MIDDLE ATLANTIC 
birds in late Jul QF)- A Purple Martin roost at 
Chantilly, Faiifax grew from 21+ birds on 27 
Jun to 500+ birds by 4 Jul, peaked at 1500+ 
birds on 13 Jul, and declined to 600 birds on 
25 Jul (SB, SJ). A Cliff Swallow pair nested at 
Little Creek Res., James City for the first time 
since 1995 (PS). 
Two Winter Wrens at Dans Mt., Allegany, 
MD 1 Jun (DY) were notable. Though there 
are no confirmed Winter Wren nesting 
records for Allegany, Dans Mt. does host 
breeders found elsewhere only in Gairett on 
the Allegany Plateau. A Winter Wren along 
the Blue Ridge Parkway, Nelson, VA 22 Jul (JS) 
was unusual. Though Bachman’s Sparrow was 
a primary target of the 2009 Virginia Society 
of Ornithology Annual Bird Foray 12-17 Jun 
in Sussex and Greensville, none were seen or 
heard. Although expected, this outcome was 
disappointing. Twenty-four Grasshopper 
Sparrows made an impressive total for the 
Sharps B.B.S. route, Richmond/Westmore- 
land/Northumberland, VA 14 Jun (WP). Sea- 
side Sparrow counts included the 30 birds at 
Fisherman I., Northampton, VA 16 Jul (RLA) 
and about 40 at Box Tree Cr., Northampton 23 
Jul (FS). Single White-throated Sparrows lin- 
gered at Ellicott City, Howard 27 Jun (KH) 
and Grosvenor Park, Montgomery, MD 19 Jul 
(MO). An ad. male Rose-breasted Grosbeak in 
the G. Richard Thompson W.M.A., Fauquier, 
VA 22 Jun was surprising (TD), whereas one 
at Ft. Smallwood, Anne Arundel 17 Jul QH) 
was early at this Coastal Plain migrant trap. 
This summer saw an average breeding sea- 
son for Dickcissel, with reports from at least 
ten counties that encompass the expected lo- 
cations. A rare summer visitor to the Coastal 
Plain, 2 male Bobolinks at Hog Island 
W.M.A., Suny 4 Jul (ph. AD, TT) were a nice 
find. The 3 Boblinks in se. Campbell 7 Jun 
(RB) may have been late migrants. A singing 
Baltimore Oriole, a rare and local summer res- 
ident, was at New Quarter Park, York 27 Jun 
(BW). Two Red Crossbills were at Elkhorn L., 
Augusta 1 1 Jul; another was heard the same 
day in the George Washington N.F, Augusta 
(ABr). Pine Siskins holding over from the 
winter and spring invasion included singles at 
Staunton, VA 1 Jun (E&NL) and Bedford 6 
Jun (RB); 2 birds at Woodbine, Cairoll 18-19 
Jun (RS); and very late singles at Ellicott City, 
Howard 28 Jun (BO) and at George Washing- 
ton’s Ferry Farm, Stafford, VA 1-2 Jul (PN). 
Contributors; Robert L. Ake, Bill Akers, Hen- 
ry T. Armistead, Stan Arnold, Fred Atwood, 
Zach Baer, Carol & Ron Baker, Lewis Barnett 
(LBa), Scott Baron, John Bazuin (JBa), Lynda 
Blair, Jeff Blalock QB!), Fred Blystone, Ruth 
Boettcher (RBo), Arun Bose, Allen Boynton 
(ABo), Jim Brighton, Edward S. Brinkley, Rex- 
anne Bruno, Allen Bryan (ABr), Greg Butcher, 
Danny Bystrak, David Carr (DCa), David 
Clark, Barry Cooper, Ralph Cullison, Dave 
Czaplak (DCz), Thelma Dalmas (TDa), 
Richard Davis, Fenton Day, Todd Day, Shirley 
Devan, Adam D’Onofrio, Wendy Ealding, 
Elisa Enders, Jane Fallon (JFa), Tom Feild, 
Janice Frye, Lois Fussel, John Gallegos, 
Maren Gimpel, Harry Glasgow, Mary Ann 
Good, Kevin Graff (KGr), Matt Grey, Joe 
Hanfman, Sergio Harding, Gerry Hawkins, 
Kevin Hefferman, Gale Heffinger (GHe), Rob 
Hilton, Tim Hodge (THo), Hans Holbrook, 
Barry Hoskins (BHo), Bill Hubick, David L. 
