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Quick Links
In This Newsletter
Due to the ongoing Covid-19 situation, all of the general wildlife and butterfly/dragonfly surveys in this series are suspended until further notice. While chances of transmission may seem slight for outdoor programs like this, it is only prudent to avoid any undue risks until data indicate it is safe to proceed. I will be giving as much notice as possible regarding resumption of the survey schedule.
In the meantime, any findings you may have from your individual outings in the survey circle would be appreciated. Take very good care of yourselves. Looking forward to seeing you all in the not too distant future.
Jim Waggener
Observations from Meadowood
Judy Gallagher
Insect life is a little hard to come by at this time of year, but if one looks carefully, there is still some to be found at Meadowood or nearby.
Have you recently seen tiny black dots bouncing around in moist leaf litter? If so, you may be seeing Springtails. Springtails were once considered to be part of class Insecta (insects), but were separated into a different class, partly because they have internal mouthparts as opposed to insects' external mouthparts. One of the more interesting body parts of Springtails is the furcula, an organ that in conjunction with another organ named the hamula allows the Springtail to spring away from predators. This is a Globular Springtail, only about 1 millimeter in length, on the top of the fold of an Oyster Mushroom.
Winter Crane Flies are unusual for insects in that they survive the winter as active adults. They are seen most often on mild winter days and spend colder days in sheltered areas such as decaying logs or hollow trees. On a warm winter day, you may see a swarm of males bobbing up and down a few feet from the ground. The larvae eat decaying vegetation, but the adults don't eat much. Birds and bats eat Winter Crane Flies.
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President's Corner February 2021
Tom Blackburn, ASNV President
My favorite bird tends to vary with the seasons, and sometimes is determined by what I’ve seen most recently. The Painted Bunting that has been delighting birders along the C&O Canal held the title of “favorite” for a day or so. A delighted birder commented on eBird that it looked like a sparrow that had been painted by a parrot. But for me, a true favorite has to be more than a one-day wonder.
My long-term favorite winter bird is the Northern Pintail. It is far more graceful looking than mallards and most of the other ducks in the Anas genus which look a little dumpy in comparison. The male Northern Pintail’s slender white neck is accentuated by the white stripe extending up the back of its head. Its graceful look and long tail feathers give it an elegant aspect that I think looks like it’s dressed for a formal dinner – as a guest, not an entrée.
The Northern Pintail has a surprisingly extensive range. They breed in northern latitudes throughout the world, and their nonbreeding range extends into sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia. I found them summering in Alaska and the Siberian coast, and wintering in Hawaii and in Myanmar, where flocks of several hundred raft up in wetlands. Of course, there are much easier places to see them, including Huntley Meadows Park in Fairfax County, where you can reliably find them all winter. They also can be found in the Elizabeth Hartwell Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge, where you have the additional opportunity to see from 70 to 250 Tundra Swans.
Northern Pintails, like other dabbling ducks, eat aquatic plants. Their long necks allow them to obtain food in deeper waters than many other dabblers. Like songbirds, they eat invertebrates during the breeding season to provide more protein for their young.
Northern Pintails are considered to be of low conservation concern. However, like so many other birds, their numbers have declined dramatically due to habitat loss. There are now 70% fewer Northern Pintails than there were 50 years ago.
Even if you’re not an enthusiastic birder, take an hour or so to explore your local wetlands or rivers for wintering ducks. You can decide for yourself whether your favorite is the Northern Pintail, the blue-billed Ruddy Duck, the green-headed Northern Shoveler, the spectacular Hooded Mergansers and Buffleheads or another duck. You’ve got just a few weeks left before they start making their way north for breeding season.
Photo: Dick Daniels, under a Wikimedia Creative Commons license. You can find the photo at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Northern_Pintail_male_RWD.jpg.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en.
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Events, Workshops, Classes and Online Programs
February Fireside Chat, February roundup
Join us for a continuation of our January Fireside Chats with Dr. Tom Wood on Monday, February 8 at 8:00 PM. We will start with a special guest, Freya McGregor, to discuss “Birdability,” and access to birding for everyone. We will check in on your bird haiku progress from last time (don’t worry if you have not written one yet!) and share seasonal stories. Did you have an adventure seeking out waterfowl recently? Perhaps you would like to share the awe of your first sighting of a young Bald Eagle poking its head out of the nest in a February past? How are your bluebirds? It’s time to start getting their nest boxes ready. Whether you are a beginner, experienced birder or tall-tail storyteller, we welcome you - it’s always a good time around the fire.
This event is FREE, but registration is required.
ONLINE: Monday, February 8, 8:00 to 9:00 PM EST
Cost: FREE, Register here
Limit: 300
Winter Waterfowl Count Tally Rally
Learn about the highlights of this year’s waterfowl count and celebrate with our community. Open to everyone, even if you did not participate in the count. This event is FREE, but registration is required.
