Virginia Breeding Bird Atlas 22019 SUMMARY
Filling the gaps in statewide block coverage • Thismapillustratesthecumulativestatewideeffortbyvolunteerssince2016,whichisshownashoursperblock. •Relativetopastyears,significantlymoreeffortwasloggedintheruralregionsofthestate,e.g.thecentraland southernPiedmontaswellassouthwestVirginia. • Increasedvolunteerbirdinginruralpartsofthestatehelpedtosignificantlyreducethe‘whitespace’orareas withzerobreedingbirdobservationsacrossthestate.
VABBA2 Cumulative Block Effort 2019
www.vabba2.org
Volunteer Effort Over Time
Huge jump in Atlas priority block coverage in 2019! •Thisgraphshowshowvolunteereffortinpriorityblocksincreasedfrom 2018(purple)to2019(red)andhowthiscomparestoVABBA1(blue). • Inoneyear,volunteersreducedthenumberofpriorityblockswithless than30minutessurveytimefrom27%to7%! •TheprojectblastedpastVABBA1’s%ofblockswith20+hours!
VABBA2 Year Four: Field Season Report Cumulative Metrics:
1. 1,255 contributors2. 60,000 birding hours logged
3. 40% block completion4. 516,000 breeding codes reported
5. 4.4 million birds reported
Species Highlights Thisyearweaskedvolunteerstomakeaspecialefforttobirdopen habitatsofsouthernVirginia.Asaresultofvolunteerefforts… • Yellow-breasted ChatandNorthern Bobwhitedetectionsup bynearly50%in2019 • DetectionsofPrairie Warbler, Blue Grosbeak, and Grasshopper Sparrowalsoincreasedthisyear.
Winter Wren was officially confirmed as a VA breeder! • Whilesurveyinginahigh-elevationspruceforestonWhitetop MountainintheMt.RogersNationalRecreationarea,ornithologist Dr.StevenHoppand(BlueRidgeDiscoveryCenter)internCade
Campbell,foundafamilyofWinterWrensthatincludedatleasttworecentfledglings. • ThisconfirmationissatisfyingforvolunteerswholistenedtotheWinterWrens’songsechoingthroughthemountainsof westernVirginiaforthepastthreesummers,withoutbeingabletofindtheirbreedingterritories. • ThissamechecklistconfirmedBrownCreeperandprovidedaprobablecodeforCanadaWarbler,soifyouneededany furtherencouragementtovisitsouthwestVirginiathissummer,checkoutmoreoftheWhitetopmountainrecords!
Blockbusting in 2019 • Inthefourthfieldseason,weaskedvolunteerstoparticipateinblockbusting,ablitz-styleofsurveyingfocusedon collectingdatainremotepriorityblocks. •Independent blockbusterschosetargetblocksinthesouthernPiedmont,NorthernNeck,andwesternmountainsto surveyovermultiplevisits. •Theireffortsknockedoutoveradozenimportantpriorityblocks,logginganaverageof67speciesperblockandmany newnocturnalspeciesreports. •Blockbusting Rallies–Over50Atlasvolunteersparticipatedinsummerblockbustingrallies,whichtargetedunder- birdedareasofsouth-centralandsouthwestVirginia. •Thankstoincredibleenergyandenthusiasmduringtheseevents,volunteerssurveyed76newpriorityblocks,added severalthousandnewbreedingcodes,ANDrackedupmanygreatnocturnalspecies. •BirderstraveledfromMaryland,NoVA,Richmond,Charlottesville,Lexington,andmanypointsinbetweentoparticipate intheseimportantweekendblitzesnearNaturalTunnel,StauntonRiver,HungryMother,andTwinLakesStateParks. •Staytunedfornextyear’slistofAtlasrallydatesandlocations!Birdpho
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Canada Warbler Range Map
Goals for the Final Field Season in 2020…1. Fill the Gaps–volunteersabletotravelcanhelptheprojectbyfocusingtheirbirdingtimeinhigher rankingpriorityblocks(showningreenandblueonPriorityBlockmaptoleft),especiallyinareaswith largerconcentrationsoftheseblocks.2. Finish priority blocks that are close to completion–forexample,thenavy-blueblocksshownonthe 2020Targetmaponlyrequire1-2nocturnalsurveyhourstobefinished!3. Atlas in non-priority blocks with good habitats and public lands near home–ifyouareunableto traveltotargetedblocksorblockbustingevents,considerusingyourbirdingtimetovisit‘regular’Atlas blocksnearyouthathaveaccessibleareasofgoodhabitat.Intheeast,thismaymeanareaswithwetlands. Inthewest,thismaymeanbirdingpubliclyaccessiblegrasslandsorhigh-elevationforests.Inabilityto travelfardoesnotmeanthatyoucan’tcontribute.
Priority Block Target Map for 2020
Species Focus for 2020: Birds of the Mountain-Valley Region • PreliminaryAtlasdatasuggestthatthedistributionofhigh-elevationsongbirdspecies,e.g.Canadaand Black-throatedBlueWarbler,mayhaveincreasedsinceVABBA1. • ThecurrentCanadaWarblerdistributionmapillustrateswherethis specieshasbeenconfirmedbreedingso far,butMoresurveycoverageisneededspecificallyinsouthwestern Virginiatofullyunderstandthecurrentstatusofmontane-breedingbirds. • Tofullyunderstandthecurrentstatusofmontane-breedingsongbirds, moresurveycoverageisneededinsouthwesternVirginia. Note:Theseblocktargetsmaychangeslightlyafterblocksareassignedto summerfieldtechnicians.Staytunedfortheofficial2020Volunteer Blockbustingmapcomingsoon.
