Jeff Wright at Voorhees by Kyle Langford
Teams primarily composed of Northern Neck Master Naturalists are being assembled to help complete Eleven (11) "Northern Neck" Priority Birding Blocks for the Virginia Breeding Bird Atlas 2.
Birders of all skill levels are sought to be on the small teams. Newer birders will be paired with experienced birders. Training will be provided on the processes used. Each team will set up their own dates, days of the week, and times for birding a particular “block.”
This volunteer work is for project C3v within the NNMN Volunteer Management System (VMS). This is a great opportunity to get involved in a multi-year Commonwealth of Virginia funded state-wide citizen science project that continues in 2019 and 2020. This is a great and enjoyable project where you can learn a lot about wildlife census work and also gain skills that can be applied to various birding projects of the chapter.
Priority Blocks for conducting the census of birds are in Lancaster, Northumberland, Richmond, and Westmoreland Counties as well as small segments of King George, Essex, and Middlesex Counties. At the bottom of this e-mail is a list by county with maps of each of the small blocks for assignment to a team. Teams can cover more than one block and are encouraged to join with other teams to truly “blitz” a block.
Please contact Jeff Wright - the chapter’s Project Chair for VBBA2 - to volunteer for a team and/or to participate in a specific Priority Block. Jeff can be contacted at pec11908@mac.com or 703-801-0239
To learn more about VBBA2:
https://ebird.org/atlasva/home
To learn more about the VBBA2 Block System and Priority Blocks:
https://vafwis.dgif.virginia.gov/BBA2/BlockExplorer/
The Priority Blocks
Lancaster County - 2 Blocks (one block with a portion in Middlesex County and a Portion in Richmond County) - Haynesville SE, Morattico SE
Northumberland County (3 Blocks) - Heathsville SE, Lottsburg SE, and Saint George Island SW
Richmond County (1 Block with a portion in Essex County) - Tappahannock SE
Westmoreland County (5 Blocks with a portion of one block in King George County) - Machodoc SE, Piney Point SW, Stratford Hall SE, Colonial Beach SE, Dahlgren SE