November 2017
The SISKIN
Newsletter of the Northern Virginia Bird Club
Vol. 62, No. 4
November 2017
Inside
Calendar of NVBC field trips, November 8, 2017 – February 4, 2018
2018 ASNV Winter Waterfowl Survey
Upcoming Christmas Bird Counts in Northern Virginia
2017 Treasurer’s Report
Youth Birding Scholarship Report from Hog Island
Observing Mississippi Kites in Northern Virginia
Insert – 2018 membership renewal notice
To see the newsletter photographs in color, go to www.nvabc.org and click on the Siskin icon.
Winter Chincoteague Trip
The Winter Chincoteague Weekend club trip is scheduled for February 2-4 (Friday to Sunday) co-led by Marc Ribaudo and myself. February is an excellent time to visit Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (CBBT) Islands. The Refuge is loaded with wintering waterfowl while the CBBT is famous for wintering sea ducks. On last year’s trip, we tallied 109 species including 21 species of waterfowl. Despite the bitterly cold weather, our highlight sightings at Chincoteague were a male Eurasian Wigeon in Swan Cove and a spectacular flyover of Snow Geese while we were at the beach. At the CBBT Islands, we found Long-tailed Ducks, Great Cormorants, Northern Gannets, Purple Sandpipers, Lesser Black-backed Gulls and best of all, Razorbills and Common Eiders.
Plans for the weekend include birding the Chincoteague area Friday afternoon starting at 3:15 pm (optional) and Saturday starting at 7:30 am. Activities on Friday and Saturday include birding along Beach Road, Swan Cove and Tom’s Cove and around the Wildlife Loop. Time and tides permitting, we will also visit the Queen Sound Flats, the Chincoteague City mudflats and Mariner’s Point. On Sunday, we will bird Kiptopeke State Park and, time permitting, the Eastern Shore National Wildlife Refuge before our trip to the CBBT Islands. We will be limited to a one hour visit to island #4 due to the construction of a new tunnel between islands #1 and #2 and the storage of construction equipment on island #3. The CBBT trip requires security forms in advance and an extra fee for the security escort. The trip concludes at noon on Sunday.
NVBC membership is required for this trip. Registration will open on November 15, 2017. To sign up for this trip, please email Elton Morel at eltonlmorel@verizon.net. The trip is limited to 24 people and usually fills up quickly. Please do not make hotel reservations until your trip registration has been confirmed. When signing up, please indicate whether you are interested in Sunday morning’s CBBT Island trip and a Saturday evening group dinner. If the trip is full, your name can be put on a waiting list.
We have obtained a special rate of $76 per night on twenty rooms for Friday and Saturday nights at the Best Western Chincoteague Island Hotel on Maddox Boulevard. A two-night stay is usually required. Hotel reservations must be made by January 19 to get this special group rate. Participants should make your own reservations by calling 800-553-6117 and be sure to say you are with the Northern Virginia Bird Club. Check-in time is 3 pm on Friday, February 2, with 24-hour notice required for cancellation. Chincoteague NWR is a US fee area.
—Elton Morel
NVBC GENERAL MEETING—WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 8 PM
Wood Thrush Research and Conservation
Speaker: Dana McCoskey
Dana McCoskey assisted with the research of Wood Thrushes on their Indiana breeding grounds as part of a larger Smithsonian Institution project. At George Mason University, she used DNA sequencing and barcoding to develop a novel method to study migratory bird diets and identify prey species that the thrushes in Indiana forage on in different types of forests. Dana’s presentation will focus on Wood Thrush research and conservation.
Dana McCoskey is a fish and wildlife ecologist who spent over ten years in the field conducting research on migratory animals, monitoring threatened and endangered species, and studying the effects of land use practices such as forestry, fire, and renewable energy development on animal populations. This work took her into the forests, streams, refuges, and back country of Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho, Nevada, Indiana, Massachusetts, Hawaii and Costa Rica. She is a board member of the DC Audubon Society focused on bird conservation and education. She currently works for Allegheny Science and Technology supporting environmental research initiatives onsite in the US Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office.
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: St. Andrews Episcopal Church, 4000 Lorcom Lane, Arlington, 22207.