Hughes, Marshall Iliff, Frode Jacobsen, Steve 
Johnson, Kevin Kalasz (KKa), Karen Kearney, 
Glenn Koppel & MaryAlice Koeneke, Gale 
Kuebler, Dave Larkin, Allen Lamer, Yulee 
Lamer, Ed & Nancy Lawler, Dave 6? Phyllis 
Lee, Paul Lehman, Peter Lev (PLe), Jon Little, 
Peggy Lyons (PLy), Andy McGann (AMc), 
Alex Minarik, Geralyn Mireles, Paul Nasca, 
Chris Ordiway, Peter Osenton, Mike Ostrows- 
ki, Robert Ostrowski, Bonnie Ott, Tami Pearl, 
Jim Peters, Joanne Pierce OPO, Elizabeth Pit- 
ney, William Portlock, David Quillen, Mar- 
shall Rawson, Jan Reese, Dylan Reilly, Robert 
F Ringler, Patricia Rose, Tom Saunders, Eu- 
gene J. Scarpulla, Pat Sgrinia, Ed Sigda, Jeff 
Skevington, Dan Small, Fletcher Smith, Chris 
Starling, Leslie Starr, James L. Stasz, Rick 
Sussman, Brian Taber, Dana Taylor, Josh Tay- 
lor, Brenda Tekin (BTe), Tina Trice, Barry Tru- 
itt (BTr), Jerry Via, Mike Walsh, John Weske, 
Alex Wilke, Bill Williams, Mike Wilson 
(MWi), Jo Wood OWo), David Yeany, Dave 
Youker (DYo). O 
Mark L Adams, 2300 Rocky Run 
Charlottesville, Virginia 22901 
(markadamsphd@yahoo.com) 
Matt Hafner, 330 Orchis Road 
St. Augustine, Florida 32086, (mh1920@aoLcom) 
Southern Atlantic 'i 
M eteorologically speaking, it was a 
season of contrasts. Summer bolted 
out of the gates in June with rela- 
tively dry and extremely hot conditions: At- 
lanta, Georgia sizzled, with 15 consecutive 
days over 90° F. However, July brought much 
cooler weather by typical Deep South stan- 
dards, with many cloudy days and mean high 
temperatures in several areas establishing 
record lows for the month. Despite a few se- 
vere weather events that produced locally 
drenching rains and some flash flooding, pre- 
cipitation was slightly below average. 
Like the weather, the breeding season also 
delivered mixed news, with both successes 
and failures among the nesting birds of our 
Region. Although no major Atlantic storms 
affected the Region, unexplained extreme 
high tides impacted several coastal nesting 
species. In the Appalachian Mountains, 
species were observed at the southernmost 
outposts of their known breeding ranges in 
eastern North America: Alder Flycatcher, 
Black-capped Chickadee, Magnolia Warbler, 
Golden-crowned Kinglet, and others. An iso- 
lated breeding population of Black-throated 
Green Warblers was confirmed in western 
Georgia, possibly the southernmost in North 
America. On Georgia’s coast, several tern 
species bred abundantly on a dredge spoil is- 
land created Just for them. However, marsh- 
and beach-nesting species elsewhere en- 
dured great hardships in part due to the 
aforementioned tidal events: out of 75 mon- 
itored pairs, only a single American Oyster- 
catcher chick fledged on the entire Georgia 
coast. 
Abbreviations: H.B.S.P. (Huntington Beach 
S.P., Georgetown, SC); L.W.EG. (Lake Walter 
F George, Clay, GA); P.S.N.P (Phinizy Swamp 
Nature Park, Richmond, GA); S.S.S. (Savannah 
Spoil Site, Jasper, SC). 
VOLUME 63 (2009) • NUMBER 4 
581 
