ThrashertheNewsletter of the Richmond Audubon Society

MAY/JUNE 2014 VOLUME 41, ISSUE 3

Wayne AlfredRAS Member and Nature Photographer

In this IssueWayne Alfred 1President’s Message 2Winter Invaders 2May Program 3Wayne’s Favorite Photos 4Photo Gallery 5May/June Field Trips 6Vernal Dance 7Annual RAS Picnic 7Nominating Committee Report 7RAS Officers 8

My wife Mary and I lived inHouston for 40 years. After a dayat High Island during the 1967spring migration as guest of abirder friend, we were hooked,and enjoyed many years ofbirding along the Gulf coast andother areas in Texas andLouisiana. We covered manystates, Canada and parts ofEurope vacationing by bicycle,and wherever we went; we tookour binoculars and bird bookand looked for birds. We tookour first independent birdingtrip to Alaska in 2005. Sincemoving to Chester in 2006 to benear our grand kids, we havecovered the eastern shore fromNorth Carolina to Delaware andmany birding hot spots inVirginia. We have also takenbirding trips to Newfoundland,SE Arizona, Southern Florida,and coastal Maine, and even ontrip to NYC to go to the opera, wespent 2 hours in Central Parkand spotted 26 species includingmany migrating warblers.Photography has been a hobbyof mine since my teen years.While I enjoy taking bird photos,my focus has been on all livingcreatures from flowers to bugs tobears and of course my grand

kids. For the past few years I havebeen using an Olympus camera,12 megapixels with an 18x zoomplus macro features as well. The2-gig memory card allows me totake more than 100 pictures. Thiscamera has its limitations, but Ihave learned how to make it workfor me. When photographingbirds, I try to be inconspicuous,wearing clothing to blend in withthe environment and havelearned to slowly advancetowards the bird(s) for a goodclose-up view.

Wayne and Mary Alfred with a backdrop of Northern Gannets

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MAY/JUNE 2014 VOLUME 41, ISSUE 3

Richmond Audubon Society

The Richmond Audubon Societypromotes the enjoyment,understanding,and preservationof birds, other wildlife, andhabitat through education,advocacy, and fellowship.

Important Notices

RAS membership meetings are on the3rd Thursday of the month except June,July, August and December. Meetings areat 7:00 PM, and are held at St. LukeLutheran Church at Custis Road andChippenham Parkway unless notified.

RAS Board meetings are held on the 2ndThursday on alternate months starting inJanuary (except June and August). In July,the Board has its annual strategic planningretreat. RAS members are welcome toattend board meetings, but let the Presidentor Secretary know due to spaceconsiderations. Meeting locations vary;contact the President or Secretary forlocation details.

Richmond Audubon Society is also achapter of the Virginia Society ofOrnithology and the VirginiaConservation Network.

Richmond Audubon SocietyP.O. Box 26648Richmond, VA 23261

(804) 257-0813www.RichmondAudubon.org

Richmond Audubon Society is aregistered non­profit 501 (C) (3)charitable organization. Donations aretax deductible.

Thanks to these Thrasher Volunteers:

Lewis Barnett, Louise Reza: Proofreading.Michael Dardozzi: Mailing List.Ben Griffon: Web Posting.

President’s MessageLewis Barnett

Publication ScheduleThe Thrasher is issued six times a year.Please submit articles tothrasher@richmondaudubon.org no laterthan the 10th of the month before eachissue. Deadline for the next issue isJune 10.

the Thrasher, Newsletter of the Richmond Audubon Society

anchored in the geography of ourregion.

After looking at what people hadput together with Frank’sassistance, I pitched the idea ofthe birding almanac as acomponent of the web site, andhe set me up with the resourcesto do the authoring. What I neednow is help – ideas for month-by-month “story points” tying thebirding cycle to locations alongthe James, as well as images orvideo to go along with the storypoints, copy writing or editingassistance, and so forth. Thecontent we produce can then beshared between the Envision theJames web site and RichmondAudubon’s web site.

Have a look at the web site. If thissounds interesting to you andyou’d like to contribute, please letme know!

