Week Ending June 19, 2016

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For the last pair of weeks, birding observations expectedly slowed. This is typical of the month of June for several reasons. First, springtime migration reached its end, which means new influxes of birds of varying species stopped trickling through the area. Secondly, as temperatures rise considerably this time of year, often times many birders simply aren’t outdoors as much as they were in the couple of months prior. Lastly, many species of birds are no longer as visible, with fully leafed out vegetation obscuring them from view, and breeding having begun, often times these birds will conceal themselves to protect nest sites. Given all this, it is ‘expected’ that June is a slow month for birding, though there are still plenty of birds to be found, many of us were just spoiled by the impressive spring migration showing across the region, and just need to settle into the summer slowdown. But, this week held one fantastic observation that many folks were able to take part in, more on that below! WEEKLY WEATHER: This week certainly felt like summertime across Virginia Beach, but there was a considerable drop in temperatures from the previous weekly period, resulting in an average daily high of 83.4 degrees F (a 6.6 degree drop from last week’s average); the average daytime lows dropped a bit though, to 68.4 degrees F (a minor 1.7 degree decrease). Overall, we hit a peak high on Thursday (16 Jun) of 90 degrees F (7 degrees lower than last week’s high), and a low daytime temperature of 63 degrees F, on Sunday (19 Jun). As with the past several weeks, we experienced precipitation on three of the seven days this week, though only negligible amounts fell on Wednesday (15 Jun) & Thursday (16 Jun), a total of 0.92 inches of rain accumulated, with 0.87 inches of it falling on Friday (17 Jun). WEEKLY OBSERVATIONS: On Wednesday morning while still out of town visiting my childhood home in northern Minnesota, I received a text message from Andrew Baldelli detailing that a photograph had been submitted into eBird of a BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCK (14 Jun / Lake Joyce / Kim Garcia) that was simply input as a “Duck sp.”. For those unfamiliar with eBird, the term “Duck sp.” Is typically used when someone sees a duck, but they are unable to determine which species it is; usually this occurs on very distant birds flying past, when field marks may not be discernible. However, in this case, I believe the observer simply was not aware of how to input a “Rare” species, as they do not show up by default on the checklist submissions. This is done purposely so that erroneous rarities are not reported with frequency, and it forces birders to understand that the sighting was truly unusual and requires additional information be added. Anyways, I received the text message and put out the information to several close birding friends via text message, and then posted it to the Hampton Roads Wildlife Enthusiasts and the VA Notable Bird Sightings & Discussion Group on Facebook. It wasn’t too long before reports started populating eBird, and it was obvious the bird was still in the area. Interestingly, the initial checklist stated the bird had been present for 7 days already, and it continued all the way through the end of the week. It is my hope, though possibly unrealistic, that it might stick around until I can get back home. This species was last observed in Virginia Beach back in 2013 according to the annual VARCOM (Virginia Avian Records Committee) reports, so anyone who got to see it should consider themselves very fortunate! This sighting has been added to the Noteworthy Observations page (Under the Distribution Tab above, select Noteworthy Observations) on the site, with links to everyone’s eBird reports in case anyone would like to see photos of the bird. 