ONLINE: Wednesday, February 10, 7:00 to 8:00 PM EST
Cost: FREE, Register here
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Events, Workshops, Classes and Online Programs (continued)
Introduction to Bird and Nature Photography with Brian Zwiebel
 This introductory program is great for beginners but will offer a few nuggets for the intermediate shooter as well. Learn what Brian does and what you should do too, every time you get your hands on a new digital camera. Discover what a histogram is, how to read it and use it to make better exposures. Learn to improve your images with better compositions and backgrounds as well as how to improve your action and behavior images. All of this and much more will be included in the program and each talking point supported by Brian’s award-winning photography.
ONLINE: Thursdays, February 18 & 25, 7:00 to 8:00 PM EST
Cost: $25, Register here
Limit: 150
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Fundamentals of Avian Biology, The Study of Birds: Spring Session
When: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 7:30 to 8:30 PM
March 2, 4, 9, 11, 16, 18, 23, 25, 30; April 1, 13, 15
Where: Virtual
Fee: $150/member; $175/non-member
Limit: 50
Are you new to birding and want to learn more or just want to dig deeper into the subject? Then this class is for you! This course is designed and presented at an introductory but comprehensive university level in 12, 1-hour sessions.
Fundamentals of Avian Biology: Spring Session Topics emphasized in the spring session encompass: bird song; avian diets and foraging; mate selection and social behaviors; breeding biology (incubation, chick-rearing, post-natal care); bird populations; and avian conservation and sustainable management. Instructional presentations will include PowerPoint slides, auditory or video supplements, and some in-class participatory exercises, wrapped up with a 10-15-minute question-and-answer session. Each night’s lecture will be made available to all participants in PDF format.
Instructor: Dr. Haney's expertise straddles the fields of ornithology, marine science, climate change, wildlife biology, ecosystem management and conservation policy. His projects and scholarly work have taken him to Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Bahamas, Lesser Antilles, several countries of southern Africa and the former Soviet Union. He has authored over 80 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and technical notes, over 150 reports, abstracts, testimony, blog communications, and other public documents, and delivered more than 150 invited seminar, conference and workshop presentations. Chris’s knowledge and enthusiasm in the classroom are contagious!
Limit: 50 students. Don’t delay, this class will sell out quickly.
Fee: $150 members, $175 non-members
LINK: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fundamentals-of-avian-biology-the-study-of-birds-spring-session-tickets-131139823743
This course is designed and presented at a university introductory level in two separate sections – Fall and Spring. The two sections are independent and field trips will focus on birds that are present during each season. Spring Session will begin in late winter 2021, there is no prerequisite for this section.
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ASNV Online Programs
Missed one of our programs?
 We’ve moved our classes and workshops to an online format due to the pandemic. We will provide recordings of as many of these events as possible and make them available here, both to keep our members and community engaged while staying at home and to develop an ongoing collection of educational resources. Check back often, as we will add videos and resources as we receive them. Please enjoy!
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Proposed New Migratory Bird Protection Regulations for Virginia
On February 14, 2020, Governor Ralph Northam announced that Virginia’s Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) planned to develop regulations to enact migratory bird protections for the commonwealth. He determined action was necessary following actions by the past federal administration to undermine and weaken U.S. Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) protections by legalizing all industrial and other activities that kill migratory birds, unless the killings are intentional. That interpretation of the MBTA eliminated decades of practice by interpreting a prohibited “taking” as including the “incidental take” of birds, or a take that is incidental to, but not the purpose of an activity.
Although the National Audubon Society and other organizations continue to work to restore MBTA protections on a federal level, such restoration has not yet been secured. Moreover, federal protections could, of course, be undone by future administrations or legislation. For that reason, ASNV supports adoption by DWR of robust regulations in Virginia.
The proposed DWR regulations would establish a framework for issuing incidental take permits in the absence of similar federal action. This new regulation proposes to authorize incidental take of migratory birds for regulated activities, including construction associated with certain commercial and industrial activities. The permit requirement would be triggered by DWR’s issuing a sector-specific plan outlining standards for that activity. The sector-specific plan would provide for general permits and individual permits. For a general permit, the plan would define standards and best management practices for the permittee and/or set limits on allowable incidental take. When implemented by the person,  agency or other entity conducting the activity, the general permit would authorize an incidental take that occurs. Those required to obtain individual permits would have to comply with those requirements and develop an avian conservation and mitigation plan approved by DWR.
The regulations do not apply to the take of endangered or threatened species because these are already covered by other regulations. They could apply to new construction, development or expansion of certain defined operations (oil, gas and wastewater disposal pits; methane or other gas burner pipes; communications towers; electric transmission and distribution lines; wind and solar energy projects; and transportation projects). They also could apply to construction or expansion of “industrial projects,” which are defined broadly. Potentially regulated “commercial projects” include construction or expansion of stores, malls, restaurants, lodging, office buildings, commercial parks, medical facilities and sports facilities.
ASNV participated with other conservation organizations and representatives of industrial and commercial operators in the development of the proposed regulations. The proposed regulations include many limitations. For example, the proposed regulations cover the construction but not the operation of facilities such as wind farms (even though most bird fatalities there occur during operation). The regulations also include some broad exemptions such as “agricultural and silvicultural activities.”
