October at the Kiptopeke Hawkwatch |
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Photo credits: Center: Pine Siskin in flight, by Steve Thornhill. Top and bottom left: Karl Bardon and Bridgett Brunea, by Steve Thornhill. Top right: CVWO logo with mask by Brian Taber. Bottom right: Blue Jay, by Karl Bardon. |
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Because of the pandemic, the education and interpretation efforts by CVWO's staff at Kiptopeke State Park this fall are different. To ensure the safety of our staff and visitors, we will limit group sizes on the hawkwatch platform and in our education programs. And of course we'll be abiding by all guidelines in effect at the Park.
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Two Words from the Prez – Blue Jays! |
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CVWO is lucky to have a hawkwatcher, Karl Bardon, who also pays attention to every non-hawk migrant bird he can. That's an amazing task. This fall, the Blue Jay migration appears to be the largest ever at Kiptopeke, though previous hawkwatchers and volunteers didn't keep season-long counts like this.
In previous years, they have recorded some big days, though, like 8,000+ on two occasions. So far, Karl's daily high count is 12,000+ with a season high as of Oct 20 at an astounding 77,000+!
For comparison, Hawk Ridge Hawkwatch in Duluth has so far recorded 50,000+ and Hawk Mountain in Pennsylvania less than 500. The food sources for Blue Jays were judged earlier in the fall to be poor, causing the huge southbound movement. I've been lucky to be at Kiptopeke for three of the better days, when Blue Jays passed by all day long.
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There is still quite a lot of migration season left. Visit the hawkwatch platform at Kiptopeke State Park which will operate daily until November 30, weather permitting.
A RECORD YEAR FOR KIPTOPEKE CHALLENGE – IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE
CVWO is grateful for the record-breaking donations to the Challenge teams this year. A few pledges are still expected; nevertheless, donations will exceed $12,000 this year - a record!
CVWO relies on these KC donations to fund so many of our efforts every year. Because of your generosity, CVWO is able to grant three scholarships, support butterfly counts and Christmas Bird Counts, pay our biologists and educators at Kiptopeke each fall, and support Prothonotary Warbler and raptor research.
Every donation is important! Our all-volunteer Board is committed to stretching our funds as far as they will go. Thank you for your support!
Read more about the record number of species in this year's Kiptopeke Challenge below from coordinator Dave Youker.
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October at the Kiptopeke Hawkwatch |
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LIVE AT KIPTOPEKE
If you can't travel to Kiptopeke, you can still keep tabs on the daily raptor numbers online – at two web sites.
The first is Hawkcount.org. Kiptopeke's numbers can be accessed here by selecting "Find a Hawkwatch" on the left-hand side, choosing "Virginia" then "Kiptopeke Hawkwatch" and then selecting the "Monthly" or "Daily" tab on the left-hand side.
The second is Dunkadoo.org. N umbers can be accessed here by selecting "Explore" at the top, then finding Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory tab on the map and selecting it.
Both of these websites provide real-time updates for what we're observing throughout the day!
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CVWO'S BLOG
Check out Bridgett’s CVWO Blog for highlights from the Hawkwatch.
Oct. 23: "A New Wave of Migration"
Oct. 21: "Live at Kiptopeke"
Oct. 17: "Pine Siskins at Kiptopeke"
Oct. 12: "Notes on Nuthatches"
Oct. 9: "Unusual Avian Visitors"
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Blue Jay in flight. Photo by Steve Thornhill. |
Cooper's Hawk October 2. Photo by Steve Thornhill. |
Pine Siskin October 9. Photo by Steve Thornhill. Large numbers of Pine Siskins have been observed this year. |
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By Bridgett Brunea
October has been a busy month for hawkwatch! Not only does October generally contain the highest number of migrating birds, but often, it also holds a few surprises.
