Our hummer feeders still have a few regular hummers.
We have also a ton of honeybees at one of them. They chase the hummers
away sadly.
Our YR-Warblers (Butter butts) showed up 2 days ago with RC-Kinglets and
YB-Sapsuckers.
Waiting for our WT-Sparrows to appear.
Happy Birding all,
Debbie Woods
Potomac Falls, VA
On 10/14/2011 8:50 AM, va-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
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Today's Topics:
1. Chincoteague refuge staff under attack (Harry Armistead)
2. RT Hummingbird (Kenneth Ranck)
3. HSR: Kiptopeke Hawkwatch (13 Oct 2011) 146 Raptors
(reports@xxxxxxxxxxxxx)
4. HSR: Snickers Gap (13 Oct 2011) Raptors (reports@xxxxxxxxxxxxx)
5. eBird Report - Bandy Field, Oct 13, 2011 (akb)
6. Re: Chincoteague refuge staff under attack (William Hohenstein)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Thu, 13 Oct 2011 16:22:41 +0000
From: Harry Armistead<harryarmistead@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Va-bird] Chincoteague refuge staff under attack
To: Virginia Byrd<va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Message-ID:<SNT130-W10366182AFF1EBE1E18567CFE00@xxxxxxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252"
Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge is under attack by locals for its
Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP), which suggests eliminating big parking
areas at the beach, moving them north on Assateague Island, instituting a
trolley service, and/or establishing a parking lot somewhere else. Essentially
those opposed, mainly islanders, see the refuge?s main interest for them as
maintaining a big parking area at the beach that they can drive to.
I have it on good authority from a person with major responsibility (but not on
the refuge staff) that the refuge manager, Lou Hinds, has received death
threats, refuge staff have been spat upon in the local supermarket, and
islanders sympathetic to the refuge and its plans have been intimidated.
Every few years the beach parking areas are destroyed or seriously damaged by
storms, resulting in great expense and effort to reestablish them. Much as I
sympathize with the refuge, I would have thought they would have anticipated
strong opposition to some of the suggestions in the CCP. Perhaps they did and
have the courage to go ahead with them anyway.
If you want to comment on the CCP the deadline is October 31. Mail your
comments to Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, ATTN: CCP Coordinator, P. O.
Box 62, Chincoteague, Virginia 23336.
You may also send them via e-mail. Go to: chinco.fws.gov to see how to do
this. Or else just Google ?Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge?
This site also gives the full text of the CCP as well as the latest CCP
newsletter. For some reason I have been unable to open this on my computer.
This hostility is the same sort of syndrome that led to the shooting of refuge
manager John H. Buckalew in the mid-1940s and to the vilification of a person I
know at Cape Hatteras who spoke up for Piping Plovers. This latter person had
nails dumped in his driveway, was refused service at local restaurants, and saw
wanted posters with his photograph posted at local businesses.
If these doings are not your idea of democracy then express your views as
suggested above, as well as to others in positions of power and influence.
Otherwise, we may end up in the hands of the Philistines and mob rule. I can?t
imagine how it feels to receive a death threat or other examples of the
hostility going on now.
-Harry Armistead, Philadelphia.
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Thu, 13 Oct 2011 16:52:54 -0400
From: Kenneth Ranck<akranck@xxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Va-bird] RT Hummingbird
To: va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Message-ID:<20111013.165317.712.13.akranck@xxxxxxxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
We still have a Ruby-throated Hummingbird at our house along North River.
Ken and Mildred Ranck
Mt.Crawford
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: 13 Oct 2011 18:10:11 -0400
From: reports@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [Va-bird] HSR: Kiptopeke Hawkwatch (13 Oct 2011) 146 Raptors
To: va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Message-ID:<20111013224111.9479.qmail@xxxxxxxxx>
Kiptopeke Hawkwatch
Tip of Virginia's Eastern Shore, Virginia, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 13, 2011
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 17 688 1847
Bald Eagle 0 54 172
Northern Harrier 3 178 316
Sharp-shinned Hawk 83 2344 6485
Cooper's Hawk 19 642 1310
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 3 4
Broad-winged Hawk 0 993 1289
Red-tailed Hawk 0 48 93
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 1
American Kestrel 5 1340 3392
Merlin 4 331 1038
Peregrine Falcon 15 221 534
Unknown Accipiter 0 2 16
Unknown Buteo 0 1 2
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 6 14
Unknown Raptor 0 9 28
Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1
Total: 146 6860 16542
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 07:15:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 8.75 hours
Official Counter: Bob Anderson
Observers:
Weather:
Raptor Observations:
Non-raptor Observations:
========================================================================
Report submitted by Brian Taber (Taberzz@xxxxxxx)
Kiptopeke State Park information may be found at:
www.cvwo.org
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: 13 Oct 2011 18:10:09 -0400
From: reports@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [Va-bird] HSR: Snickers Gap (13 Oct 2011) Raptors
To: va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Message-ID:<20111013224409.9959.qmail@xxxxxxxxx>
Snickers Gap
20 Miles West of Leesburg, Virginia, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 13, 2011
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 0 54 232
Bald Eagle 0 32 107
Northern Harrier 0 20 56
Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 416 1052
Cooper's Hawk 0 65 142
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 13 20
Broad-winged Hawk 0 62 37519
Red-tailed Hawk 0 49 83
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 0 68 108
Merlin 0 5 18
Peregrine Falcon 0 12 23
Unknown Accipiter 0 2 4
Unknown Buteo 0 7 7
Unknown Falcon 0 1 4
Unknown Eagle 0 1 1
Unknown Raptor 0 5 16
Total: 0 812 39392
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 09:30:00
Observation end time: 12:00:00
Total observation time: 2.5 hours
Official Counter: Wes Hetrick
Observers:
Weather:
Mist to light rain, almost no breeze (from East), fog layer down to Rt 7,
temp in low 60s.
