Most of you already know that Richmond Audubon is a supporter of the
Virginia Breeding Bird Atlas 2 project (
http://amjv.org/index.php/vabba2/about). Here's an update that I've just
sent out on progress in our region to birders who have adopted a block. If
you use eBird, it is easy to contribute sightings of breeding activity to
this project, even if you aren't signed up for a block by recording
breeding status and switching the checklist to the Virginia Breeding Bird
Atlas portal.
---- Begin forwarded message ----
Hello, Region 10 atlasers!
We’ve hit that transition point where most of the species that will breed
in our area are getting into their process. The last few hold-outs are some
of the flycatchers (Great-crested, Acadian, Eastern Wood Pewee) and
buntings (Indigo, Blue Grosbeak) that aren’t into their “safe range” until
the beginning of June. I’ve noticed that most days when I’m out, I’m very
often seeing birds either carrying food or carrying nesting materials, and
our early nesters are feeding fledglings. So, it’ a great time to get out
in the field.
I sent out some information a few weeks back on block completion. The
message there was that there are many blocks in our region, particularly
priority blocks, that are very close to completion. Some need only
nocturnal hours, and according to project Director, Ashley Peele, June is a
great time to get out for both nightjars and detecting owl fledglings. So,
the focus for this season is pushing more priority blocks to completion,
either through nocturnal or daytime effort as needed. If nocturnal effort
is 2.0 hours or more, what is most often needed is additional code upgrades
(moving species from Probable to Confirmed, or from Possible to Probable).
Here is a summary of some priority blocks in our region that just need a
little more work to be completed, by county.
*Block*
*County*
*Total hrs*
*Nocturnal hrs*
*Total # Breeders*
*# Confirmed*
*% Confirmed*
*# Probable + Confirmed Species*
*% Probable + Confirmed Species*
*Date spread*
*Completion Review Codes*
Bon Air SE
Chesterfield
66.7
0.4
82
32
39.0
52
63
Apr-Jul
Nocturnal
Chesterfield SE
Chesterfield
33.8
0.0
79
8
10.1
35
44
Mar-Jul
Nocturnal; More code upgrades needed
Hallsboro SE
Chesterfield
5.9
0.0
64
13
20.3
17
27
Mar, Jun-Jul
Diurnal & nocturnal effort; BCs
Hylas SE
Goochland
59.8
0.0
81
35
43.2
58
72
Mar-Jul
Nocturnal
Studley SE
Hanover
22.8
0.0
62
15
24.2
35
56
Mar-Jul
Nocturnal; More code upgrades needed
Glen Allen SE
Henrico
25.7
0.2
46
14
30.4
24
52
May-Jul
Nocturnal; More code upgrades needed
Mineral SE
Louisa
20.2
0.0
25
4
16.0
10
40
Apr-May
Nocturnal; Needs more mid- to late-summer effort
Farmville SE
Pr. Edward
28.4
0.4
75
21
28.0
40
53
Apr-Jul
Nocturnal; More code upgrades needed
Richmond SE
Richmond City
39.1
1.0
82
34
41.5
50
61
Mar-Jun
Nocturnal
If you are signed up as primary observer for a block and you think your
block should be complete, please contact either me (for metro Richmond area
blocks) or Evan Spears (for the rest of the region) to consult. Some
changes to the criteria for completion have been endorsed by the project
technical committee, and as a result, it is somewhat simpler to complete a
block than it had previously been. The main change here is that the
criterion requiring 60% of potential breeding species to have “confirmed”
status has been changed to requiring 60% to be “confirmed” or “probable.”
If the block that you adopted is complete, it is time to direct your
atlasing time to a new block. Any priority blocks not listed in the table
above still need quite a bit of effort, and it would be great if you would
sign up for one of those blocks, or help out whomever has signed up for it.
Our region has been doing well in terms of volunteer participation, but
it’s never too late to get new people involved, and this is a great time of
year to do that, with so much activity. If you have friends that you think
might be interested, this is a good time to get them out in the field with
you and make the pitch. Inviting them to do a little “Block busting” with
you could be a good way to get them interested. Pick a block that just
needs a bit more effort for completion and make a special trip.
Richmond Audubon Society will be doing a reprise of its popular “Block
Party” field trip this year on June 23 at Poor Farm Park in the Hanover
Academy SE priority block. This is intended primarily as an informational
event for those interested in Atlasing. We’ll meet at 9:00 AM at the park
(13400 Liberty School Road, Ashland VA 23005). You can contact me for
further details on that if you have questions.
--
Lewis Barnett
Richmond, VA