Birders love this time of year –spring migration gets us backoutside after the long winter, andreintroduces us to favorite birdsthat grace our forests only at thistime of year. But lately, I’ve beenthinking about the window thatwe in central Virginia get on thewhole annual cycle of bird life.There are things to keep ourinterest going around thecalendar, if we only look around.We’ve just lived through one ofthe most unpleasant winters inrecent memory, but it was reallyfantastic for birding. Fall providesa more leisurely opportunity tosee those migrating songbirds,and provides all the neat puzzlesof “confusing fall warblers.”Breeding season has its ownappeal.

I’m looking for collaborators tohelp turn these observations intoa sort of on-line almanac ofbirding focused on Richmond andthe James River. I recently metFrank Biasi, a member of staff atNational Geographic who isfacilitating the construction of anexcellent web resource called“Envision the James.”(http://www.envisionthejames.org/) The site is organized into aseries of “geostories,” collectionsof rich media information

In many years the mid-Atlantic can expect remarkablewinter invasions from northernspecies. Birds like Red-breastedNuthatch, Red Crossbill and manymore from the finch family come tomind for their invasions in recentwinters. This winter, the winter of’13-’14, will be the winter of theSnowy Owl in many peoples minds.Who knows how many Snowy Owlswere in the state at any one time,but it’s reasonable to say that at thepeak of their incursion south, atleast ten individual birds werepresent and maybe more. The largeinfluxes, or irruptions, of the abovespecies can often be connected toproductivity within their normalrange. These irruptions areexpected if still not always easily

Winter Invadersby Ellison Orcutt

Continued on page 3

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the Thrasher, Newsletter of the Richmond Audubon Society MAY/JUNE 2014 VOLUME 41, ISSUE 3

May ProgramCaroline Coe, Program Chair

Cccoe@verizon.net - 804-276-1397

Thursday, May 15, 2014Journey of the TravelingNaturalist: Tales of a FieldBiologist with Ellison Orcutt.

"Stories of a traveling biologist.  Join EllisonOrcutt for a night of story telling and discovery. ARichmond Native, but at home on the road, Ellisonwill share his stories of working as wildlifebiologist and birder across the country.  Join himfor a boat ride to the center of the Gulf of Mexicoto monitor whales, a hike to the top of the RockyMountains to count snakes and bats and kayaktrips to the tip of Cape Cod to count endangeredshorebirds.  Wherever he takes you there's a storyand a bird to go with it.

Join us at 6:30 pm for pre-meeting coffee, cookiesand conversations. The meeting will begin at 7:00pm.

There are no RAS Member Programsscheduled in June, July or August. Considerattending the RAS picnic on June 21 (see articleon page 7) when we can take our passion for birdsand nature outdoors and indulge our appetites forgood food and great company at Arrahatteck.

Our meetings resume on Thursday, September 18,2014, when Lou and Naseem Reza will share somegreat pictures and adventures with us.

Continued on page 6

on the Great Lakes. White-winged Scoters are regularwinter visitors to coastal Virginia but are rare away fromthe coast. The Red-necked Grebe is largest grebe speciesexpected each winter on the Atlantic Coast. In NorthAmerica, the Clark’s and Western Grebes are its onlylarger relatives. During the winter, it lacks the beautifulrufous-red neck and is identified by its long yellow bill,black cap and white face. Red-necked Grebespredominately feed on fish and aquatic invertebrates.They breed in the northwestern portions of the continentand winter along both coasts and on the Great Lakes. Inthe mid-Atlantic they occur annually but in very lownumbers most years. Virginians will remember this winter as a winter “likethey used to be.” There were many days spent well belowfreezing and regular snowstorms. At one point therewere ice flows crunching down the James River. Whilethings were cold in the mid-Atlantic, things were trulyfrozen farther north. By early March, the Great Lakeswere almost frozen over. Based on satellite imagery thesurface area of the Great Lakes was over ninety percentfrozen at its peak. This meant that birds attempting towinter on the Great Lakes were running out of open waterto feed in. This is important for central Virginia becausemany of these birds began fleeing South to avoid theharsh winter and frozen waters. The scoters came first,followed by the grebes. By early January individuals werestarting to turn up at unlikely places around the state butit was not until late January that the scoters made anappearance in the Richmond area. On January 26th, RASpresident Lewis Barnett photographed a single White-winged Scoter on the James River at The Wetlands. Thatbird marked the beginning of numerous sightings aroundthe area. As the winter went on, White-winged Scoters wereseen up and down the James within the city limits.Remarkably, Arun Bose, found six young male White-winged Scoters on the river at Huguenot Flatwater onMarch 6th. Over the winter, Richmond area “White-wings” were also noted at West Creek Lake in Goochland,Swift Creek Reservoir and Henricus Park in Chesterfieldand City Point in Hopewell. While the scoters weregetting used to their new homes for the winter, Red-necked Grebes were just beginning to push south. Red-necked Grebes began turning up in numbers inJanuary, but most of those birds were towards the coast orstill a bit north of the Richmond area. In mid-Februarygrebes began appearing in significant numbers across thestate and by early March there were some remarkablecounts in central Virginia. On February 8th, Jack Esworthyphotographed a Red-necked Grebe at Swift Creek Reservoirin Chesterfield. That bird marked the arrival of Red-neckedGrebes to the Richmond area. Individuals were still scarcein the area into early March, however. That changed onMarch 8th when I counted an astonishing twenty-threebirds at Swift Creek Reservoir. By the end of March,