In addition to this fantastic rarity and continuing observations of Least Bitterns & Northern Bobwhites, there was also two LATE OCCURRENCES of individual American Coots at Back Bay NWR (13 Jun / David Gibson and 16 Jun / Rebecca Walawender) reported, though this was the only species that lingered into this week unexpectedly (though perhaps slightly expected since Coots can summer, but it is still worth noting when they do). Some other species that appear to summer more regularly now are Black Scoters, and Common Loons; the former having been seen again during this week in Virginia Beach waters. With less observers likely out in the field during June, the number of WEEKLY RELEVANT SPECIES DOCUMENTED BY MEDIA submitted for Virginia Beach this week wasn’t expected to be high, but with the Black-bellied Whistling-Duck present, it helped out the situation considerably! This week’s Virginia Beach eBird media postings included: MONDAY (13 JUN) – Barn Swallow (Back Bay Landing Rd. / Karen & Tom Beatty); Great Crested Flycatcher & Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Munden Rd. / Karen & Tom Beatty). TUESDAY (14 JUN) – Double-crested Cormorant, Brown Pelican, Green Heron, Osprey, White-eyed Vireo, Purple Martin, Carolina Wren, Cedar Waxwing, Yellow-breasted Chat, Northern Cardinal, Indigo Bunting & Red-winged Blackbird (Back Bay NWR / Karen & Tom Beatty); Clapper Rail (Breeding) (Pleasure House Point NA / Eric Alton); Wood Duck (Dam Neck Naval Annex / Karen & Tom Beatty). WEDNESDAY (15 JUN) – Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (Lake Joyce / Ron Furnish & Marie Mullins); Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (Lake Joyce / Robert Ake); Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (Lake Joyce / Timothy Barry); Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (Lake Joyce / Andrew Baldelli). THURSDAY (16 JUN) – Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (Lake Joyce / Jason Strickland); Black-bellied Whistling-Duck & Mallard (Lake Joyce / Karen & Tom Beatty); Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (Lake Joyce / Jessica Ausura & Ernie Miller); Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (Lake Joyce / Clark Olsen); Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (Lake Joyce / Tony Wood). FRIDAY (17 JUN) – Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (Lake Joyce / Adam Bollinger); Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (Lake Joyce / Jonathan Snyder); Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (Lake Joyce / Daniel Carlson); Eastern Bluebird (fledglings) (Davenport Ln. / Tommy Maloney). SUNDAY (19 JUN) – Orchard Oriole (Back Bay NWR / Daniel Carlson). LOOKAHEAD: Next week, we reach the longest day of the year, so get out and enjoy all that daylight! If you haven’t done so yet, head up to Lake Joyce and see the Black-bellied Whistling-Duck while you have a chance!

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For more information on the Weekly Birding Blog, please check out the Journal Overview Page on the website. It provides background information as to what sightings are considered for the blog, the format of the blog, and will likely answer other questions any readers might be wondering about as well.

Week Ending June 12, 2016

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First, I’d like to offer my sincerest apologies for the lateness of this week’s birding blog entry. I have been out of the area (in northern Minnesota) since 10 Jun, and did not have the chance to get everything taken care of before I departed Virginia Beach. Hopefully, next week’s will be back on track, so thanks to those who patiently waited. As is typical of the month of June, birding was very slow across the region with not a whole lot of sightings that were out of the ordinary. WEEKLY WEATHER: Warm weather continued on from last week with the daily high increasing to 89.0 degrees F (a 6.7 degree rise from last week’s average); the average daytime lows dropped a bit though, to 70.1 degrees F (a 2.6 degree decrease). Overall, we hit a peak high on Sunday (12 Jun) of 97 degrees F (a new high mark for the calendar year), and a low daytime temperature of 60 degrees F, on Thursday (9 Jun). We experienced precipitation on three of the seven days this week, with a total of 1.53 inches of rain. Most of this occurred on Tuesday (7 Jun) when 1.27 inches fell.

