Trip to Piney Grove area for Red-cockaded Woodpeckers. Geoff Giles says there are 2 spaces left, so if you held back to let others get a chance, you can sign up with Geoff: tylerandal2 at aol.com or use contact form. Note the departure time is 4:00 am from Colony Square Shopping Center. Mike Wilson from the Center for Conservation Biology will meet us there and show us where the birds are. Please register with Geoff in advance.

Mike Wilson from the CCB will be our leader and educator. Mike has arranged with The Nature Conservancy for a limited number of our members to visit this protected site. In past trips, participants have seen Red-cockaded Woodpecker nest sites and had good views of adult birds at and just after dawn when they exit their cavities. In January 2011, Mike Wilson presented our Club monthly program on the Red-cockaded Woodpecker and described the research and work done to bring back the breeding birds at this site. So the expert will be leading this field trip for us! Thanks, Mike!

Due to the sensitive nature of the site, the group is limited to 15 participants, and WBC membership and pre-registration are required. Spotting scopes are a PLUS for this site if you have one.

Those wishing to carpool and/or caravan from Williamsburg will depart Colony Square Shopping Center (Jamestown Road) a 4:00 AM to to ride the 4:30 AM ferry over to Surry. Trip participants will meet leader Mike Wilson at ~ 5:15 AM at Adam's Peanuts in Wakefield. Mike will lead the group to the Piney Grove site to be on site by dawn to have the best chance of seeing the woodpeckers first exit their cavities.

See the May 15 article in the Virginian-Pilot's PilotOnline.com about the Red-cockaded Woodpecker conservation efforts at Piney Grove.

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On Saturday 19 May, 22 people participated in the latest event in support of the Western Shore Marshes IBA.  This bird survey and clean-up was held at Gosnold's Hope Park and was a joint venture between our two bird clubs and the City of Hampton through their Hampton Clean City Commission.  Other participants included master naturalist and 9 members from Scout Troop 18.

The day was divided into two 2-hour segments.  We conducted a bird survey during the first segment, and we identified 51 different species.  Highlights included a nice view of a male and female Blue Grosbeak and several views of Brown-headed Nuthatches which is a species of interest for this IBA.  The remaining participants showed for the second segment, and we canvassed the entire park.

As expected, the majority of the litter was found along the shoreline which is subjected to tidal and storm surges.  With the litter disposed of and species tallied, the members departed leaving this portion of the IBA in better condition.

Thanks to the following bird club/naturalist members who were able to support this event: Bill Ferris, Cheryl Jacobson, Jan Lockwood, Jane Frigo, Betty Peterson, Sharon Burton, Bryan Barmore, Brent Slaughter, Laura Slaughter, Tom Charlock, and Ken Lipshy.

Gosnold's Hope Park - CLP12, Hampton, US-VA
May 19, 2012 8:00 AM - 10:00  AM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
51 species (+1 other  taxa)

Canada Goose  4
Mallard  1
Double-crested  Cormorant  2
Great Blue Heron  3
Great Egret  5
Green  Heron  1
Black Vulture  1
Turkey Vulture  4
Osprey   4
Cooper's Hawk  1
Red-tailed Hawk  1
Killdeer   5
Lesser Yellowlegs  1
Laughing Gull  11
Herring Gull   5
Mourning Dove  7
Chimney Swift  1
Ruby-throated  Hummingbird  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  3
Downy Woodpecker   3
Northern Flicker  2
Great Crested Flycatcher  1
Eastern  Kingbird  8
Blue Jay  9
American Crow  4
crow sp.   2
Purple Martin  2
Tree Swallow  2
Barn Swallow   19
Carolina Chickadee  7
Tufted Titmouse  1
Brown-headed  Nuthatch  3

The next scheduled event for our Important Bird Area (IBA) is a survey/clean-up at Gosnold’s Hope Park on 19 May beginning at 8 am. This will be in conjunction with some volunteers through the Hampton Clean City Commission (HCCC). Details are as follows: Arrive at 8 am and conduct a bird survey of the area until around 10:00. From 10:00 until around noon, perform litter removal. Wear appropriate clothing for the weather conditions (hat, sunscreen) and bring water/snacks as desired. Trash bags and grabbers will be provided, but ensure you bring work gloves for handling the trash. Directions to the park: From Williamsburg, take I-64 East and exit onto Mercury Blvd toward the Coliseum. Take the King St exit and turn left toward Langley AFB. Turn right onto Little Back River Rd and continue to Gosnold’s Hope Park which will be on your left. Go through the main entrance and continue to the boat launch on the right side of the road where we’ll assemble before starting. If you want to carpool meet at 7 am at Colony Square Shopping Center on Jamestown Road.

From Bill Williams: Right now it looks like we had 160 species for the 29 April 2012 Spring Bird Count.  The historical average is 153 with at least 2 counts hitting 166 and several others in the 160+ range. We had 55 participants, which is spectacular; quite a few e-mailed yard lists a couple of which needed some adjustments and/or fact finding:). There were 9 write-ins with no new species for the long-term cumulative list. Will get to high and low counts soon, then will work on a summary write-up.

At the May meeting, the three recipients of the 2011 Ornithology Research Grants will make a short presentation of their research.

Megan Kobiela—Does mercury contamination affect risktaking behaviors in a small songbird? Tradeoffs between eating and being eaten.

Jenna R. Carlson—The effect of mercury on molt and flight performance in European Starlings.

Kenton Buck—An evolutionary approach to investigating mercury contamination in songbirds.

Plan to join us on May 16 at 7:30 pm in Room 150, Millington Hall on the W&M campus. Joanne and Alex Andrews will be providing the refreshments. Don't forget to use your parking permit.