does have to rein things in a bit. For example, in MA
this would become a thread and perhaps a doz. or more others---and sometimes
many more--would chime in. Threads can go on and on, though, and people can
disagree and sometimes strongly. But that's where the moderator comes in.
Anyway--these are some of my thoughts. Dave Gibson, Chesapeake
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Regards, Dave
----- Original Message ----- From: "Kurt Gaskill" <KurtCapt87@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, January 18, 2014 9:28 PM
Subject: [Va-bird] Northern Virginia Notes, 18 Jan 2014
VA BIRDers,
Here are a few notes on my quest today to fill my Northern Virginia month
list. Since these VA BIRD posts are quickly becoming an anachronism, what
with few birders posting anything (even when rare, i.e., seen only once or
twice in a season in an area) I will add a few extra items in the hopes it
has more value than a day or week-old e-bird listing.
I started off at 8 am meeting Ed Eder at Dyke Marsh. We walked Haul Rd
hoping for winter stragglers but, despite the sunny blue skies, the cold
(30F) and wind (10-20mph) kept passerine activity to a minimum. We noted
that the large waterfowl rafts were gone (it was also high tide, which may
be a contributing factor), although there were some groups of Lesser Scaup
and Ruddy Duck plus a few other species. The 2 Horned Grebes are still
hanging in at Dyke - an amazing year for this species in No. VA, found in
over half the habitats visited today. Bald Eagles are still constructing a
nest visible from the dogleg which means we now have two active eagle nests
at Dyke.
We headed up to Jones Point - City of Alexandria - and quickly found a
Peregrine. The area just to the east of the lighthouse held an
Orange-crowned Warbler, reported by Dave Boltz earlier this week. In the
same tree were both kinglets and a Brown Creeper.
Ed and I parted - it was about 1100 - and I drove to Prince William Co.
Landfill. I thought the cold, windy weather coupled with Saturday delivery
would result in a good larid showing. How wrong could I be! About 600
gulls were tallied and only 9 were dark-backed and ALL belonged to the
typical 3 species of Ring-billed, Herring and Great Black-backed. Yet there
were two consolation prizes. One was a Common Raven. The other was this
huge flock of E. Starlings (about 1250) that met up with a Cooper's Hawk. I
thought the Coop would strafe the flock. Nope. It flew somewhat languidly
near the flock and then went into vertical stoop, plunging downward 200 feet
or more, snapping neatly out of the dive and grabbed a starling on the hood
of a truck at the landfill workface. Amazing! As it carried its prize
away, flying low into the adjacent woods, the starlings and gulls scattered
to the 4 winds, filling the sky with birds.
Since the balance of the gulls had to be somewhere, I headed to various gull
spots. The first was Quantico Cr along Possum Point Rd. The tide was low
and a few hundred gulls were in attendance. But, no dark-backed gulls or
white gulls. There was an excellent waterfowl showing - I always forget how
delightful it is to bird this area as it always is filled with birds. Tundra
Swans, Gadwall, wigeon, pintail, Green-winged Teal, Canvasbacks, Hooded
Mergansers, Pied-billed Grebes, cormorants... all easily and quickly seen.
The best payoff occurred as drove out - a Sharpie was chasing a group of
White-throated Sparrows across the road.
Next stop was to the north - Neabsco Creek. There were a few dozen of the
bigger gulls here but nothing unusual. Hunters had put up an large mixed
flock of Mallards and Am. Black Ducks - about 160 total. And nearby, 2
Horned Grebes puttered about. I then motored further north to the overlook
of Occoquan Bay Marina. Here I found good numbers of large sized larids -
about 50 Great Black-backs and 120 Herring Gulls. Plus one Lesser
Black-backed Gull. Again, excellent waterfowl numbers with Redheads joining
the day's tally and a lone Red-breasted Merganser in the protected marina.
Plus, 2 nearby Horned Grebes.
The sun was close to setting so I sped north to Roach's Run, hoping to find
Gerry Hawkins' Great Egret. Passing by the golf course near Dyke Marsh on
the GW Parkway and south of the Stone Bridge I spied a Merlin in a tree.
Continuing north I made it to Roach's Run but the egret was not to be. So I
turned around at DCA and drove into the Gravelly Point parking lot. 2 dozen
or more birders were about but, sigh..., no Snowy was seen. As many left I
ran into Larry Meade and David Ledwith and, as we chatted, lo and behold the
Snowy rose up and perched on a tall pole with a red light (it was first seen
by another birder who got us on the owl - thank you!). The owl then flew
closer to some posts and perched for a few minutes before flying off and
disappearing. The time was about 515 to 530pm. I think the owl may have
originally been in a rip rap area behind the checkerboard-roofed building.
In any case, it was a good day although I only added 3 species to the month
list, now at 110.
Kurt Gaskill
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