For the first week in a while, no birds that would be considered to be RARITIES were observed. TOP BIRDS this week including some of our breeding species that can be hard to find, including a Least Bittern (6 Jun / Back Bay NWR / Rebecca Walawender), a Northern Bobwhite (11 Jun / Pefley Lane near Munden Point Park / David Clark), and also the continuing reports of the nesting Mississippi Kites on Burroughs Road in the Throroughgood region of Virginia Beach. Also, a Clapper Rail (Karen & Tom Beatty) was  observed out on the rocky shoreline of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel’s first Island (South Thimble Island). This species itself is not unusual in Virginia Beach, but according to comments in the Hampton Roads Wildlife Enthusiasts Facebook group (Ned Brinkley), it is highly unusual to see this occur outside of the migration period for this species during April & May, so a very neat find, and one captures with nice photographs! Interestingly, while rarities were absent, we did see several LATE OCCURRENCES (lingering winter residents or spring migrants), including Spotted Sandpiper (6 Jun / Pleasure House Point / Rob Bielawski), and (6 Jun / Back Bay NWR / Rebecca Walawnder); Red Knot (6 Jun / Back Bay NWR / Rebecca Walawender); and American Coot (6 Jun / Back Bay NWR / Rebecca Walawender). Lastly, WEEKLY RELEVANT SPECIES DOCUMENTED BY MEDIA submitted for Virginia Beach this week included the following, which as mentioned previously,  during the summer months, breeding species get their time to shine, and will make up the majority of ‘relevant’ sightings. This week’s Virginia Beach eBird media postings included: MONDAY (6 JUN) – Wood Duck (Kings Grant Lakes / Rob Bielawski); Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Green Heron, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Clapper Rail, American Oystercatcher, Spotted Sandpiper, Laughing Gull, Black Skimmer, Northern Mockingbird and Red-winged Blackbird (Pleasure House Point NA / Rob Bielawski). THURSDAY (9 JUN) – Clapper Rail, American Oystercatcher, Laughing Gull & Royal Tern (South Thimble Island / Karen & Tom Beatty); Black Scoter, Royal Tern and Sandwich Tern  (Fort Story / Karen & Tom Beatty). LOOKAHEAD: Since I’m writing this report so late, a lookahead doesn’t make much sense to write, but if you have not yet been made aware, there is a BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCK present on Lake Joyce near Dubay Properties (see Ron Furnish & Marie Mullins' report for more information)! It has been a long time since this species has been found inside Virginia Beach’s boundaries (2013 was the last occurrence according to VARCOM’s reports), so for anyone in the area, this is a must find bird!

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For more information on the Weekly Birding Blog, please check out this Journal Overview Page on the website. It provides background information as to what sightings are considered for the blog, the format of the blog, and will likely answer other questions any readers might be wondering about as well.

Week Ending June 5, 2016

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As with the previous week, noteworthy and unusual observations were slow during this 7-day period, as the spring songbird migration is now past us, and shorebirds are also wrapping up. June and July are generally considered to be the ‘breeding season’ for birds, and therefore most of the observations from now until August will likely be of the species that nest in Virginia Beach, including birds that remain here year-round (permanent residents) and those the winter south of us but return each year to breed (summer residents). As unexpected rarities pop up, they will certainly be covered in this blog as well, but the likelihood of spotting something truly unusual declines outside of the migration windows of spring and fall. Still, birds are a dynamic group of wildlife, and strange things can occur at any point in time. Some items to note this week, the impoundments at Princess Anne WMA’s Beasley Tract are being drained, which means the Green-winged Teal sighted there a week ago will not likely have habitat for nesting this summer. Also, if the Purple Gallinule is still present, it may be seeking out a new home. Water levels at Back Bay NWR’s freshwater impoundment system remain pretty high for the time of year, and while this is great for wading species like herons and egrets, it doesn’t bode too well for the shorebirds that can use the mudflats. Though, shorebirds are dwindling right now as it is since most species breed in the high Arctic of the far north. We’ll see their return starting again in July. WEEKLY WEATHER: The finale of May and the start of June proved to be a rather warm timeframe, and tropical weather became a focal point as the 2016 Atlantic Hurricane Season began on 1 Jun. With a major spike in the temperatures occurring last week, the momentum was essentially maintained again, with the daily high of 83.3 degrees F (a minor 1.6 degree drop from last week’s average); the average daytime lows rose though, to 72.7 degrees F (a 7.4 degree increase) which means our days felt much warmer this week since we didn’t get to experience the early morning or late evening cooldown’s of the previous 7 days. Overall, we hit a peak high on Sunday (5 Jun) of 93 degrees F (matching the high mark set on 26 May), and a low daytime temperature of 71 degrees F, on Wednesday (1 Jun), a remarkable 14 degree rise over last week’s daytime low! We experienced precipitation on three of the seven days this week, with a total of 2.22 inches of rain. Most of this occurred on Monday (30 May) when 1.29 inches fell, and then late on Sunday a very strong storm front moved across Virginia Beach with winds gusting to 60 mph; only 0.61 inches of rain was recorded, but more likely fell since gauges can’t accurately measure rainfall when it is moving almost horizontally due to the winds. Lastly, Tropical Storm Bonnie, which had spawned on 27 May, and made landfall at Charleston, SC on 29 May, continued its slow trek along the coast this week, moving northeastward towards the Outer Banks of North Carolina. On Wednesday, while the remnants of the tropical storm were situated just off Cape Hatteras, a “six-pack” (named for the smaller fishing boats with a maximum group capacity of 6 individuals) pelagic trip which left from Rudee Inlet aboard the Top Notch was benefited by the easterly winds produced by the low pressure system to the south. More on those sightings below!

