Journal Overview
Concept, Format & Abbreviations
The inspirations for this birding journal are the similar, but much more scholarly writings detailed in the North American Birds and Virginia Birds journals which are published by the American Birding Association and the Virginia Society of Ornithology, respectively. In general, the information & observations listed in this journal have been compiled using publicly displayed information submitted to www.eBird.org. In the past, this journal was published weekly, and then thrice-monthly (spanning the 1st-10th, 11th-20th, and 21st through the end of each month for a total of 36 entries per year), however starting with the August 2019, entries to the journal are published on a monthly basis. By keeping with a monthly format, entries are still published more frequently than any other bird-related journals that include our local sightings, and this format allows for expanded information on all the noteworthy observations observed during the month. It also provides an easy means of comparison across different years, and functions will in that regard with the ease of access to records in eBird. Each entry contains an Introduction, Slideshows, Observations & Lookahead section, which are detailed in depth below. Abbreviations are also used for many cases to assist in a timely publishing schedule, and to help keep the size of the entries manageable to the readers.
Abbreviations
Abbreviations used, but not limited to, include: Blvd. (Boulevard), CBC (Christmas Bird Count), Cir. (Circle), FOF (First of Fall), FOS (First of Season, or First of Spring), FOY (First of Year), JEB (Joint Expeditionary Base), Ln. (Lane), LOS (Last of Season), LOY (Last of Year), NA (Natural Area), NAP (Natural Area Preserve), Rd. (Road), SMR (State Military Reservation), SP (State Park), WMA (Wildlife Management Area).
Introduction
Each entry begins with a short Introduction, typically just a few sentences that gives a quick overview of the weather that has occurred throughout the period, and highlights of the most noteworthy species of birds that were observed. Of course, the concept of "noteworthy" isn't always that straightforward, and species that are noteworthy at one point in the year aren't necessary noteworthy during another season. For example, a Red-breasted Merganser present in December is something highly expected, but a Red-breasted Merganser observed in say late June or early July would be a sighting worthy of note. More information on this sort of thing can be found by studying the Distribution sections of this website.
Slideshows
After the Introduction paragraph, there will be a series of slideshows dispersed throughout the writeup, each containing a number of photographs that were taken from within Virginia Beach during the current period. The photographs posted are always shots that I have personally taken (and therefore personally “own”). The reason for this is that ownership in internet ventures can become a very complicated endeavor if receiving materials from outside parties, and I do not have any desire to get involved with this. If you'd like your photographs to gain exposure through this blog, then it is important to add them to your eBird reports, which I provide links to. By putting your photographs into eBird, you are helping to document the species you are observing, and the data is valuable to organizations and government agencies that help steer conservation efforts. The more data input to the system, the better we understand our species of birds, and the better we can help to protect them.
Observations
As mentioned above, all Observations listed in this blog are gleaned from public records having been input by users of eBird. On occasion, I will enter supplemental information that I may have come across through personal conversations with the observer. If you think you have found something noteworthy, please ensure that it gets entered into eBird, so that it may be properly validated by the regional reviewers; validation will allow inclusion here on the site. Noteworthy observations change throughout the year, but typically, any bird that flags as "rare" in eBird is going to warrant inclusion into the blog. One should note that observations flag for several reasons:
Rarities - a truly rare species that is not expected with any degree of certainty throughout the year in Virginia Beach (ex: a Purple Gallinule)
Unseasonal Occurrences - a species report that occurs very far outside of typical arrival/departure dates (ex: a Prairie Warbler in February)
Early Arrivals - reports of species that are one to a few days before the expected seasonal arrival date (ex: a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher in mid-March)
Late Departures - reports of species that are one to a few days after the expected seasonal departure date (ex: an American Coot in late May)
High Counts - species being reported in much higher counts than is typical of most years on the data of report (ex: 50 Prairie Warblers in May)
Lookahead
In the Lookahead portion of the entries, I will try to call attention to expected species that should be arriving into Virginia Beach during the next entry's time period. Expected dates of arrival are based on the Coastal Plain dates listed in the Gold Book (Virginia's Birdlife: An Annotated Checklist), and so that I don't infringe too badly upon copyright, I will not list the dates specifically, just that sometime during the upcoming period the species should arrive. These listed dates are supplemented by eBird data specific to Virginia Beach as well, so in the case of species that are known to arrive earlier or depart later (ex: Yellow-crowned Night-Heron), expanded windows of expectancy are listed.