One of the big highlights of this month was the historic number of Blue Jays that were counted. While we had been seeing relatively high numbers throughout the end of September, their numbers quickly exploded once October hit, with a daily high count of 12,744 on October 2nd! This far exceeded previous daily high count records, and with several more such days, we've ended up with more than 77,000 throughout the past few weeks - that's more than half of our total birds seen this season!
October has also marked our first hummingbird rarity, something many people eagerly wait for each year. On October 8th, an immature male Black-chinned Hummingbird was observed on the platform. It even came back the next morning, and several additional people were able to get a glance. Steve Thornhill took this stunning photo, below, October 9.
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2020 is an invasion year, meaning we have observed both Pine Siskins and Red-breasted Nuthatches spending a lot of time flying overhead and at the feeders. Pine Siskins in particular are present in high numbers, with nearly 4,000 counted in October.
This month also sees the beginning of the transition into the later part of the migration season, with Red-tailed and Red-shouldered Hawks beginning to migrate in larger numbers.
We hope you’ll stop by for a visit. Please respect the “safe zone” for the hawkwatcher and observe the other social distancing signs on the platform.
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Bald Eagle over the Hawkwatch Platform October 4. Photo by Steve Thornhill |
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2020 Monarch Study So Far |
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Monarch biologist Ashley Hansen shows how she captures Monarchs for study and tagging. Photo by Steve Thornhill |
By Ashley Hansen, Monarch Biologist
In total, I have observed 156 monarchs and captured 119 within all of the different sites, with the highest number both observed and captured coming from the Sunday Field in Kiptokeke.
Of the 119 captured, 68 were male and 51 were female, which correlates with previous years ratios, just at a much smaller scale as there have been much fewer observed and captured thus far.
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Ashley prepares to remove a Monarch from the tip of the net to measure and tag it before release. Photo by Shirley Devan |
For floral association, all monarchs were captured while nectaring. The greatest number of individuals caught were on the very plentiful goldenrod, followed by the blue mistflower and Common Lantana (which is exclusive to the Visitor Center, much as the Mexican Sunflower is exclusive to the Nature Garden and Clematis only found in small patches along the Butterfly Trail).
Part of the reason I believe for the lower numbers through these areas this year would be the higher number of rainy days, low temperatures, and high winds blowing them away. I'm hoping that I'll see more out there and can at least get our count up to 200 for the season.
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Recap – 2020 Kiptopeke Challenge |
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Conor Ferrell. C'ville Cerulean. Photo by Brian Taber |
By Dave Youker, KC Coordinator
The 2020 Kiptopeke Challenge was September 26. Ten 10 teams participated, and they birded everywhere from the Eastern Shore to Virginia Beach to the middle and lower peninsulas.
Mindful of COVID-19 restrictions, CVWO allowed teams of one to participate versus the normal requirement of two or more. This generated a few new teams with names such as Solitary Vireo, Peninsula Parulidae, Beltway Brobolinks, Dragon Ladies, Philadelphia Vireos, Road Runners, and Bantering Broad-wings. Of course, we still had our perennial teams of Laughing Falcons, Gulls Gone Wild, and C’ville Cerulean.
The total species seen by all teams was 170 which is about 15 species more than the last two years. With teams spread around the coastal plain of Virginia, there were 33 different species that were only seen by a single team. And there were 7 species that every team encountered. After 26 years of Kiptopeke Challenges, it’s hard to come up with new species and none were recorded this year. But the big miss this Challenge was Cattle Egret which was the first time this species was missed in all previous events.
The category winners for this year’s Challenge are as follows:
- 24-hour: Laughing Falcons with 112 species
- 3-hour: Dragon Ladies with 9 species
- Special Venue: Gulls Gone Wild with 62 species
- Youth: C’ville Cerulean with 114 species
The deadline for teams to get their remaining donations in is October 31. After that, the Piping Plover trophy can be awarded to the team raising the most funds. Total funds raised by all team to this point are around $12,000. These funds are the primary source for CVWO to hire our seasonal employees and meet our other program requirements. All CVWO funds go directly to mission accomplishment.