While the Purple Gallinule at Princess Anne WMA’s Beasley Tract was not seen during the last 7 days, and it may or may not be around anymore, several TOP BIRDS were observed. The BLACK-NECKED STILT first observed on 17 May was observed again this week through Tuesday (31 May) but no sightings occurred after this, and several individuals did submit checklists from the park so it appears they have departed, likely flying further north towards Chincoteague NWR where pairs have nested in previous years. A COMMON GALLINULE was heard at the park also on Tuesday (31 May) by Karen & Tom Beatty, but no sightings of this species occurred this week. Benefitting from the low pressure system south of us, Tracy Tate was able to find a single SOOTY SHEARWATER off of 85th Street Beach on Wednesday (1 Jun) and a Red Knot was observed on the beach at Back Bay NWR (Karen & Tom Beatty). Additionally that same day, Wilson’s Storm-Petrels were reported near-shore as the “six-pack” pelagic trip (Bob Ake, Ned Brinkley, Todd Day, James Fox, Mike Stinson & Jason Strickland) was heading out from Rudee Inlet en route to Norfolk Canyon which sits in Northampton County waters about 60 miles offshore along the continental shelf break. While the storm-petrels were the only noteworthy species observed within Virginia Beach’s boundaries by this group, it is important to note that they also observed Great, Sooty, Manx & Audubon’s Shearwaters, Wilson’s, Leach’s & Band-rumped Storm-Petrels, Red-necked Phalaropes, Pomarine Jaegers, and a Bridled Tern in Northampton County waters just to our north. For the first week in a long time, no FIRST-OF-SEASON ARRIVALS and FIRST-OF-YEAR FINDS were observed in Virginia Beach. Though no review flags in eBird were set off by LATE OCCURRENCES, American Coots, Common Loons and Black Scoters all continue to be reported. The coots should be departing soon, as any occurring through the summer months here would be rare, but the loons and scoters seem to summer off the coastline in low numbers in recent years, so they will likely continue to be reported. Lastly, there was a great number of WEEKLY RELEVANT SPECIES DOCUMENTED BY MEDIA submitted for Virginia Beach this week. During the summer months, breeding species get their time to shine, and will make up the majority of ‘relevant’ sightings. This week’s Virginia Beach eBird media postings included: MONDAY (30 MAY) – House Wren (Beach Garden Park / Rob Bielawski); Osprey (nest for Virginia Breeding Bird Atlas) (Shore Drive / Laura Mae); Common Loon (Lynnhaven Inlet / Laura Mae). TUESDAY (31 MAY) - King Rail audio (Princess Anne WMA / Karen & Tom Beatty); WEDNESDAY (1 JUN) – Eastern Screech-Owl (83rd Street / Laura Horan); Royal Tern & Black Skimmer (Back Bay NWR / Karen & Tom Beatty); Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (Dale Drive / Pamela Monahan); Red Knot (Back Bay NWR / Karen & Tom Beatty). THURSDAY (2 JUN) – Canada Goose, Brown Pelican & Semipalmated Sandpiper (Camp Pendleton Restricted / Karen & Tom Beatty). SATURDAY (4 JUN) – Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Common Yellowthroat & Red-winged Blackbird (Back Bay NWR / Rob Bielawski); White Ibis & American Coot (Princess Anne WMA / Rob Bielawski); Barn Swallow (Back Bay Landing Road / Rob Bielawski); Mallard & Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (Kings Grant Lakes / Rob Bielawski). SUNDAY (5 JUN) – Herring Gull & Royal Tern (South Thimble Island / Rob Bielawski). LOOKAHEAD: The effects of Tropical Storm Colin, the earliest 3rd storm of the season to ever form (5 Jun), will be worth tracking as this next few days unfolds. Currently it sits in the Gulf of Mexico but is expected to cross over towards South & North Carolina in the next couple of days. If it takes a course similar to what Bonnie took last week, the counterclockwise spin of the low pressure system could provide Virginia Beach with some stronger-than-normal, onshore winds. These onshore winds could bring in some species closer to shore than normal. Just a couple of weeks ago Ned Brinkley mentioned in the Hampton Roads Wildlife Enthusiasts Facebook group that such winds can push Parasitic Jaeger, Wilson’s Storm-Petrel, Sooty Shearwater and potentially others close to shore. Of course, the track, speed, and strength of the storm all come into play, but it worth keeping up to date on, maybe someone will get a seabird in close again like Tracy Tate’s Sooty Shearwater later week!

