August 2013

THE SISKIN
Newsletter of the Northern Virginia Bird Club
Vol. 58, No. 3
August 2013
Inside
Calendar of NVBC field trips, August 17 – November 9, 2013
Fourth Annual Cape May Weekend
NVBC General Meeting: State of the Birds
Presidential Peentings
Spring Weekend Highlights: Chincoteague and Highland County
Migration Hotspot Trips



FOURTH ANNUAL Cape May Weekend
In the fall of 2013 we are going back! From October 18 to 20, we will be hanging out at the world famous Cape May Hawk Watch, and visiting other local hotspots such as the Meadows and the Cape May Bird Observatory. We will start at 3 PM on Friday and finish up Sunday afternoon with a semi-pelagic on the Cape May Ferry. Space is limited to 20 people. NVBC membership and registration are required.

Our hotel, a.k.a. headquarters for the weekend, will be the Sea Crest Inn. This hotel does not serve breakfast, but many of the rooms have a full kitchen. The hotel is located within walking distance of the beach pavilion that is our typical Saturday morning destination.

SEA CREST INN 101 Beach Avenue Cape May, NJ 08204 Phone: 609-884-4561 or Toll Free 866-733-1405 Email: seacrestinncapemay@hotmail.com Website: www.seacrestinn.com

To make a reservation, please call the Sea Crest Inn and provide your name and phone number. You will be asked to mail a personal check or money order within 7 days of calling. On the check enter the dates you will be staying and NVBC. You will be mailed a confirmation number. Please drop me an email at drgerco@hotmail.com if you would like to participate. — Gerco Hoogeweg


NVBC GENERAL MEETING—WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 8 PM
State of the Birds
Speaker Greg Butcher
Most of our members have participated in at least one Christmas Bird Count. Have you ever wondered what happens to our carefully gathered information and what use is made of it? You will have a chance to find out at the coming September meeting. Our speaker will be Greg Butcher, the Coordinator of Wings Across the Americas for the US Forest Service. His topic, “State of the Birds,” is based on his extensive work with Christmas count data.

Greg is a long time birdwatcher and received his PhD in Zoology from the University of Washington in Seattle. He has been the Director of Bird Population Studies at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology where he began his study of CBC data. He has also been a director of the American Birding Association, editor of Birder’s World magazine (now called BirdWatching), midwest regional coordinator for Partners in Flight, and Director of Bird Conservation for the National Audubon Society.

Early bird refreshments start at 7:30 PM. Any contributions of food or beverage will be most gratefully received. There will be a drawing for door prizes. Northern Virginia Bird Club pins will be available for members who would like to buy them ($5 each).


MEETING PLACE: Church of the Covenant, 2666 Military Road, Arlington, 22207.


Presidential Peentings
Why do we love birding? We all have our reasons. Some of us like the challenge of finding new birds for our life lists or our year lists. Sometimes this requires going to extremes to feed our obsession. Why else would anyone go to a dump in January or the middle of the ocean in February or the Arizona desert in July? I have heard this style of birding referred to as a cross between hunting and stamp collecting.

Birding also gives us a reason to visit areas of the world that we might not otherwise ever see. When you travel for birding, it often opens the door for all kinds of other adventures. Some people take a more mellow approach and bird simply to spend some time in the outdoors or to enjoy the fellowship of others who share a similar interest.

Regardless of why you bird or what your experience level might be, the NVBC has many opportunities for you to get outside and enjoy our avian friends. We have many local trips as well as some trips to more far-flung destinations such as Bombay Hook, Delaware, and Cape May, New Jersey. Let’s go birding! — Larry Meade


SPRING WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS
CHINCOTEAGUE Twenty-five members of the Northern Virginia Bird Club ventured to Chincoteague this past spring. The trip was led by Elton Morel and Larry Meade. Elton deserves special thanks for organizing the trip and keeping it running smoothly. As a group, we tallied a total of 118 species for the weekend.