ASNV encourages you to send comments expressing your strong support for having these regulations to help ensure legal protections for birds at the state level even when a gap exists at the federal level. Your comments could also refer to areas where the regulations would ideally be strengthened such as for the operation and not just the construction of wind farms and other industrial and energy facilities. DWR is accepting comments on its proposal through February 22, 2021. The proposed regulations are here. You can submit comments through the DWR website here, you can email your comments to [email protected], or you can submit written comments by mail to: DWR Regulatory Coordinator, Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, 7870 Villa Park Dr., P.O. Box 90778, Henrico, VA 23228-0778.
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Short 2021 General Assembly Session Calls for Prompt Response
Contact Your Legislators Now!
Because the current session of the Virginia General Assembly session is brief, bills are moving quickly. The session began January 13 and is scheduled to adjourn on February 11. There are several bills before the legislature this session that are important to ASNV, and we encourage you, our members, to make yourselves heard. Because timing is so short, a brief email that identifies issues important to you with 2-3 key arguments in favor, is most convincing
.
You can identify your Senator and Delegate here: Who Is My Legislator? You can track a bill’s status here or on the Virginia Conservation Network’s bill tracker. If your delegate or senator is on a committee or subcommittee scheduled to take action on a bill, your communication is doubly important. These committees are the first level of consideration in the legislature and the bills could advance or die here depending on the votes. Many bills never get reported out of committees and thus are killed for the session.
Elected officials need to know that their constituents are following their actions and care about various bills.
Invasive Plants
The Virginia General Assembly is meeting now and bills are moving very quickly. ASNV is supporting a bill that we hope ultimately will discourage the sale and planting of invasive plants.
House Joint Resolution 527 has passed the House of Delegates and has been referred to the Senate Rules Committee. Please contact your senator as soon as possible, particularly if he or she is on the Rules Committee, and urge him/her to vote for the bill.
The bills would create a working group with broad representation, including ASNV, to conduct a study of invasive plants, due no later than the first day of the 2022 legislative session. The study would examine:
- the sale of invasive plants by all entities
- measures to reduce and eliminate the use of invasive plants and to promote the use of native plants
- labeling invasive plant species at point of sale
- taxing the sale of invasive species
- expanding the current noxious weed list
- taking steps to increase education and outreach
- promoting the use of non-invasive plants on local and state government properties
If you have a personal story about the negative effects of invasive plants or the benefits you observed from replacing them with natives, whether in parks or your own yard, tell your story! ASNVers understand the value of native plants and can help persuade legislators to support the bill.
Unowned Cat Colonies
Your Senators and Delegates need to know you oppose Senate Bill 1390 that would legalize trap, neuter and return (“TNR”) programs, in which unowned cats are released to the environment. Urge them to lay the bill on the table for a year to give all stakeholder groups the opportunity to work together to address the complex issue of unowned cats.
Release of TNR cats to the wild is illegal as an inhumane abandonment under current Virginia law. S.B. 1390 would legalize TNR programs without  changing the fact that the release is still inhumane. ASNV opposes release of trapped and neutered unowned cats because it is bad for cats, causes the loss of native wildlife and creates human health hazards, all without reducing the number of free-roaming, unowned cats.
A vote on S.B. 1390 in the Senate is possible before the February 5 deadline for action on a bill to go to the House of Delegates. If it passes the Senate it will go to the House Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee. Your calls or emails are particularly important if your Delegate is on that committee.
Please make sure your Senator and Delegate know that S.B. 1390 was drafted outside of the ordinary course of how animal welfare legislation is usually written. Such legislation is typically developed by a process that includes all interest groups, which was not done in this case. The only groups involved were TNR advocates. The issue of unowned cats is a complex one and deserves consideration by organizations representing the broader population of interested Virginians.
Some talking points to consider are:
- The lives of feral cats are brutal: they are exposed to weather, cars, predators (coyotes, foxes and raccoons), disease and inferior nutrition. Up to 75 percent of feral kittens die before they reach six months old, and adult life expectancy is only 2-5 years.
- Cats are a leading cause of declining bird populations, killing an estimated 2.4 billion birds every year in the United States and an estimated 70 percent of birds killed by outdoor cats are killed by unowned or feral cats.
- Unowned cats in the environment can spread disease to other animals and to people with rabies and toxoplasmosis being particular concerns. Because TNR cats are generally vaccinated for rabies only once and do not get regular veterinary care, they are unlikely to have lifetime immunity.
- TNR advocates argue that the programs reduce feral cat populations, but scientific studies contradict that assertion.
Tree Canopy
Let your legislators know that you support preserving and conserving tree canopy. Development and the associated loss of tree canopy chip away at the remaining natural areas that are habitat for birds and other native plants and animals. Many local officials contend that they do not have sufficient authority to preserve trees. House Bill 2042 (passed by the House) and S.B. 1393 (awaiting full Senate action) both include provisions  that would provide local jurisdictions more authority.
Current law restricts localities’ authority to preserve and conserve their tree canopies. It sets limits on the percentage of trees local governments can require developers to replace or conserve in the process of development. Depending on zoning, those limits range from ten to 30 percent.