Some of this year’s participants have already discussed strategies on how to improve upon their totals in 2021. Others are just looking forward to another great event where they can have fun birding some of their favorite locations in the coastal plain of VA. The tentative date for 2021 Kiptopeke Challenge is September 25. Start planning now!
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Here at the ten 2020 KC Teams: |
- Solitary Vireo – Brian Taber
- Laughing Falcons – Bob Ake, David Clark, Andrew Baldelli
- Gulls Gone Wild – Shirley Devan, Nancy Barnhart, Jan Lockwood, Barbara Neis
- Peninsula Parulidae – Dave Youker
- Dragon Ladies – Maryanna Fisher, Peggy Combs
- Bantering Broadwings – Karl Bardon, Bridgett Brunea
- Beltway Brobolinks – Scott Stafford, Josh Stafford
- Road Runners – Harry & Rochelle Colestock
- Philadelphia Vireos – Harry Armistead, George Armistead
- C’ville Cerulean – Conor Ferrell
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Wild Turkey observed and photographed by Dave Youker, Peninsula Parulidae team. |
Gulls Gone Wild Team. Selfie photo by Nancy Barnhart on far right. Other Gulls are Barbara Neis (pink mask), Jan Lockwood (green mask), Shirley Devan (red mask) |
Red-shouldered Hawk observed and photographed by Rochelle Colestock of the Road Runners team |
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Tune in to "Virtual Lunch and Learn" Series
sponsored by Hawk Migration Association of North America
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The next event is November 18 at 12 noon when Vic Berardi is LIVE to talk about "Winter Raptor Survey!"
Join us online November 18 when veteran hawkwatcher and photographer extraordinaire Vic Berardi, site coordinator of Illinois Beach Hawkwatch and chair of HMANA’s Winter Raptor Survey committee, as he dives into WRS activities across the continent.
Hawk Migration Association of North America (HMANA) sponsors these online "lunch and learn" workshops. Join in monthly at 12 pm EDT!
Here are the topics for December and January.
- December 9: Laurie Goodrich, "Broad-winged Hawk Migration"
- January 20, 2021: E. Viviana Vallejo, "Establishing a Migration Count in Colombia"
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CVWO Tee Shirts with Prothonotary Warbler Artwork Now Available in our Cafe Press Online Store |
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Check out CVWO's Cafe Press store to see a variety of shirts and items with Anna Stunkel's eye-catching image of a Prothonotary Warbler, commissioned by CVWO. Thanks, Anna. A small portion of each sale comes back to support CVWO.
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Mugs are available in 11 oz and 15 oz |
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Actual tee shirt worn by one of CVWO board members |
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Riding the Wind is a book of essays by CVWO President Brian Taber about birds, birding, and conservation, several of which were previously published. Cover art by our hawkwatcher Anna Stunkel and 20 illustrations by award-winning artist Julie Zickefoose.
For a donation of $20.00 per book (plus $5.00 shipping & handling), email Nancy Barnhart and she will mail a copy out to you.
If you live in the Williamsburg area, you can save shipping and handling by visiting Backyard Birder at 1490 Quarterpath Road, or Wild Birds Unlimited, 4625 Casey Blvd, Suite 300.
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Shopping online more these days? You can support CVWO just by shopping at AmazonSmile. |
It's same Amazon you know and love. Start at www.smile.amazon.com. Log in as you always do and then look for Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory in their list of charities. Amazon donates a small portion of your purchases to CVWO! Easy as that! And thanks! |
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Visit and Share CVWO's New Website!
You'll find information on raptor, butterfly, songbird and waterbird research as well as beautiful photos and rich stories from the field!
And don't forget to support our nonprofit work with your tax-deductible donation! |
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Bridgett Brunea will be a frequent contributor to CVWO's Blog as she reports from the Hawkwatch Platform at Kiptopeke State Park during fall migration. Welcome, Bridgett! |
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