Raptor Observations:
Non-raptor Observations:
========================================================================
Report submitted by Wes Hetrick (weshetrick@xxxxxxxx)
------------------------------
Message: 5
Date: Thu, 13 Oct 2011 22:15:30 -0400
From: akb<arun1bose@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Va-bird] eBird Report - Bandy Field, Oct 13, 2011
To: Richmond Audubon Society mailing list
<va-richmond-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Message-ID:
<CA+VgMy4Z+gYfJWNNAB85i7zB9YcRsxJGTmnqhE9NtW41JpqPuA@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
A couple of circuits at lunchtime yielded a few migrants, including
Savannah Sparrow, a slightly late Chestnut-sided Warbler, and a
Dark-eyed Junco. Full list is below.
Arun Bose
Richmond
Bandy Field, Richmond City, US-VA
Oct 13, 2011 12:15 PM - 12:40 PM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
20 species (+1 other taxa)
Red-tailed Hawk ?1
Mourning Dove ?X
Red-bellied Woodpecker ?1
Downy Woodpecker ?1
Eastern Phoebe ?1
Blue Jay ?1
Carolina Chickadee ?4
Tufted Titmouse ?4
Carolina Wren ?3
American Robin ?12
Northern Mockingbird ?2
Brown Thrasher ?1
European Starling ?X
Chestnut-sided Warbler ?1
warbler sp. ?3
Savannah Sparrow ?2
Song Sparrow ?2
Dark-eyed Junco ?1
Common Grackle ?X
House Finch ?3
House Sparrow ?3
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org/VA)
------------------------------
Message: 6
Date: Thu, 13 Oct 2011 23:10:31 -0400
From: William Hohenstein<elliety@xxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [Va-bird] Chincoteague refuge staff under attack
To:<harryarmistead@xxxxxxxxxxx>,<va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Message-ID:<BLU153-W28CD7CE79167D06E771045A1E10@xxxxxxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252"
Harry: As a part time resident of Chincoteague I found your note disappointing
and troubling. There is no way to condone the behavior you reported. It does
highlight the depth of apprehension within the town about changes to the refuge
and national seashore. It also highlights the extent of the challenges facing
the refuge managers. The future of the town and the refuge are interlinked.
Aside from all of that... there are specific issues contained within the
alternative that are potentially important for those interested in the welfare
of wildlife and wildlife viewing. These issues are overshadowed by the tension
over parking and beach access. Most of the alternatives considered would
prohibit access (including walking access) to the service road north of the
wildlife loop. This includes the old fields and north and south wash flats --
some of the best birding areas on the refuge. At least one of the alternatives
would allow access to the current ORV area only for fishing -- making a
distinction between fishing assess and wildlife viewing. Option B -- the one
that is creating a lot of the controversy -- would potentially have
implications for wildlife (pro and con). It would increase traffic on part of
the wildlife loop and would expand the size of the ORV area. It would carve
out a new parking area. It would also reduce and eventually eliminate tra
ffic on parts of beach road.
There are no easy solutions here. As you point out -- in most winters, at
least parts of the parking lots are damaged or destroyed. In fact most of the
lots are currently closed due to damage from hurricane Irene. It is important
for the managers to get input from all of the users of the refuge. I second
your call for those that care for the refuge to take a moment to review the
options and express their views.
Bill
From: harryarmistead@xxxxxxxxxxx
To: va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Thu, 13 Oct 2011 16:22:41 +0000
Subject: [Va-bird] Chincoteague refuge staff under attack
Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge is under attack by locals for its
Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP), which suggests eliminating big parking
areas at the beach, moving them north on Assateague Island, instituting a
trolley service, and/or establishing a parking lot somewhere else. Essentially
those opposed, mainly islanders, see the refuge?s main interest for them as
maintaining a big parking area at the beach that they can drive to.
I have it on good authority from a person with major responsibility (but not on
the refuge staff) that the refuge manager, Lou Hinds, has received death
threats, refuge staff have been spat upon in the local supermarket, and
islanders sympathetic to the refuge and its plans have been intimidated.
Every few years the beach parking areas are destroyed or seriously damaged by
storms, resulting in great expense and effort to reestablish them. Much as I
sympathize with the refuge, I would have thought they would have anticipated
strong opposition to some of the suggestions in the CCP. Perhaps they did and
have the courage to go ahead with them anyway.
If you want to comment on the CCP the deadline is October 31. Mail your
comments to Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, ATTN: CCP Coordinator, P. O.
Box 62, Chincoteague, Virginia 23336.
You may also send them via e-mail. Go to: chinco.fws.gov to see how to do this.
Or else just Google ?Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge?
This site also gives the full text of the CCP as well as the latest CCP
newsletter. For some reason I have been unable to open this on my computer.
This hostility is the same sort of syndrome that led to the shooting of refuge
manager John H. Buckalew in the mid-1940s and to the vilification of a person I
know at Cape Hatteras who spoke up for Piping Plovers. This latter person had
nails dumped in his driveway, was refused service at local restaurants, and saw
wanted posters with his photograph posted at local businesses.
If these doings are not your idea of democracy then express your views as
suggested above, as well as to others in positions of power and influence.
Otherwise, we may end up in the hands of the Philistines and mob rule. I can?t
imagine how it feels to receive a death threat or other examples of the
hostility going on now.
-Harry Armistead, Philadelphia.
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End of va-bird Digest, Vol 54, Issue 17
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