Prothonotary Warblers are back in the Coastal Plain. Many thanks to Jim Easton, a CVWO volunteer, who prepared this collage showing the beautiful Prothonotary Warbler nesting cycle. |
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Message from the President
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by Brian Taber
Spring is a welcome arrival and has spurred volunteers and me to get out to rehab and clean up our pollinator gardens.
Thanks to Martina Coker, a new Board member who lives on the
Eastern Shore, our Butterfly Garden at Kiptopeke State Park is rapidly growing to meet the needs of butterflies, bees, wasps, hummingbirds and other pollinators. Many thanks to Kiptopeke State Park for the mulch. Cup Plant and Mistflower are coming up and will be good nectar plants by summer. Milkweed and Goldenrod emerging to help Monarchs. Stop by to see the growing garden!
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Butterfly Garden at Kiptopeke State Park. Photo by Martina Coker |
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Photo of interpretive sign at the James City County Marina Garden. Photo by Brian Taber. |
At CVWO’s Butterfly Garden at the Jamestown Marina, Golden Alexander is blooming, which is a host for Black Swallowtail and Pipevine is coming up, the host for Pipevine Swallowtail. Other natives – Green-headed Coneflower, Mountain Mint and Bergamot – are growing fast.
The cast of pollinator characters in these gardens changes almost daily. I encourage you to visit the garden to learn more about the native plants and the pollinators they attract.
Thanks, as always, for your continuing support.
Brian Taber
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Northern Harrier migrating north April 10 over the College Creek Hawkwatch. Photo by Nancy Barnhart. |
By Brian Taber
At the College Creek Hawkwatch along the James River between Williamsburg and Jamestown, we set another new record after last year's record due to a big and early Turkey Vulture flight. Last year's total raptor count was 2426. As of April 29, the new record is 2437!
We are glad to report the Red-tailed Hawk total of 37 in 2021 is better than last year's very low count of 15.
All the migrating birds our counters and observers see are entered into the hawkwatch count web site. On April 28, observers recorded one American White Pelican over Hog Island in Surry County and 3 Greater Yellowlegs flew north from College Creek, James City towards Hog Island.
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We're continuing our educational efforts wherever we are – masked and socially distanced still. In late March we hosted a group of naturalists from the Historic Rivers Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists along the shore of the James River. In the photos above and below, Nancy Barnhart, one of our hawkwatchers, described what we're doing and how we're counting migrating raptors. |
Social distancing and masks at College Creek Hawkwatch in late March. Both photos by Lisa Nickel. |
We enter our daily counts at HMANA's HawkCount website. It's open to the public and you can see the daily counts at over 30 hawk watch sites around the country.
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CVWO Awards Three Research Grants |
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Each spring CVWO awards research grants to several graduate students at area universities performing bird research. This year we awarded three grants to these outstanding students:
Moira Meehan received the Bill Akers Research Grant for her research into "Novel Approach to the Detection of Avian Window Collisions." Moira is a graduate student at William and Mary and her advisor is Dr. John Swaddle.
Michael Academia received the Ruth Beck Research Grant for his research into "Ospreys as an Indicator Species for Atlantic Menhaden Stocks." Michael is a graduate student at William and Mary and his advisor is Dr. Bryan Watts of the Center for Conservation Biology and William and Mary.
Grant Bowers received the Bob Ake Research Grant for his research into "Nestedness and Modularity of Chesapeake Bay Island Avifauna." Grant is a graduate student studying under Dr. Eric Walters at Old Dominion University.
Congratulations to each and best wishes in their research endeavors!
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CVWO Monitors Prothonotary Warblers, Eastern Bluebirds, and Wood Ducks |
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A Wood Duck nest full of eggs at Harwoods Mill Reservoir in Newport News. Photo by Dave Youker |
Spring means CVWO volunteers and board members are out in the field monitoring cavity and nest box breeding species. Here are late April reports from the field.
Dave Youker monitors Wood Duck boxes and Prothonotary Warbler boxes in Newport News.
Per Dave, “For the 11 Prothonotary Warbler nest boxes across the two [Newport News] reservoirs, I only have three nesting Carolina Chickadees. During my check on 20 April, Prothonotaries were actively building nests in two boxes at Harwoods Mill. Prothonotaries were singing at Newport News Park, but no nesting activity yet.”