Presidential Peentings
If you measure your life based on your experiences, then birding should be a perfect match for you. Every life bird is a novelty and every new birding location is an adventure. For beginning birders, these new encounters can sometimes come at a furious pace. I remember when I first started birding, I would often go to Huntley Meadows Park. Usually, it was not a matter of if I would find a lifer there, but how many I would find. I also enjoyed traveling all around the region exploring local birding hotspots that were all new to me. The sense of wonder and discovery was exhilarating. As a birding community, we should all be going the extra mile to encourage beginning birders. They are the future of birding and it’s up to us to make sure that they feel included.
I have noticed that some new birders these days are strongly focused on the photography aspect of birding. A few do not even carry binoculars and use just their camera to bird. They may miss a few birds that others see, but they can often capture some amazing bird images. I would still recommend that everyone carry binoculars while birding, but to each his own. I want as many people as possible to experience the wonders of the natural world in whatever way is best for them. Also consider the fact that every birder, no matter how experienced, started out as a beginning birder. We need to do our best to inspire new birders so that they keep it up and potentially become valuable advocates for our birds and for the conservation of our environment.
—Larry Meade
Youth Birding Scholarship Opportunity
The Northern Virginia Bird Club is sponsoring the Val Kitchens Memorial Young Birder Scholarship for 2018. We are seeking applicants from 13 to 18 years of age to receive a financial grant of up to $500 to attend a Virginia Society of Ornithology (VSO) activity, a birding camp, a birding course or educational offering, or a similar activity. Applicants are asked to submit a completed application form with a short essay describing the goals in participating in the planned activity. Candidates will be asked to provide a reference from a member of NVBC, VSO, or from a birder familiar to the club.
The deadline is February 1, 2018. Applications can be submitted as an attachment via email to the Club at lgmeade@gmail.com, or mailed to Northern Virginia Bird Club, Attn: Scholarship, P.O. Box 5812, Arlington, VA 22205-0812. The scholarship application form and program guidelines are available online at www.nvabc.org/youth-birding-scholarship-opportunity. For more information, interested parties can call David Farner at 443-643-6141 or Ghazali Raheem at 703-563-3810.
—Ghazali Raheem
Winter Waterfowl Survey
On Saturday, February 3 and Sunday, February 4, 2018, birders of all skill levels will join up to count waterfowl in Fairfax, Arlington, and Prince William counties, including the Potomac and Occoquan watersheds. Novice birders will be paired with expert bird enthusiasts. Larry Cartwright continues as the volunteer compiler for this year’s count. For more information and to join the team, email info@audubonva.org or call 703-438-6008.
Treasurer’s Report for Fiscal Year 2017
The Club has 366 family and individual memberships, with 500 total members.
Income received
Dues for 2017: $4,456
Bird Watcher’s Digest & pins: $20
Donations: $181
Total Income: $4,657
Expenses
Organizational costs: $707 (includes fees for PO box, state registration, VSO dues, Paypal, website hosting, and supplies)
Meeting expenses: $1,021 (includes hall rental, speaker honorariums, prizes, refreshments)
Printing and postage: $2,515 (includes bulk mail permit)
Scholarships: $500
Total expenses: $4,743
Net for 2017: -$86
The Club anticipated and achieved close to a breakeven budget. Our largest expense area is the printing and mailing of our Siskin newsletter. Members continue to value receiving a mailed copy as well as having the information on our website. Once again the Club awarded a Val Kitchens Memorial scholarship to a youth birder. Net assets at the end of the year were $7,821.
—Jean Tatalias, Treasurer
CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNTS IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA
Thursday, December 14, 2017: BROOKE, VA (Stafford area, lower Potomac). Contact coordinators and compiler, Laurel Bybell at lbybell@gmail.com or David Govoni at david.govoni@gmail.com.
Saturday, December 16, 2017: WASHINGTON D.C. Includes area of Virginia inside the Beltway and parts of Fairfax County south of Alexandria to include Dyke Marsh. Contact compiler, Larry Cartwright: prowarbler@verizon.net or contact Carol Hayes at carol.hayes@anshome.org or 301-652-9188 extension 10.