The bills give localities greater flexibility by:
- adopting higher replacement percentages where trees are used to meet water quality, flood management and equity goals, and
- expanding to the entire Commonwealth the existing tree preservation statute (Va. Code 15.2-961.1), which allows local governments to establish a tree fund or tree bank, providing offsite options for developers unable to achieve the canopy replacement percentages onsite.
Virginia is losing 16,000 acres of trees per year to development and disease. Their loss removes their ability to capture carbon and harmful particulates, reduce flooding, provide habitat, improve water quality and quality of life. Trees store carbon, reduce air pollution, reduce energy use in buildings and intercept precipitation (reducing storm water runoff and erosion and allowing groundwater recharge). Trees provide substantial benefits to wildlife, serving as food sources, breeding grounds and cover. Trees raise property values and provide other human benefits -- improving people’s physiological and psychological well-being.
H.B. 2042 has a July 1, 2022 effective date. S.B. 1393 has a deferred effective date. It would go into effect only after reenactment in the 2022 session of the General Assembly following completion of a study by a stakeholder work group.
Road Salt
Urge your representatives to support budget amendments proposing $175,000 for the Department of Environmental Quality to fund a research project to protect water quality, safeguard drinking water supplies and reduce the amount of salt that enters and compromises Virginia’s surface and ground water resources. The project would field test the effectiveness of using native, salt-tolerant plants called, “halophytes,” growing in biochar-amended soil to capture and remove salt from highway and parking lot storm water runoff. Delegate Paul Krizek and Senator John Edwards filed the amendments (377#6h and 377#2s, respectively).
You can act by posting a statement of support for the House bill here and for the Senate bill here. You can also email your legislators. Your communication is particularly helpful if your delegates or senators are on the House Appropriations Committee or the Senate Finance and Appropriations Subcommittee on Economic Development and Natural Resources.
Use your own words and keep your message brief. Some of the points you can make are listed below.
- Promising laboratory research needs to be field-tested.
- Salt accumulates and doesn’t biodegrade, contaminating streams, rivers and the ocean.
- Halophyte stems and leaves accumulate the salt, and when they are harvested using standard landscape maintenance practices the salt is diverted from storm water runoff.
- Salt levels in Northern Virginia waterways have been rising steadily for at least 30 years, adversely affecting the local ecology and soon may force costly changes to our current drinking water treatment processes.
- Wildlife is attracted to roads to lick salt, which can create road collision hazards.
- Excessive salt can degrade soil and water and harm terrestrial and aquatic plants and animals.
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2020 Manassas-Bull Run Christmas Bird Count Summary
Phil Silas, Compiler
The 39th Annual Manassas-Bull Run Christmas Bird Count on December 20, 2020 was conducted following special Covid-19 protocols. The participant count was 93 as carpools were limited to family groups and no new volunteers were solicited. We managed to have a safe count that tallied over 22,500 birds of 87 species. We had to forego our t raditional lunch in Ellanor C. Lawrence Park due to the pandemic. The birding conditions were favorable and the overall species count was only 2 short of our all-time high of 89 set in 2014.
The American Pipet has only been seen on 20% of our counts, and never more than 16 birds, that is until this count. We observed pipet flocks on multiple routes for a new high count of 620 birds! A late Blue-headed Vireo was found and photographed by Matt Bender. It is only the 2nd one seen on the count and the 1st was back in 2002. A Cackling Goose was seen and photographed with Canada Geese by Tim Resch. It is also only the 2nd observation, and the other one was in 2013.
Other highlights included all-time highs of Carolina Wrens at 466, and White-throated Sparrows at 1,472. Merlins tied the all-time high of 3 previous years with 3. Common Ravens at 11 is just 3 off last year’s all-time high and the trend since 2015 is that they are indeed getting more common. Eastern Bluebirds had their highest count (387) since 2015. Canada Geese (4,563), Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers (50), Northern Cardinals (499) and Song Sparrows (491) all were very clo se to all-time highs.
There were several species where just 1 bird was observed including: American Woodcock, Great Horned Owl, Eastern Phoebe, Brown Thrasher, American Tree Sparrow, Rusty Blackbird and Pine Warbler. Due to food scarcity further north, there is an irruption of several species moving further south this winter. These include the following that are only observed on about half of our counts, and this year we observed: Red-breasted Nuthatches (21); Pine Siskins (12); and Purple Finches (9).
Another interesting observation was a leucistic American Robin by Dixie Sommers. Her photo shows how variable this loss of pigment can be; sometimes birds will have white splotchy feathering but this bird showed an overall lighter tone. Other notable points about the count were the absence of the Common Grackle, and the observation of a Horned Lark during Count Week.
The full results for the 2020 CBC are on the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia website here. Thanks to all who supported this event in these unusual circumstances. We look forward to a safe and more traditional event December 19, 2021!
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“The Pollinator Victory Garden” with author, Kim Eierman
Co-sponsored Event with Prince William Wildflower Society
 ONLINE: Sunday, February 21, 2:00 to 3:30 PM
Register here
ASNV/Audubon at Home is partnering with the Prince William Wildflower Society (PWWS) to co-sponsor a presentation with Kim Eierman, author of The Pollinator Victory Garden.