For more information on the Weekly Birding Blog, please check out this page on the website. It provides background information as to what sightings are considered for the blog, the format of the blog, and will likely answer other questions any readers might be wondering about as well. If you have photographs of birds you are trying to identify, consider joining the Hampton Roads Wildlife Enthusiasts Group on Facebook, there are many knowledgeable folks there who can help. The page can be found Here!

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Week Ending May 29, 2016

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After three utterly incredible weeks of springtime birding in Virginia Beach, we all expected a slow-down to eventually occur, and by about midweek the migration switch appeared to be abruptly turned to the off position. May was a truly historic month for us on the coast, and those of us who spent time outdoors were blessed by the opportunity to observe species that are not found here every spring. Most of this was due to persistent southwesterly winds early in the month, followed by strong northerlies. The southwesterlies assisted in pushing northbound songbirds that typically prefer mountain corridors towards the coastline. The northerly winds then ensured that those species would stick around in the area, as songbirds depend on tailwinds to help accelerate their nighttime travels northward. Over the past few days southerly winds took hold, which allowed for the exodus of our transient species northward, bidding us farewell until the fall season arrives. WEEKLY WEATHER: This final week of May was dominated by warm temperatures & persistent humidity. Up until this week, temperatures throughout the spring season had remained lower than typical, but this week, the daily high soared to 84.9 degrees F (an incredible 15 degree rise from last week’s average); the average daytime lows also rose considerably, to 65.3 degrees F (an 8.7 degree increase). Overall, we hit a peak high on Thursday (26 May) of 93 degrees F (18 degrees higher than last week and our hottest day of the year thus far), and a low daytime temperature of 57 degrees F, on Tuesday (24 May). We experienced precipitation on just two of the seven days this week, with a total of 0.46 inches of rain. Interestingly, with hurricane season set to commence on 1 Jun, it wasn’t a huge surprise that the Atlantic basin saw its first tropical cyclone of the season develop on Friday (27 May). This disturbance was given the title of Tropical Depression Bonnie. Earlier in the year, during January, Hurricane Alex formed, and this is why what I’m referring to as our first of the season storm was given the “B” designation rather than the expected “A”. Bonnie increased to tropical storm strength before making landfall near Charleston, SC on Sunday (29 May) where it stalled out along the coastline. The reason I bring this up, is because tropical cyclones have the ability to impact bird sightings even as far away as we are. If the track of the storm continue up the coast in the coming days, and we receive strong, onshore winds (winds blowing southeasterly or easterly from the ocean onto land), there exists a potential to spot species in close to shore that don’t typically occur here such as Parasitic Jaeger, Sooty Shearwater, Wilson’s Storm-Petrel, and maybe even Great Shearwater. Savvy seawatchers may be in for some pleasant surprises if the predicted track of the storm holds, and I know of at least one pelagic boat trip planned for the coming week as well. More on this in next week’s blog as the situation develops.

