Fifty-four counts were conducted in Virginia-Washington DC for the 2023-2024 Christmas Bird Count (CBC) season. This includes the new Dragon Run CBC compiled by Jeffrey Wright and the restarted Martinsville CBC compiled by Joe Keiper which hasn’t been conducted sine 1997. The Buchanan and Nassawadox CBCs were not conducted this season. The total number of species tallied on the 2023-2024 counts was 213 which is slightly higher than the 2022-2023 season total of 208. The total number of individuals was 752,144 which is lower than the 2022-2023 season total of 794,480.
There were a few compiler changes in 2023-2024. Cindy Hamilton assumed the compiling duties for the Back Bay count from Rob Bielawski. Robert Riggs is compiling the Blackford CBC again after a hiatus for a few years when Jane Thornhill filled in for him. Mary Foster turned over the reins for compiling the Chatham CBC to Larry Frauen. Susan Stanley assumed the compiling duties for the Dismal Swamp CBC from Cindy Morris. Marilyn Ailes turned over the Wachapreague CBC to Victor Klein.
The Mount Rogers-White Top Mountain CBC was the only one to set a new record for the Number of Observers this year with 21. Two counts set records for the Total Number of Species, Martinsville with 55 and Highland County with 56.
According to Geoff LeBaron, National Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count Director, in his 123rd Christmas Bird Count Summary, “Limpkins, on the other hand, are exploding northward from the deep Southeastern United States, likely in response to both a warming winter climate and the rapid expansion of introduced tropical apple snails, which the birds have quickly taken a liking to. Additionally, this adaptation seems to have enabled Limpkins to eat other marine invertebrates, further enabling their northward expansion.” His prediction of the northward expansion of Limpkins proved to be true for Virginia area this year as a Limpkin was recorded on the Back Bay CBC. This is a new species for CBCs in this region. When Virginia’s Birdlife: An Annotated Checklist (aka The Gold Book) was published in 2007, there was only one previous Limpkin sighting in the state and it occurred in 1971 in Lynchburg, but not on a Christmas Bird Count. According to eBird, there have been at least ten sightings reported in Virginia now (and five were submitted and accepted by the Virginia Avian Records Committee (VARCOM)).
Unfortunately, Red-cockaded Woodpecker was not observed on the Dismal Swamp CBC this year despite being found there for the last two years. According to the compiler, access to the known Red-cockaded Woodpecker clusters is limited.
There were some high counts of interest, most of which set region or local records.
• A new CBC high count of 1,774 Brown Pelicans was observed. This number includes local high counts of 1,035 seen at Cape Charles CBC and 313 at Back Bay CBC.
• The 1,889 White Ibis is a new high count for the area’s CBCs which includes a local high count of 1,647 for Chincoteague.
• Bald Eagles were observed in record numbers again with 1,768 breaking last year’s high count of 1,666. Several local counts also set new records for Bald Eagles including: 100 at Mathews, 91 Central Loudon, 6 Lynchburg, 3 Waynesboro, 2 Roanoke, 14 Blacksburg, 12 Glade Spring and 12 Blackford.
• The 4,072 American Coots are a recent high count since 7,470 were seen in 2016. This number is mostly due to 3,500 reported on the Fort Belvoir CBC but that wasn’t a local high count for Fort Belvoir as 11,153 were found there in 2014.
• The 676 Greater Yellowlegs is the most tallied this century and the most since the record high count of 730 in 1998. Chincoteague’s 364 Greater Yellowlegs accounted for over half of those seen in the state.
• The high count of 38 Whimbrels far exceeded the previous high count of 20 from 2013. These Whimbrels were reported on two counts and set local records for each of them: 7 at Wachapreague and 31 at Cape Charles.
• The new high count of 932 Short-billed Dowitchers was primarily due to the 605 counted on the Wachapreague CBC which was a local high count; the previous high count for Virginia was 761 tallied in 2001.
• The 13 Dovekie set a new high count for the state and was due to local high counts of 12 in Chincoteague and 1 at Back Bay; the previous high count for Dovekie was 5 seen in 2013.
• Laughing Gull numbers were also a new high count with 7,932 counted. This is an increase of over 2,000 from the previous record of 5,792 in 2015. Ninety-nine percent of these birds were found on four counts (538 at Newport News, 5,248 at Hopewell, 260 at Northumberland-Lancaster and 1,795 at Brooke). According to some of the compilers for these counts, Laughing Gulls seem to stage on rivers inland from the coast in November and December before dispersing. In some cases, nearby active landfills or an industrial fishing complex may be the draw but this doesn’t always seem to be the case.
