VA BIRDers,
Many of us love doing the Christmas Bird Counts. The reasons are varied.
For some, finding unusual birds in our backyard or local patch is a thrill.
Or others enjoy the opportunity to travel to a new park. Still others are
hoping to see the effects of changes in bird population trends first hand.
A few birders get personal rewards gathering data useful for local, state
and federal land use planning. But this year, for most of us, the big
question is: After having a snow-nami of a storm (17 inches at Huntley
Meadows at dawn today) how will the snow impact the upcoming Counts? Will
the snow bring an influx of Purple Finches or Pine Siskins to Northern
Virginia? Could Rough-legged Hawks appear? And could we be so lucky to get
a small incursion of winter owls? Or, could we lose some of the sparrows,
which are often in high numbers in our area? How about Rusty Blackbirds -
chased away by the thick ground cover of snow? And, after a hiatus of about
a decade, will the King Rails stick to Huntley Meadows this winter?
The local CBCs need your help - such as the snow delayed ones like the DC
and Manassas CBCs. And the snow will probably impact the number of
volunteers for the Nokesville and Central Loudoun CBCs. Your help is
needed, so please consider volunteering.
The Fort Belvoir CBC needs volunteers, too. We have several slots open to
fill out teams at Occoquan Bay NWR - preference to past volunteers will be
made. A team is needed for nearby Veteran's Park, the marina and maybe the
golf course. A couple more volunteers for the Neabsco Creek/Julie
Metz/Leesylvania SP area are needed. And the boardwalk of Huntley Meadows
needs a team of crack birders to look for rails! (plus sparrows, hawks,
bluebirds, etc.) Many local parks and stream valleys will go uncounted
without help. Finally, both the Mason Neck and Gunston area need an
additional team, and, if the water does not freeze, a scope would be
valuable to handle all the ducks. If you can help the Fort Belvoir CBC,
please send me a note or call - 703 768 2172. Thank you.
Kurt Gaskill