As to this week’s sightings in Virginia Beach, no new RARITIES were observed, but the PURPLE GALLINULE found on 16 May at Princess Anne Wildlife Management Area’s Beasley Tract continued to be observed & photographed several times throughout the week, with the most recent occurrence being on Sunday (29 May). Along with the Purple Gallinule, the BLACK-NECKED STILT first observed on 17 May at the same location was still present through Sunday as well. Interestingly, on 24 May, David Gibson observed and photographed two individuals side-by-side, marking the first time this year that more than one Black-necked Stilt has been observed simultaneously in Virginia Beach. This pair was present through Wednesday (25 May), but for the remainder of the week only a single individual was reported, so it is not clear whether both are still present though it appears that at least one has moved out of the area. Not technically a true rarity, but an observation of a Parasitic Jaeger (24 May / Rudee Inlet / Cheryl J Jacobson) is also worth noting. With spring songbird migration suffering a sharp decline & it’s likely end this week, FIRST-OF-SEASON ARRIVALS and FIRST-OF-YEAR FINDS were very hard to come by, with the only new arrival being a Wilson’s Storm-Petrel (24 May / Rudee Inlet / Cheryl J Jacobson). Review flags in eBird were also set off by a just a pair of LATE OCCURRENCES, including only American Woodcock (last observed 26 May / Princess Anne WMA / Andrew Baldelli & Tracy Tate. A report also surfaced for a pair of Green-winged Teal observed at Princess Anne WMA (25 May / Barry Kinzie & John Pancake), which is much later than the expected departure date of 5 May. Continuing the effort of promoting the use of eBird for observation reporting & media (photo/audio/video) storage, there was a great number of WEEKLY RELEVANT SPECIES DOCUMENTED BY MEDIA submitted for Virginia Beach this week, which included: TUESDAY (24 MAY) – Purple Gallinule & Black-necked Stilt (Princess Anne WMA / David Gibson); Scarlet Tanager (Five Forks Road / Tracy Tate); Semipalmated Plover, Common Nighthawk & Blackpoll Warbler (Back Bay NWR / Rob Bielawski); Purple Gallilnule (Princess Anne WMA / Lisa Rose). WEDNESDAY (25 MAY) – Swainson’s Thrush audio (Hunt Club Forest Neighborhood / Karen & Tom Beatty); Purple Gallinule (Princess Anne WMA / David Wendelken); Purple Gallinule, Black-necked Stilt & Solitary Sandpiper (Princess Anne WMA / Rob Bielawski); Eastern Screech-Owl (83rd Street / Laura Horan). THURSDAY (26 MAY) – Semipalmated Sandpiper (Pleasure House Point NA / Conor Farrell); Black-necked Stilt (Princess Anne WMA / Kim Harrell). SATURDAY (28 MAY) – Black-necked Stilt (Princess Anne WMA / Jeffrey Blalock). SUNDAY (29 MAY) – Eastern Screech-Owl (83rd Street / Laura Horan); Whimbrel (Back Bay NWR / Rob Bielawski); 

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The above listing of observations has been compiled using publicly displayed information submitted to www.eBird.org. This Weekly Birding Blog runs on a schedule of Monday through Sunday year-round. If you would like your photographs or sightings to be included in the Blog, please ensure your observation is reported to eBird by the end of day Sunday. The term “relevant media” typically refers during the spring months (Mar/Apr/May) to breeding species arrivals, spring transients & rarities; during the breeding season (Jun/Jul) the focus will be on breeding species, lingering spring transients or early fall transients & rarities; fall migration (Aug/Sep/Oct/Nov) will focus on arriving winter species, fall transients & rarities, and lastly, winter (Dec/Jan/Feb) will focus on wintering species & rarities. For more information on these types of species, please visit the Distribution section of the website, which can be accessed on the black toolbar above this blog & just below the page banner. Also, any rarities mentioned will also be added to the Noteworthy Observations listed, which can also be found under the Distribution heading above.