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The time for Christmas Bird Counts is upon us and with it comes the first opportunity to document a breeding bird record for the FINAL Atlas field season. What species starts setting up breeding territories during the months of frigid temperatures, biting winds, sleet, and snow? Virginia’s largest breeding owl species, the Great-Horned (Bubo virginianus).
This weekend marks the start of Christmas Bird Count (CBC) season for many counties in Virginia, which also means that we’ve arrived at the start of the breeding season for one of our most impressive Virginia species, the Great-Horned Owl (GHOW). In fact, reports of territorial pairs of GHOWs are already coming in for counties […]
Barn Owls and the VABBA2 One evening several years ago, while standing in the middle of a grassland somewhere on Long Island, NY, a Barn Owl flew over my head, pale and silent despite the flapping of its wings. It was a definite WOW moment. The Barn Owl is known by several colorful names inspired by […]
F0r this second installment of our ‘Year of the Night Bird’ series, VDGIF Avian Biologist, Sergio Harding, shares the story of our smallest and most mysterious owl species… When it comes to Virginia’s owls, the Eastern Screech-Owl is often thought of as our smallest species. But that distinction really belongs to the Northern Saw-whet Owl, […]
As many of our readers may already be aware, this year marks the 100th anniversary of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. This landmark leglislation paved the way for legislative regulation of bird hunting/harvest, ultimately helping to prevent the loss of many species of wading birds, waterfowl, and brighthly-colored songbirds. Many conservation organizations are marking this […]
As we enter the earliest phase of the 2019 breeding season, more and more reports of Great-Horned Owl breeding activity are coming int to the Atlas. While it is still early for detecting breeding activity of the other VA-breeding owl species, this is a good time to review key tips for nocturnal surveying.
The season for Christmas Bird Counts has arrived! As we head into the end of 2016, birders thoughts may turn more and more toward the start of the 2017 breeding season. These is not premature, because several of Virginia’s resident raptor species, or birds of prey, begin breeding far earlier than springtime.
