NVBA NEWS BLOG
Welcome to the blog for Northern Virginia Bird Alliance, a wealth of resources about northern Virginia birds, wildlife, habitat conservation and restoration, native plants, wildlife-friendly gardening, advocacy and more.
Bald Eagles are Thriving but Face Challenges
In an article published in the March 10, 2022 Mount Vernon Gazette Newspapers, Glenda Booth reported on a presentation about the state of Bald Eagles in our region.
Photo: Bald Eagle, Deborah Smith/Audubon Photography Awards
In an article published in the March 10, 2022 Mount Vernon Gazette Newspapers, Glenda Booth reported on a presentation about the state of Bald Eagles in our region.
Bald Eagle, Deborah Smith/Audubon Photography Awards
“Virginia’s tidal rivers are just loaded with bald eagles,” Jeff Cooper told 210 people attending the March 2 meeting of the Friends of Dyke Marsh. These large raptors with an 80-inch wingspan regularly breed, nest, forage and migrate on and near rivers like the Potomac. People see bald eagles frequently at Dyke Marsh, Mason Neck and Fort Belvoir. Cooper is wildlife biologist with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources and has worked with birds for over 30 years and co-authored 17 papers. (Read the entire article here.)
“The Birds Are Back in Town”
The saga of the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel Seabird Colony continues.
Photo: Tern Colony, VA DWR
The saga of the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel Seabird Colony continues. The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) monthly blog on the colony reports that at the last visit there were more than 3,000 adult Royal Terns nesting on the Fort Wool site. Also spotted were interspersed nesting Sandwich Terns and some Laughing Gulls nearby. Black Skimmers, Common Terns and 11 adult Gull-billed Terns (a state-threatened species) are nesting on the barges.
You will recall DWR’s construction of a habitat for the nesting birds on Fort Wool and nearby barges was a cliff-hanger last year. The habitat had to replace nesting sites from a long-time colony displaced by the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel Expansion Project, and success was not guaranteed. DWR celebrated the project’s success in an article in the Virginia Wildlife magazine (If You Build It, They Will Come), and started the monthly blog to report on this year’s activity.
Birders are not allowed to visit the colony, but the current issue of the blog provides the next best thing, stunning 360⁰ views of the nesting sites on Fort Wool and the barges, plus lovely pictures of the different seabird eggs. You can subscribe to DWR’s monthly reports here. Choose “Wildlife Updates” to get a monthly notice of new articles.