• The 62 Merlins were a new high count for the state and included local high counts of 3 for Central Loudoun, 1 which was a new species for Sandy River Reservoir, 2 at Chatham, and 2 at Roanoke.
• Ash-throated Flycatcher is becoming somewhat regular as it has appeared four of the last five years on CBCs in the region. This year a record 4 of them were seen with one each at Back Bay, Williamsburg, Hopewell, and The Plains, where it was a new species.
• The 575 Eastern Phoebes were a new record high number and included these local high counts: 23 Back Bay, 49 Hopewell, 33 Washingtons Birthplace, 12 Central Loudoun, 3 that were a new species at Martinsville, 17 Rappahannock, and 17 Washington DC.
• Fish Crow numbers have been increasing over the past several years, but an increase of over 3,000 was a surprise with 10,992 setting a new high count over the 7,329 recorded in 2020. This includes a local high count of 2,984 for Central Loudoun.
• The 606 Winter Wrens are a new high count for the area and include these local high counts: 55 Hopewell, 24 Central Loudoun, 3 Chancellorsville, 23 Sandy River Reservoir, 2 that are a new species for Martinsville, 3 Highland County, 10 Mount Rogers-White Top Mountain, and 4 that are a new species for Cedars Preserve-Jonesville.
• Hermit Thrushes were found in large numbers with 1,629 setting a new state high count which included these local high counts: 88 Williamsburg, 99 Hopewell, 231 Fort Belvoir, 74 Central Loudoun, 102 The Plains, 66 Manassas-Bull Run, 42 Sandy River Reservoir, 3 that were a new species for Martinsville, 1 that was a new species for Highland County, 3 Mount Rogers-White Top Mountain, 3 Cedars Preserve-Jonesville, and 68 Washington DC.
• The 332 Gray Catbirds edged out the 308 seen fifty years ago in 1974 to set a new state high count. This included these local high counts: 14 Williamsburg, 30 Hopewell, 2 Middle Peninsula, 23 Fort Belvoir, 8 Central Loudoun, 4 Manassas-Bill Run, 4 Charlottesville, 2 Warren, 1 that was a new species for Sandy River Reservoir, 3 Lynchburg, 1 Rappahannock, and 23 Washington DC.
• The 74 Saltmarsh Sparrows are the most reported in nearly twenty years since the record high count of 137 in 2005. Most of these, 72, were seen on the Cape Charles CBC. The state ten-year running average is only 25 per year.
• Seaside Sparrows numbers were higher, too, with 63, the most since 88 were seen in 1993. Again, this was due to the Cape Charles CBC where 61 Seaside Sparrows were found. This is well above the ten-year running average of only 19 per year for Virginia.
These sightings are interesting as these species are unexpected or at least not found every year.
• Anhinga has been missed since 2012 until 2 were observed on this year’s Little Creek CBC. The first Anhinga on a Virginia CBC occurred on the Little Creek CBC in 1981. Including this year, it has been reported nine times on Virginia area CBCs now.
• The 12 Little Blue Herons was up from none last year and are the most seen since 17 in 2011.
• The only Glossy Ibises recorded in the state were 9 on the Chincoteague CBC; they hadn’t been found on a CBC since 3 were observed in 2019.
• A Calliope Hummingbird was a pleasant surprise on the Northumberland-Lancaster CBC. The bird was first seen in late November 2023. It was banded and its identity confirmed by Bruce Peterjohn on 8 Dec 2023. The bird stayed in the area until April 26, 2024. Calliope Hummingbirds have been documented twice previously on Virginia area CBCs, first in 2008 in Lynchburg and then in 2020 on Big Flat Mountain.
• One Western Kingbird was found on the Hopewell CBC.
• A single Nashville Warbler was identified on the Hopewell CBC and one was also observed Count Week on the Nansemond River CBC.
• A Black-throated Gray Warbler was seen last year and again this year on the Fort Belvoir CBC.
• A Yellow-breasted Chat was recorded on the Hopewell CBC.
• Lark Sparrows have been reported for the last three CBCs, including 3 this year (2 at Nansemond River and 1 at Williamsburg). They only occurred on three counts in the previous decade. The 3 this year are the highest since the high count of 4 in 2005.
• Two Western Tanagers were discovered this year after not being recorded since 2018, 1 at Little Creek and 1 at Nansemond River where it was a new species.
• A single Painted Bunting was observed at Back Bay; this species hasn’t been seen on a CBC in this region since 2018.