Jim Easton, Brian Taber, and Shirley Devan monitor seven Prothonotary Warbler boxes in the swamp along Powhatan Creek Trail in James City County. As of April 29, one box has a complete Prothonotary Warbler nest with three eggs. Jim has photos of the banded female going in and out of the box. Two other boxes have partial Prothonotary Warbler nests. Three other boxes have Carolina Chickadee nests with eggs or nestlings.
Andy Hawkins reports: "In 2019 thanks to a group of woodworkers in the Colonial Heritage neighborhood, CVWO installed 10 bluebird houses in Mathews County. The new houses were split between the Middle School and the High School with one going to the new kayak launch site at Put-IN Creek. Also, a Prothonotary Warbler nest box was added at Put-IN-Creek. In doing maintenance and cleaning early this spring, I found that all the new bluebird houses had been used by bluebirds in 2020 and the Prothonotary Warbler nest box had hosted a Carolina Chickadee nest. Most of the existing bluebird houses now have nests in them, and we are looking forward to a good year of bluebirds added to Mathews County this year."
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Prothonotary Warbler with a band at Powhatan Creek Trail. Photo by Jim Easton |
Shirley Devan reports that at Northwest River in Chesapeake, VA where she and other CVWO volunteers monitor 82 Prothonotary Warbler nest boxes, April 27 monitoring of 48 boxes revealed 86% of the boxes have nesting activity ranging from a sprig of moss to five eggs. A female Prothonotary Warbler was captured at box A43 as she was putting finishing touches on the nest. She had not been banded before.
Gary Driscole monitors 20 Prothonotary Warbler nest boxes at three locations on the Dragon Run in King and Queen County and Middlesex County. On April 28, Gary reported 12 boxes had varying amounts moss [Prothonotary Warbler nests], and there were 2 Carolina Chickadee nests, one with 7 eggs.
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A female Prothonotary Warbler adds to her nest in box 3 at Powhatan Creek Trail April 23. Photo by Shirley Devan |
Shirley Devan and Babs Giffin check a Prothonotary Warbler nest box at Powhatan Creek Trail in James City County April 23. Photo by Jim Easton |
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Northampton County Supervisors Name Natural Area for Ned Brinkley |
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Ned Brinkley in a familiar pose. Photo by Roberta Kellam |
At its mid-April meeting, the Northampton County Board of Supervisors on the Eastern Shore officially named the new natural area at the former landfill near Oyster for Ned Brinkley, a friend of birders on the Eastern Shore and all over Virginia.
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The Edward S. Brinkley Nature Preserve is the site of many visits and bird discoveries by Cape Charles resident Ned Brinkley over the years. Brinkley was a frequent visitor to the former landfill site. Sadly he died at age 55 last fall in Ecuador while on a birding trip.
Ned was an advisor to CVWO for many years and a frequent visitor to the Kiptopeke Hawkwatch platform in the fall. This naming of the Preserve is a wonderful tribute and honor for a birding friend who loved the Eastern Shore and it avian diversity.
Thank you, Northampton County!
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HRBT April Update: A Tale of Two Islands |
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Meagan Thomas, a Watchable Wildlife Biologist with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, blogs regularly about the seabirds nesting in their new habitat at the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel.
In her April report she describes the "tale of two islands."
"The DWR and partners have invested thousands of hours into making Rip Raps Island an idyllic safe haven for the birds during the nesting season; meanwhile, just mere feet away, an equal amount of time is being spent at South Island to deter the birds from establishing a summer home onsite."
Here is the link to Meagan's extensive April report of the returning birds at Rip Raps Island and the unusual deterrent
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they use on the HRBT South Island to prevent the birds from nesting. HINT: There are dogs involved!! Also great photos of nesting birds and eggs.
You might want to sign up for regular updates on the nesting seabirds at HRBT. Here's how! Click over to this DWR web site.
You'll have to provide your name and email. Specify that you want to receive "Wildlife Updates" in the list. You can also sign up for Hunting News, Fishing Report, Boating Safety, and Conservation Police Notebook.
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Visit and Share CVWO's Website!
You'll find information on raptor, butterfly, songbird and waterbird research as well as beautiful photos and rich stories from the field!
And remember to support our nonprofit work with your tax-deductible donation!
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White-faced White Wagtail. Photo by Shirley Devan |
Check out CVWO's Blog Posts to learn about the super rare White-faced White Wagtail that showed up in the Coastal Plain in mid-April.
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