All,
It’s been interesting seeing the response of birds to the severe cold weather
this past week, particularly the steady concentration of waterfowl, and their
behavior, in the diminishing ice-free waterbodies. In Albemarle County, I’ve
also been struck by the absence of a species over the past week, a species that
is usually a fairly reliable winter resident on county lakes and ponds, namely
Pied-billed Grebe. I’m fairly confident they’re absent now at Chris Green Lake,
Ragged Mt. Reservoir and Monticello HS Lake, all places they’re generally
regular. The last eBird report for the county I see is for Ragged Mt. Reservoir
on January 3rd, despite good coverage lately. My impression is that they
disappeared rather suddenly, thus I don’t think it’s a question of mortality
(where you would expect to see steadily diminishing numbers through the period
of the cold snap). There’s been discussions on other fora of facultative
migrations in response to climatic conditions, and I wonder if that’s not
what’s taken place. (recall the influxes of Red-necked Grebes in 2003 and 2014
following prolonged and extensive ice conditions on the Great Lakes)
It would be interesting to hear if Pied-billed Grebes are also being noted as
absent from other sites in central Virginia, and if others are seeing influxes
of this species to the south (e.g. Kerr Lake) or on the Coastal Plain.
Dave Shoch