• Dickcissel wasn’t spotted for the last two years, but a single one was discovered this year on the Hopewell CBC where it was a new species.
• Brewer’s Blackbird has been missed since 2020 until 7 were photographed at Back Bay this year.
• A Bullock’s Oriole was a surprise on the Brooke CBC; this species hasn’t been reported on a CBC in the region since 1994 when one was on the J. H. Kerr Reservoir CBC which is no longer conducted.
Only a few hybrids were identified this year:
• A single Graylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid was seen on the Charlottesville CBC. This hybrid has turned up twice before on Virginia area CBCs. The first one was on the 2019 Manassas-Bull Run CBC and then two were found on the Middle Peninsula CBC in 2021.
• A total of 191 American Black Duck x Mallard hybrids were recorded on ten CBCs: 15 at Chincoteague, 1 Cape Charles, 1 Nansemond River, 1 Newport News, 2 Williamsburg, 139 Hopewell, 1 Walkerton, 1 Fort Belvoir, 29 Rappahannock, and 1 Washington DC.
• One Herring Gull x Lesser Black-backed Gull hybrid was discovered on the Chincoteague CBC.
And then there are always some species with low numbers (some expected and some not so much).
• The 691 Tundra Swans is surprisingly low; the last time this number fell below 1,000 was in 1965 when only 121 were observed. It is well below the ten-year running average of 2,884.
• Only 86 Long-tailed Ducks were recorded; 51 of these were on the Chincoteague CBC. Their numbers on the region’s CBCs have been dropping since the early 1990s when their ten-year averages were around 1,000. Today that ten-year average is only 134.
• The 11 Northern Bobwhite is up from only 3 seen last year but still well below the ten-year average of 33.
• Only 1 Ruffed Grouse was found in Highland County which is disappointing after 6 were detected last year.
• The 367 Red-throated Loons is the lowest number tallied since 264 were recorded in 1998.
• Black Vulture numbers have been declining since the high count of 7,318 were seen in 2019 with only 4,843 located this year.
• The 59 Clapper Rails reported is below the ten-year running average of 78. This ten-year running average has been declining since it was 123 in 2013 when the record high count of 143 Clapper Rails occurred.
• Marbled Godwit numbers have been below 100 for the last four years after the high count of 517 in 2016. Only 19 were seen this year which is the lowest since none were recorded in 2003.
• Ring-billed Gull numbers also seem to be declining; only 38,034 were counted this year. The high count is 112,446 from 2002 and annual numbers have been decreasing since then.
• The 27,666 Red-winged Blackbirds are the lowest number seen since 24,279 in 1992, over 40 years ago!
One last item of interest, of the 765 American Oystercatchers observed on CBCs in the state this year, three were photographed on the Cape Charles CBC sporting black leg bands with white lettering. Bill Williams’ photographs of them were sharp enough to read the letters on their leg bands. He researched the band numbers and discovered that all three were banded as nestlings on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, two on Fisherman’s Island in Northampton County and one further north on Shanks Island in the upper Chesapeake Bay portion of Accomack County.
LITERATURE AND MEDIA CITED
Bose, Arun, former compiler of Hopewell CBC, 3 April 2024 personal email to R. Bruno
Hilburger, Steve, compiler 2023-2024 Brooke CBC, 2 April 2024 & 4 April 2024 personal emails to R. Bruno
LeBaron, Geoff, 123rd Christmas Bird Count Summary, National Audubon Society, https://www.audubon.org/news/123rd-christmas-bird-count-summary, 7/4/24
Limpkin species map, Cornell Lab, eBird data base, eBird.org. 5/31/24
Rottenborn, S. C. and Brinkley, E. S. 2007. Virginia Birdlife: An Annotated Checklist, Virginia Society of Ornithology
Stanley, Susan, compiler 2023-2024 Dismal Swamp CBC, 9 March 2024 personal email to R. Bruno
Virginia Society of Ornithology, Virginia Avian Records Committee (VARCOM) DOVES data base, VSOdoves.org, 5/13/24
Williams, Bill, A Christmas Bird Count Journey with Three American Oystercatchers, The Flyer, Newsletter of the Williamsburg Bird Club Newsletter, Vol. 48, No. 3, March 2024
Williams, Bill, 25 June 2024 personal email to R. Bruno
Wright, Jeffrey, compiler 2023-2024 Northumberland-Lancaster CBC, 28 February 2024 and 28 June 2024 personal emails to R. Bruno