predicted. What was remarkable about the winter of ’13-’14 was the mid to late winter invasion of sea ducks andgrebes. Among them, White-winged Scoters and Red-necked Grebes arrived in the most extraordinarynumbers. White-winged Scoters are the largest of the threescoter species. Helpfully named, they are easilyseparated from the other scoter species by their whitewing patches. They are a diving duck whichpredominately feeds on invertebrates includingmollusks and crustaceans. These birds breed in centraland western Canada and parts of Alaska. They winter inlarge numbers along both coasts and to a lesser extent

Winter Invaders - continued from page 2

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Wayne Alfred’sFavorite Photos

Brown Noddy - Dry Tortugas, FL

Northern Gannets - Cape St. Mary, Newfoundland, Canada

the Thrasher, Newsletter of the Richmond Audubon SocietyMAY/JUNE 2014 VOLUME 41, ISSUE 3

Magnolia Warbler, Magee Marsh, OH

Elegant Trogon - Fort Huachuca, AZ

Atlantic Puffins - Machias Seal Island, New Brunswick, Canada

MAY/JUNE 2014 VOLUME 41, ISSUE 3the Thrasher, Newsletter of the Richmond Audubon Society

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Photo by Arun Bose

Red-necked Grebe with yellow perch at Swift Creek Reservoir

White-winged Scoter-pair at Brown’s Island, Richmond

Photo by Naseem Reza

An iconic harbinger- - -

When the first Whip-poor-will returns torural America, hisvoice soothes thelistener and signals tofarmers that the timeto plant corn is here.

Photo by Joe LivelyWhip-poor-will

Photo by Robert SabatiniHorned Grebe inbreeding plumage atDutch Gap

Ellison Orcutt with Spider Crab

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MAY/JUNE 2014 VOLUME

Field Trips

Ellison OrcuttThese are all the RAS trips thathave been submitted as of thepublication date. Check theRAS listserv

(if you don’t subscribe the archives are atwww.freelists.org/archive/va-richmond-general/) or theRAS website for any late breaking newsabout field trips (www.richmondaudubon.org/ActivFieldTrip.html.)

the Thrasher, Newsletter of the Richmond Audubon

May 3rd Saturday42nd St. with Arun BoseStart time: 7:00 amWarblers! Join Arun to explore one of the best city limitslocations for enjoying the spring warbler migration. Thisbeautiful section of the James River Park has a treetoppedestrian bridge that can produce eye level views ofhard to spot warblers and other migrants. Meet Arun atthe 42nd st. lot off of Riverside Dr. A small $5.00 fee perperson will be collected to benefit Richmond Audubon.For more information contact him atarun1bose@gmail.com.

May 4th Sunday and June 1st SundayBryan Park with Sue Ridd: 804-270-5365.Start time: ½ hour after sunriseMeeting location: Shelter 1, Joseph Bryan ParkJoin Sue for early morning birding in Bryan Park. Thishistoric park in Richmond’s Northside always has anabundance of birds. For more information, call Sue.

May 10th Saturday and June 15th SaturdayDutch Gap with Lewis BarnettMeet Lewis at 8:00 am at the entrance to HenricusHistorical Park/Dutch Gap Conservation area. Explorethis great birding destination to see what birds arearound. Migration will be in full swing; help Lewis findsome stunning spring warblers. For more information,contact president@richmondaudubon.org.