Sunday, December 17, 2017: MANASSAS-BULL RUN. Contact Bob Shipman at ships333@yahoo.com or register online at www.audubonva.org/christmas-bird-count/.
Sunday, December 17, 2017: SENECA MD/VA. Count has five Virginia sectors. Contact compiler Jim Nelson at kingfishers2@verizon.net.
Sunday, December 17, 2017: THE PLAINS/AIRLIE. Contact compiler Sue Garvin at sgarvin@envstudies.org.
Saturday, December 23, 2017: CALMES NECK. Parts of western Loudoun and eastern Clarke counties. Contact Margaret Wester at margaretwester@hotmail.com by Dec 18.
Saturday, December 23, 2017: NOKESVILLE. Contact Kim Hosen at 703-499-4954 or khosen@pwconserve.org.
Thursday, December 28, 2017: CENTRAL LOUDOUN. Sign up at www.loudounwildlife.org or contact Joe Coleman at 540-554-2542 or joecoleman@rstarmail.com.
Sunday, December 31, 2017: FORT BELVOIR. Contact compiler, Kurt Gaskill at kurtcapt87@verizon.net or 703-768-2172.
Sunday, December 31, 2017: SUGARLOAF MOUNTAIN. Contact Gerco Hoogeweg at drgerco@hotmail.com.
Sunday, December 31, 2017: WALKERTON. Contact Fred Atwood at fredatwood@yahoo.com by Dec 16.
Report from Hog Island
This summer I attended Hog Island’s Coastal Maine Bird Studies for Teens in midcoast Maine. Hog Island is a small, 330-acre island in Muscongus Bay with a rocky coast and spruce-fir forests. During the week I was able to meet fellow young birders from all over the country that shared my passion for birds. We went birding around the island every day, seeing lots of the breeding warblers, kinglets and Winter Wrens, as well as Black Guillemots, Common Eiders, scoters, and Common Loons on the bay.
The most special day at camp was visiting Eastern Egg Rock, the seven-acre island known for its Atlantic Puffins, which Steve Kress reintroduced after they were extirpated from the bay due to overhunting. I was able to watch the puffins at close range for about an hour and a half, which I consider the most exhilarating and memorable birding experience of my life. Overall, Hog Island is a truly magical place with some amazing people that share your passion. It is a life-changing experience that I highly recommend.
—Max Nootbaar, 2017 Recipient of the Val Kitchens Memorial Young Birder Scholarship
Observing Mississippi Kites in Northern Virginia
During the spring and summer of 2017, I had the opportunity to closely monitor two local nestings of Mississippi Kites (Ictinia mississippiensis), one near the Green Spring Gardens Park in Fairfax County and a second one near Monticello Park in Alexandria. There were at least five pairs reported nesting in Northern Virginia in 2017. The Green Spring pair returned to the same tree as 2016 and successfully fledged two chicks. In Alexandria, as many as six kites were seen soaring in May before a pair established a nest, hatching two and fledging one chick.
As interesting as the nest and young kites were, I found watching the adult birds fly and hunt to be especially satisfying. This is a truly beautiful and elegant bird, which can just sit on the wind, navigate with its tail, and then execute almost instantaneous and stunning dives after insect prey. The kites from all of the nestings left on their migration to South America shortly before Labor Day. Presumably, next spring the same or different pairs of adults will return. The easiest and best time to see them is when they first arrive in very late April or early May.
—Donald Sweig
CLUB CONTACTS & NOTICES
President: Larry Meade, 703-206-9030
Vice President, Programs: David Farner, 443-643-6141
Vice President, Field Activities: Elton Morel, 703-553-4860
Secretary: Diane Marton, 703-527-7360
Treasurer: Jean Tatalias, 703-281-6099
Membership: Elizabeth Fenton, 703-533-0851
Next Board Meeting: Wednesday, December 6, 2017, 7:30 pm, at Diane Marton’s home.
Deadline for next issue of The Siskin: January 1, 2018. Send items to siskineditor@verizon.net.
Birder Discount: 10% discount for NVBC members at Birdwatchers Seed and Supply Company (Vienna). Mention the club at checkout.