From PWWS: In keeping with our string of annual author events in the month of February, Kim Eierman, author of The Pollinator Victory Garden, will be our guest speaker on Sunday, February 21 at 2:00 PM through Zoom. As Kim says, “You don’t have to be an entomologist to realize that pollinators are in trouble, and you don’t have to be a professional landscaper or horticulturist to do something about it.”
Kim asserts that the passion and urgency that inspired WWI and WWII Victory Gardens are needed today to meet another threat to our food supply and our environment—the steep decline of pollinators. The Pollinator Victory Garden offers practical solutions for winning the war against the demise of these essential animals.
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Calling All Educators! 2021 Educator Scholarship Application Now Open
Looking for new ways to inspire your students to engage with nature? The Audubon Society of Northern Virginia offers a full scholarship and transportation to “Sharing Nature: An Educator’s Week” at National Audubon Society’s Hog Island Camp in Maine. While there, you will learn interdisciplinary hands-on methods and  approaches to environmental education while immersed in the natural world. This year’s session is currently scheduled for July 11-16, 2021. Hog Island will be instituting safety-related procedural changes in response to the coronavirus pandemic, including all-outdoor activities and single-occupancy sleeping arrangements.
Applicants must be classroom teachers, specialists, or school administrators working in: Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William, or Stafford counties, or Alexandria, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park cities.
To apply, please complete the online application and submit two letters of recommendation no later than April 2, 2021. Please see the application for additional details, including post-camp requirements.
If you have questions, please contact [email protected].
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Youth Education Mini-grants
Are you an educator with a great idea for a bird-related conservation project with your students? The Audubon Society of Northern Virginia (ASNV) is sponsoring a mini-grant program in 2021 to help teachers, schools and non-profit organizations educate youth about birds and the environment. ASNV anticipates awarding three mini-grants, up to $1000 each. Applications are due on April 2, 2021. The application is here.
Funding may be used to support Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs), professional development, field trips, speakers and admission fees, equipment, transportation, trees, plants, etc. All projects must include an educational component.
You must complete the project and submit a one-paragraph summary and photos by December 31, 2021. Your summary and photos will be used in the ASNV newsletter, blog and on the website.
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Audubon at Home Invites Applications for Small Grants to Beautify Neighborhood Entrances with Native Landscaping
We are very pleased to announce that ASNV’s Audubon at Home Program, in partnership with the Plant NOVA Natives campaign, has been awarded a grant of $15,000 fr om the Environmental Education and Stewardship Grants Program of the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation to demonstrate the concept that native plants, so critical to wildlife habitat, can fit nicely into a conventional suburban aesthetic, including formal or semi-formal settings.
The Audubon at Home program invites homeowners’ and civic associations to apply for funds to beautify their neighborhood entrances using low maintenance native plants. Six one-to-one matching grants of $2,350 apiece will be given to cover costs of a landscape designer to create a design and recommend native plants, prepare the site including removing any invasive plants present such as English Ivy, Periwinkle, and others, purchase and install the plants. The terms of the grant will require matching funds or sweat equity from the applicant. Funds will be granted contingent on the community association conducting educational outreach on the value of native plants to their residents. Completed installations will receive a high-quality sign that says, “Native plants support birds and other wildlife.” Community associations are expected to commit to maintaining the plantings for 5 years.
Applications are due May 31, 2021. For more information, go here.
Do you live in a community that would benefit from these funds? You are welcome to pass this information along. Questions? Contact Audubon at Home.
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A Hummingbird in Winter
Lisa Mackem
In Virginia, hummingbird migration season peaked months ago, as Ruby-throated and Rufous Hummingbirds made their way to Mexico or Central America. One Rufous Hummingbird defied the regular migration pattern and is spending the winter in Green Spring Gardens. Birds that are present at unusual times are called “vagrants,” and show a change in their migration patterns.
Larry Cartwright has made many notable contributions to citizen science, including managing the winter waterfowl count for the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia since 2008 and compiling the District of Columbia’s Christmas bird count since 2004. He has noticed that Rufous  Hummingbirds, although not native to this area, are becoming more frequent visitors and that their numbers have steadily increased on the Virginia state checklist for birds. He worked with Bruce Peterjohn, who recently banded the vagrant hummingbird, and explained her presence with the concept of mirror image migration. Rufous Hummingbirds usually migrate by flying east of the Rockies before veering west to Mexico. Some of them do the opposite, flying west of the Rockies and then turning east — the exact mirror image of their normal migration route. These vagrants ultimately end up along the East or Gulf Coasts.
“This has been a big year for vagrants,” Larry notes, adding that birds from wooded areas have appeared in the Great Plains and continued eastward. Fires and heat on the West Coast, which might drive birds east to find food, could also explain vagrancy. Local vagrants include a Couch’s Kingbird – the first ever seen in Virginia. Vagrant sightings are likely to continue. Larry suggests, “Once the migration pattern changes, it will probably repeat itself. It is encoded by now.”