We started our trip Friday afternoon a little after 3 PM at the Wildlife Loop where there were a good number of shorebirds to study. We watched a young Bald Eagle on its nest exercising its wings probably preparing to fledge. We then watched an aerial dual between an adult Bald Eagle and a young Herring Gull. The gull was too agile and the Bald Eagle tired itself out and gave up. Another highlight was a resplendent male Blue Grosbeak who hopped around in the bushes near the road.

Later that evening we gathered at the Wildlife Loop parking lot at 8 PM in hopes of hearing and maybe even seeing Chuck-will’s-widows. We were rewarded by hearing several birds calling and by witnessing two of them flying across the road into the woods. One bird even briefly perched on a small snag for our viewing enjoyment.

On Saturday we headed over to the Woodland Trail (AKA mosquito-palooza). Here we found a Red-headed Woodpecker, a female Blackpoll Warbler, many Brown-headed Nuthatches and Pine Warblers, a flyover Common Loon, and a brief glimpse of a Magnolia Warbler. Later we took the bus tour to the Washflats. Here we found many shorebirds, some Gull-billed Terns, and several Wild Turkeys. Down near the beach we found several Piping Plovers, Marbled Godwits, and a variety of terns including Caspian and Royal.

On Sunday, a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron was found in the town of Chincoteague along with a Red-throated Loon near the bridge to the causeway. At the boat launch on Queen Sound Flats we saw a breeding plumage Horned Grebe and were surprised to find three Brant.

HIGHLAND COUNTY Our June 7-9 trip to Highland County was enjoyed by 16 members. On Friday afternoon we birded around the Blue Grass Valley where we found Bobolinks and Vesper Sparrows. On Saturday we visited Paddy’s Knob and found our target species, the Mourning Warbler and Least Flycatcher. Other highlights included Golden-winged Warbler, Blue-winged Warbler, and Brewster’s Warbler (the hybrid). We also found a variety of other warblers, such as Blackburnian, Chestnut-sided, and Canada Warblers. The group enjoyed the hospitality and fine dining at the Highland Inn. — Elton Morel


MIGRATION HOTSPOT TRIPS
Last summer we read Songbird Journeys, Four Seasons in the Lives of Migratory Birds by Miyoko Chu. She is an ornithologist and staff writer at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. The book is fascinating and includes an appendix listing songbird migration hotspots. It inspired us to visit several hotspots in Ontario, Texas and Ohio.

In September 2012 we drove to Point Pelee National Park and Long Point Bird Observatory (LPBO) in Ontario. The highlight was our visit to Long Point Bird Observatory in Port Rowan. The LPBO was founded in 1960 as a research and monitoring station tracking local breeding and migratory birds. We had incredible looks of netted migrants being banded.

This spring we drove to Texas in April and to Ohio in May to view spring migrants. We saw a total of 206 species during both spring trips: (148 in Texas and 111 in Ohio) with a combined total of 33 warblers.

Our first Texas stop was Winnie, where we visited the High Island bird sanctuaries and Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge. The highlight was High Island. We saw grosbeaks and warblers at the water feature at Boy Scout Woods and nesting waterbirds at The Rookery at Smith Oaks. During our visit to the Rio Grande Valley we visited the South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center, Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, and Estero-Llano Grande State Park. The Nature Center boardwalk allowed us to closely view Black-necked Stilts, Yellow-crowned Night-Herons, an American Bittern, and Soras.

We were in Oregon, Ohio, May 11-17 focusing on the Magee Marsh boardwalk and Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge. Migrants pass through Magee Marsh from the middle of April to the end of May. We arrived for the last couple of days of “The Biggest Week in American Birding” festival. — Neal and Pat Gause


Club Announcements
NVBC eMail Exchange: To receive email notices about upcoming trips and club news, join the NVBC eMail Exchange.
General Meeting Dates: September 18 and November 20, 2013.
Next Board Meeting: Wednesday, September 4, 7:30 PM, at Diane Marton’s home.
Deadline for next issue of The Siskin: October 1, 2013.


CLUB CONTACTS
President: Larry Meade, 703-206-9030
Vice President, Programs: Joanna Taylor, 703-243-5989
Vice President, Field Activities: Elton Morel, 703-553-4860
Secretary: Diane Marton, 703-527-7360
Treasurer: Jean Tatalias, 703-281-6099