The Annual Winter Water Fowl Count (WWC) will be on the weekend of 1 & 2 February 2025.
Teams will be out and about on both Saturday 1 FEB and Sunday 2 FEB counting in Caroline, Essex, Middlesex, Richmond, Lancaster, Northumberland, Westmoreland and King George, Mathews, Gloucester, King & Queen Counties.
In essence we are covering VA counties along the Potomac River, Rappahannock River, the Bay and the myriad of creeks, runs, rivers, ponds, and puddles that make the Middle Penninsula and the Northern Neck a “destination stop” for water fowl and avian species such as eagles, herons, hawks, rails, kingfishers, and fish crows! that are along the waters we love.
The sponsor organizations for this years count are:
Northern Neck Audubon Society
Rappahannock Wildlife Refuge Friends
Friends of Dragon Run
Middle Peninsula Master Naturalists
Middle Peninsula Bird Club
Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory
Northern Neck Master Naturalists
Below are depictions of sector A thru sector T for the counties covered by this count.
Please provide me your first and second choice Sector and whether you are interested in participating on Saturday 1 Feb or Sunday 2 Feb or both.
I need this information toward balancing the sector teams. Priority for being in a sector goes to those who participated in the sector last year. We have room for all who want to participate. And we have some amazing places to bird! This event event is open to birders of all skill levels and we will work to match novice birders with more experienced birders.
In preparation for the count there will be a 105 minute workshop on Monday 27 January at 7:00-8:45PM. The ZOOM session will cover a series of identification tips for some of the most challenging waterfowl and water birds we might see. It will also provide information on use of eBird to record data, field guides, and some of our experiences on past water fowl counts. Please let me know if you would also like to participate in the workshop.
Please contact me if you have questions.
Best of the seasons
Jeff
Jeff Wright
Compiler for the NNK and MP Winter Waterfowl Count
pec11908@mac.com