May 11th SundayThree Lakes Park with Ellison OrcuttStart time: 7:30 amJoin Ellison for a morning of birding at Three Lakes Park.This small Henrico County park, which is known for itslakes is also home to nesting Prothonotary Warblers andcan have good birds during migrations. The park is

located off of Wilkinson Rd near its intersection withChamberlayne Rd. The address is 400 Sausiluta Dr.Henrico, VA 23227. For more information contactEllison at fieldtrips@richmondaudubon.org.

May 17th SaturdayLickinghole Creek Craft Brewery with Lewis Barnettand Ellison OrcuttJoin us for this walk on the site of Virginia’s only FarmBrewery. Located on Little  Lickinghole Creek inGoochland County, the property boasts a variety ofhabitat types. A brewery tour will follow the walk, anda release party for a new beer will begin soon after thewalk concludes. Meet at the Tuckahoe VillageShopping Center on Patterson Avenue near theMcDonalds at 8:15 am to carpool to the Brewery, ormeet on site at 9:00 am. Contact Lewis Barnett(president@richmondaudubon.org, 804-920-4723) toregister. The brewery is located at 4100 Knolls PointDr, Goochland, VA 23063.

June 11th WednesdayBelmead Estate with John and Caroline CoeJoin the Coes as they conduct a breeding bird surveyfor the estate. It will be a great opportunity to discoverthe breeding birds of central Virginia and a valuablecontribution to citizen science. Belmead rests on thebanks of the James River in Powhatan County. Detailsregarding a meeting place and a meeting time for thewalk are still pending. Please check the website orFacebook closer to the date of the walk for thesedetails. Call or email John for more information:Johnwcoe@verizon.net, 804.276.1397.

Winter Invaders - continued from page 3

Red-necked Grebes were recorded within the Richmondcity limits at three different places along the river andeven one on Swan Lake in Byrd Park. In addition to thesecity birds, others were discovered in opposite ends ofHenrico, one at Innsbrook and the other at Curles NeckFarm in far eastern Henrico. Add to that, three werediscovered at Lake Shawnee in Powhatan. The peak oftheir incursion into Virginia in early to mid March linesup nicely with the peak of ice coverage on the GreatLakes. And the birders lined up nicely to take it all in. Perhaps, in no field of natural history are seasonaland yearly changes better documented than in bird study.For hundreds of years professional ornithologists andamateur birders have been documenting distributions,arrivals and departures of birds across North America.As we continue to add waves of valuable information tothe subject, it remains evident that comprehension of ourfeathered subjects is a complicated matter. The marvelof this winter has shown me that it’s not what I knowabout birds but what I don’t know that makes a birder.

MAY/JUNE 2014 VOLUME 41, ISSUE 3the Thrasher, Newsletter of the Richmond Audubon Society

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Nominating CommitteeFinal Report - 2014

The Nominating Committee putsforward the following 2014 slate:

2nd Vice President: Ben SaundersNewsletter Chair: Naseem RezaField Trips Chair: Ellison OrcuttCyberspace Chair: Ben GriffonPrograms Chair: Caroline Coe

We have not at this time identifiedcandidates for Legislation,Hospitality, Virginia AudubonCouncil Representative, and YouthEducation Chair.

Vernal Dance by Joe LivelyWords are dynamic. Sometimes they seem totake on a living personality all their own. As youget older, some words can change meanings. As achild, words used that were used to describespectacular events could even evolve to designatea celebration and cause certain mental images.

For example: while the words Christmas  andEaster referred to a significant religious time,they also conjured up visions of hangingstockings by the fireplace in nervousanticipation. Likewise Easter held specialmeaning for eternal hope, but every young childdanced with joy as they envisioned participationin the yearly adventure of Easter eggs hunting.

The word “dance” also has special meaningstoday. For humans, its origin has evolved lightyears away from the cotillion years. It still meansa special type of frenzied physical activity. Manyhumans have never noticed, but naturecontinually holds dances to celebrate specialevents – like the arrival of spring.

Spring music accompanying participants isprovided by an eternal, cyclic symphony. Everyliving entity reacts to that music in a unique way,

specific to his species. Voices contributed by thewind blowing through bare trees, rain beatingout a cadence on the roof or spring peepers andchorus frogs harmonizing with crickets and otherstridulating insects. All have a role, all are linked.