Banding birds will continue to yield valuable information. “We couldn’t have the concept of mirror image migration without having some idea of where the birds went,” says  Larry, explaining that banding will show a difference in a migration pattern for the rest of the bird’s life. The bander will also learn a bird’s gender, weight, species and approximate age. The Rufous Hummingbird vagrant is an adult female, weighs 4.3 grams and maintains no body fat. She is molting, which means she is healthy. If she returns next year, the band will show she survived the year.
Green Spring Gardens observers report that their winter guest behaves and feeds normally and has not shown signs of stress. She eats from flowering plants and from feeders that the Green Springs staff provided, and has no notable predators because she is simply too small for most predator birds and mammals. She will enter a kind of torpor at night, lowering her body temperature and metabolism to withstand the cold, and eat when she wakes up. Larry predicts that she will remain at Green Spring Gardens for the winter.
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Where Do They Go?
Betsy Martin
Have you ever wondered where animals go in the winter, when many seem to just—disappear?
The ancients puzzled over the disappearance and reappearance of birds. Aristotle thought they transform into other species in winter (which explained why robins appeared just as redstarts disappeared in Greece). Olaus Magnus theorized in the 16th century that swallows bury themselves in clay at the bottom of rivers in wintertime. In the 17th century, Charles Morton offered the most fantastic theory of all; birds flew to the moon and back every year.
Of course, now we know that migration on earth accounts for the disappearance and reappearance of birds and many other species. But you may be surprised to learn that there’s still a lot we don’t know about where various species go.
Blackpoll Warblers (Setophaga striata) spend the summer breeding in the boreal spruce and tamarack forests of Alaska and northern Canada, then in fall migrate up to 5,000 miles south to winter in the mangrove fore sts and rain forests of Brazil.
In the fall migration they travel south and southeast through Canada and the northeast United States and collect along the coastal plain between Nova Scotia and Cape Hatteras, NC. Then, it’s believed—the experts aren’t really sure—the birds head south and southeast over the Atlantic Ocean, and fly nearly 2,000 miles to Puerto Rico, the Lesser Antilles or northern South America. This potentially involves an 88-hour nonstop flight over open ocean! To accomplish this, Blackpoll Warblers nearly double their weight before setting out, and they rely on northeast trade winds to direct their flight toward South America.
Watch Cornell Lab’s animation of Blackpoll Warbler abundance on eBird here.
(Information from Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Birds of the World)
 Butterflies and other insects have multiple over-wintering strategies, some more mysterious than others.
Many insects shelter and are nourished through the winter in micro-habitats under the soil, inside the wood of logs, in trees and even in plant galls. Inactive insects undergo a dormant state, called diapause, in which their growth, development and activities are suspended in winter, with a metabolic rate barely high enough to keep them alive.
Some insects successfully pass the winter as immature larvae, such as the Woolly Bear caterpillar, protected by heavy layers of leaf litter. Other larvae replace the water in their bodies with glycerol, a type of antifreeze. Some grubs simply burrow deeper into the soil to escape the cold.
Dragonflies, mayflies and stoneflies survive as nymphs living in ponds and streams, feeding and growing all winter to emerge as adults in early spring. A few insects lay eggs which survive the winter, such as Praying Mantids.
Some insects, such as the Mourning Cloak butterfly, overwinter as adults in tree holes, leaf litter and under logs and rocks. That’s why Mourning Cloak is usually the first butterfly to appear in Spring. Like some insect larvae, it reduces the water content of its body and builds up glycerol which acts as an antifreeze.
Many butterflies that spend the summer here cannot survive the winter, so they die. Each year, as the weather warms up, butterflies from Mexico and the southern United States fly north to repopulate Virginia such as : Common Buckeye, Cloudless Sulphur, Painted Lady, Red Admiral and others.
For some species the reverse migration, south in the fall, is more obvious. Cloudless Sulphurs, Mourning Cloaks and Monarchs can sometimes be seen moving southward in groups of thousands. Exactly where all these butterflies go is not always known. Monarchs are the best-known migratory butterflies, yet knowledge is limited even for them. Most Monarchs from west of the Rocky Mountains spend the winter along the California coast while those from central North America spend the winter in roosts in the mountains of central Mexico. But what about the Monarchs from the Atlantic seaboard? Although it seems that many of them also migrate to the same Mexican overwintering sites, others may travel to and through Florida, perhaps flying on to undiscovered sites in the Caribbean or the Yucatan Peninsula. Or, maybe northern Monarchs that enter the peninsula don't survive the winter and for them, Florida is a dead end. Some Monarchs that overwinter in Florida may be largely members of resident, non-migratory populations. At this point, we just don't know.
(Information from North American Butterfly Association, Smithsonian)
Frogs and toads commonly hibernate in winter. After an animal finds or makes a living space (hibernaculum) that protects it from winter weather and predators, its metabolism slows dramatically. It "sleeps away" the winter by utilizing its body's  energy stores, then "wakes up" when spring arrives.
