This is a follow up of the announcement a couple of weeks ago from the
Center for Conservation Biology (College of William and Mary) that a
population of about 41swamp sparrows and 4 nests were found at Mulberry
Point on the Rappahannock River in June 2005 (Credit for initial discovery
goes to Fred Atwood in June 2004).
Another group of swamp sparrows was found this morning by Mike Wilson of
CCB and myself at Island Farm Marsh, on the Northern Neck end of the bridge
at Tappahannock and about 5 miles downriver from Mulberry Point. About 5
swamp sparrows (assumed to be CPSS) were heard singing and at least 7
seaside sparrows heard and seen in an approximately 10-acre section of this
tidal brackish marsh. This area contained mixed marsh vegetation:
isolated stands of Phragmites australis (unfortunately), shrubby clumps of
Baccharis halimifolia, low emergent vegetation such as Juncus spp., Carex
spp., and Spartina patens, and other taller emergent vegetation which had
not yet reached giagantic heights such as Spartina cynosauroides, Hibiscus
spp., and cattail.
According to the CCB, other than a small number of observations in the Dyke
Marsh area on the Potomac River there are no modern breeding records for
Virginia. The Mulberry Point population extends the known breeding range
for this form a considerable distance to the south and represents the
largest concentration of breeding currently known throughout the Chesapeake
Bay.
These recent finding suggest more distribution mapping is needed on the
western side of the Chesapeake of Virginia, particularly as the species has
experienced population declines.
Sandy C. Spencer, Wildlife Biologist
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Eastern Virginia Rivers National Wildlife Refuge Complex
(Rappahannock River Valley, James River,
Presquile Island, and Plum Tree Island NWRs)
P.O. Box 1030
Warsaw, VA 22572
804/333-1470
804/333-3396 (fax)
Sandy_Spencer@xxxxxxx
You are subscribed to VA-BIRD. To post to this mailing list, simply send email
to va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx. To unsubscribe, send email to
va-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