Magical tones include the distinct resonanceof  hummingbird wings, as that tiny travelerapproaches to your feeder, the soothing sound ofthe season’s first whip-poor-will announcing hisarrival. Migrating birds add their song and colorspeaks a special message. Some of the membersof our orchestra offer visual notes, as simple aschanges in wave length. Living organisms maynot even be aware of all subtle changes takingplace around us. Cosmically generated sounds,earth movements, tides or gravitational shiftscaused by movements of distant star systems areprobably beyond our perception, but they dohave a role.

Unfortunately, poets, writers and photographershave only a limited ability to retain and captureall the sensory input, but life itself reacts to thestimulus. Indeed, the very meaning of life itselfwould be lost without this eternal dance.

Annual RAS Picnic,Saturday, June 21,

2014

Nelda Snyder will host ourannual picnic for the twenty-third consecutive year at herbeautiful Varina home onSaturday, June 21st. Come by8:00 am for the morning birdwalk. Coffee will be ready andwaiting for you. The rain dateis Sunday, June 22nd. CallNelda at 795-1446 or 869-7588 Saturday after 7:00 amif in doubt.Bring your own meat to cookon the grills and a dish to

share (four or more servings).We will eat around noon. RASwill provide drinks, ice, andutensils. Nelda will providecharcoal, picnic tables andchairs, and condiments.Children are welcome, butplease leave your pets athome. Besides your food andbinoculars, be sure to bringfishing gear and yourswimsuit. Come join us forthis RAS season finale.

Nelda's address is 9900Arrahatteck Trail,Henrico VA 23231Please click on the above linkto get detailed directions.

John Coe is on assignment. His column willreturn in the next issue.

Richmond Audubon SocietyP.O. Box 26648Richmond, VA 23261www.RichmondAudubon.org

Non-Profit OrganizationU.S. Postage PaidRichmond, VA

Permit Number 3022

NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETYChapter Membership Application

Yes, please enroll me (us) as a newmember(s) of both National andRichmond Audubon Societies at theaddress below, at the introductoryrate. A subscription to the NASmagazine, Audubon is included.□  Individual/Family  Member(s)  $20enclosed□ Student/Senior Member $15 enclosedName___________________________Address _________________________City ____________________________State___ ZIP _____________________Phone __________________________E-mail __________________________Make check payable to National AudubonSociety and write “C0ZX530Z”on thecheck. Send your check and application to:Richmond Audubon Society,P.O. Box 26648, Richmond, VA 23261C0ZX530Z

MAY/JUNE 2014 VOLUME 41, ISSUE 3 the Thrasher, Newsletter of the Richmond Audubon Society

Officers / Committee Chairs for 2013-2014President Lewis Barnett president@richmondaudubon.org 804-320-7898

1st Vice President Eileen Geller vicepresident1@richmondaudubon.org 804-747-5143

2nd Vice President Ben Saunders vicepresident2@richmondaudubon.org 804-272-0605

Bird-A-Thon Lewis Barnett president@richmondaudubon.org 804-320-7898

Conservation Kathryn Rubis conservation@richmondaudubon.org

Cyberspace Ben Griffon Cyberspace@richmondaudubon.org 804-767-0131

Development Jack Esworthy development@richmondaudubon.org 630- 940-9698

Education Joyce Caldwell education@richmondaudubon.org 804-560-3444

Field Trips Ellison Orcutt fieldtrips@richmondaudubon.org 804-339-6976

Hospitality Vacant

IBA/VAC Rep Margaret O'Bryan IBA@richmondaudubon.org 804-262-1656

Legislation Vacant

Membership Michael Dardozzi membership@richmondaudubon.org 267-221-2569

Past President Pam Dummitt pastpresident@richmondaudubon.org 804-929-3899

Programs Caroline Coe programs@richmondaudubon.org 804-276-1397

Publicity Diane Jadlowski publicity@richmondaudubon.org 702-308-1953

Secretary Sue Ridd secretary@richmondaudubon.org 804-270-5365

Thrasher Editor Naseem Reza thrasher@richmondaudubon.org 804-272-1145

Treasurer/Finance Pam Dummitt treasurer@richmondaudubon.org 804-929-3899

Youth Robin Ruth (interim) RASkids@richmondaudubon.org 804-231-5949