Aquatic frogs such as the Leopard Frog (Rana pipiens) and American Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) typically hibernate underwater. But they don’t dig into the mud the way aquatic turtles do—they would suffocate. Hibernating aquatic frogs must be near oxygen-rich water and spend a good part of the winter just lying on top of the mud or only partially buried. They may even slowly swim around from time to time.
Terrestrial frogs normally hibernate on land. American Toads (Bufo americanus) and other good diggers burrow deep into the soil, safely below the frost line. Some frogs, such as the Wood Frog (Rana sylvatica) and Spring Peeper (Hyla crucifer) are not adept at digging and instead seek out deep cracks and crevices in logs or rocks, or just dig down as far as they can in the leaf litter. These hibernacula (shelters) are not as well protected from frigid weather and may freeze, along with their inhabitants.
And yet, the frogs do not die. A high concentration of glucose in the frog's vital organs prevents freezing, even though ice crystals form in the body cavity, bladder and under the skin. A partially frozen frog stops breathing, its heart stops beating and it appears dead. But when the hibernaculum warms up above freezing, the frog's frozen portions thaw, its heart and lungs resume activity and it comes back to life.
(Information from Scientific American)
Various species have amazing and diverse strategies for surviving winter. You can help them.
- Blackpoll Warblers don’t breed here, but they do fly over and stop during spring and fall migration. You can help sustain them in their long migration south by planting native, fall-fruiting native shrubs in your yard, such as Spicebush or Viburnum, with fatty berries that help them build up their fat reserves prior to their long oceanic voyage. Avoid using insecticides that kill insects that Blackpoll Warblers and other bird species depend on for food.
- To help insects, leave the leaves—leaf litter is key to many species’ winter survival—and don’t be too tidy about cutting and cleaning up flower stems and stalks. Many insects burrow into them for winter protection.
- To help the frogs and toads, be careful about digging in winter—you may be digging up somebody’s winter home.
Interested in learning more about protecting and creating habitat for wildlife in all four seasons? Check out Audubon at Home on the ASNV website. Request a visit by an Audubon at Home Ambassador who can advise on habitat improvements you can make on your property.
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Join the Global Birding Community – Participate in
The Great Backyard Bird Count
“Birds are everywhere, all the time, doing fascinating things. Join us, February 12-15, 2021, when the world comes together for the love of birds.” GBBC
Each year in February, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, National Audubon Society and Birds Canada sponsor a worldwide birding event: The Great Backyard Bird Count. The aim of the GBBC is to get as many observations of birds from around the world to better understand how birds are doing.
Participating is simple: Just observe birds for at least 15 minutes once during the 4-day count period and enter your data on eBird or through Merlin. Even if you are new to eBird and/or Merlin, you’ll find helpful, easy instructions on the GBBC website.
You can also observe birds for longer periods of time during any or all of the 4 days.
Here’s how to participate.
ASNV hopes everyone in our nature community will join in this citizen science project. Post your photos on Instagram and tag us @audubonva.
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Understanding the Complexities of the Female Bird Song
Deidra Bryant
In the United States, February is a month we associate with love and attraction. So, I thought it would be appropriate to discuss courting mechanisms in birds. In this case, bird songs. When we think of songs used in courtship, most may think that the males are usually the ones with the more elaborate repertoire, while females may have none or very little to say. Recent studies suggest that this behavior may be related to keeping a low-profile and to not alert predators while nesting, while others suggest that females have simply evolved to primarily listen. However, this is not entirely accurate. Elaborate signal traits in females are often phenotypically homogenous to traits of males, causing dispute over whether they emerge similarly through sexual selection, or through broader processes such as natural selection.
Examples of female songs have generally been dismissed as rare, or the result abnormalities in avian hormones. However, studies have found that this view demonstrates a geographical bias towards Europe and temperate zones in North America, where species with male-only song are more common. In fact, female bird song is much more abundant in other regions such as South America and Australia. The Superb Fairywren (Malurus cyaneus) is a good example of this. However, even if female song is more widespread than we realize, it seems likely that production rates or acoustic structure are the key differences between most males and females. Additionally, their behavior may also indicate selection pressures and systems of evolutionary changes that are sex-specific.
One study using ancestral state reconstruction methods revealed that long ago bird song was very common in both sexes all over the globe, which suggests that the current sexual dimorphi sm in embellished traits resulted in selection against these female traits. This idea complements new findings on the evolution of feather dichromatism in several species (like in the Icteridae family – orioles and blackbirds). Yet many scientists are still working to figure out why females have lost song in certain species and lineages.
In order to answer that question, ornithologists are asking another question: “Does the presence of dimorphism in bird song demonstrate evolutionary losses or gains?” Researchers believe that males and females initially developed similar neural song control systems that ultimately diminish in females of species that lack female song. Consequently, from a developmental standpoint, the disappearance of female song and the neuro-anatomical adaptations related to this change could be seen as an evolutionary gain.
On the other hand, an increase in song similarities between both sexes can be viewed as a developmental loss. For example, the progression of male-like singing in females may be the result of a loss of female-specific neurodevelopmental pathways and behaviors. One can expect an evolution in song similarities to occur quickly since females already have a lot of the genetic and hormonal components for singing like their male counterparts, while increases in song dimorphism should occur more slowly since it involves obtaining new characteristics through natural or sexual selection. These are interesting things to think about when understanding why females of certain species do not sing, as well as why females in other parts of the world frequently do.
In conclusion, female singing is widespread among songbirds and was probably present during the early evolution of bird song. As a result, the ongoing research in bird communication prompts reconsideration of the inaccurate assumption that bird song is an epigamic trait (serving to attract a mate) in males driven by sexual selection. Females and males both experience competition over ecological resources and use a variety of chirps and shrills as a means of territorial defense. This behavior may select for traits that signal their competitive prowess or ownership of resources. However, since bird song originally evolved in both males and females, sexual selection may also be useful for studying the evolution and maintenance of avian song. So, the next time you and your sweetie practice identifying birds by their song, try triangulating the sound, and see which areas in your neighborhood are a hotspot for melodious females!
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Bird of the Month:
A Kaleidoscope of Colors: Rare Painted Bunting Attracts Birders to
C & O Canal National Historic Park in Maryland
Jessica Bigger
In the early weeks of January, a Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris) was spotted in the brushy grasses and rocks off the towpath of the C & O Canal National Historic Park, between locks 18 and 19. Birders recorded the sighting on eBird and word spread like wildfire throughout social media sites. On Saturday, January 16th more than 1,000 people visited the park, and the following day over 100 people returned in hopes of catching a glimpse of our little visitor.
It’s always exciting to seek out rare birds reported by local birders. So, it’s important to follow birding guidelines to respect and ensure the safety of any bird you hope to see or photograph. Remember to stay on designated trails and not approach any birds to ensure you don’t cause them unnecessary stress.
A Painted Bunting is a rare treat in these parts, because it winters in Southern Mexico, throughout Central America, and the Caribbean, as well as the Southern tip of Florida. During their breeding season they spend their time in the coastal southeastern and south-central United States. So, to see one so far north, especially during the winter season, is remarkable.
Painted Buntings are well known for their bright multicolored plumage. The French refer to this bird as nonpareil, meaning “unrivalled”. Even its song is just as magnificent as its plumage. The Painted  Bunting has a similar cadence to many warblers. They are so intriguing, that many are caught illegally in Mexico and the Caribbean to be sold as pets.
During the spring and summer months, Painted Buntings hop around in dense understory and brush on the edge of forests. Although you would assume their brilliant colors would make them easy to spot, the brushy vegetation provides them good cover. During the winter season people who live within the species’ winter range can attract Painted Buntings by putting up a bird feeder. They regularly visit feeders to supplement their diet over the winter months.
In addition to searching out bird feeders for seeds, Painted Buntings will also forage for other seeds from bristle grass, pigweed, wood sorrel, spurge, panic grass, St. John’s wort, sedge, dock, pine, rose, wheat and figs. In summer months, they become more carnivorous seeking out grasshoppers, weevils and other beetles, caterpillars, spiders, snails, wasps and flies.
Although Painted Buntings are still abundant throughout the southern United States, Mexico and Central America, scientists and bird advocates are concerned about the effects of climate change and habitat loss to the population.
Recently the National Audubon Society wrote an article about the negative effects of climate change and highlighted a recent study published in the journal Ecological Applications. National Audubon researchers were able to show how climate change has contributed to a major shift in winter and breeding ranges among a large number of bird species. “Climate change is disrupting hundreds of bird species, and thanks to community scientists all across the country, we can visualize these disruptions in real time and plan conservation efforts accordingly,” said Sarah Saunders, PhD, quantitative ecologist at Audubon and lead author of the study, the article quoted.
Twice a year, in the spring and winter, citizen scientists across the country focus on 12 indicator species to help ornithologists get a better picture on the effects of climate change on bird populations across all species. These birds include: White-breasted Nuthatch, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Pygmy Nuthatch, Western Bluebird, Mountain Bluebird, Eastern Bluebird, Lesser Goldfinch, American Goldfinch, Eastern Towhee, Spotted Towhee and Painted Buntings.
The hope is by following the shifts in the population, scientists can use the data to come up with conservation efforts to combat the effects of climate change on a growing number of bird species at risk of extinction.
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2/1 Monday Nature Mystery
We are pleased to announce the winner of our Monday Nature Mystery, Karen Kean Nordai!
C ongratulations to Karen for correctly identifying the vocalization of a Sora (Porzana carolina). These birds can be difficult to see as they typically take advantage of densely vegetated wetlands to skulk. Birders from Northern Virginia have taken advantage of a visiting Sora at Huntley Meadows Park.
Listen to the Sora here.
Each Monday we’ll post a new mystery and identify the previous week’s winner. They’ll receive an ASNV hat or tote bag.
Here is this week’s mystery. Do you know what duck this is? Post your guess on our Facebook page @AudubonVA under Monday Nature Mystery. List both Common Name and Latin name and be mindful of capitalization. Good luck!
Please note that all entries are date and time-stamped. We review each correct answer to see who commented first. If someone 'likes' your comment, it would move it up on the list, making it look like the first post. Winners are limited to one prize every 90 days.
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