Please see below (after the transcript and show notes) for links to news and upcoming events.
TRANSCRIPT
From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is
Virginia Water Radio for the week of July 9, 2012.
This week, we feature a series of mystery sounds. Have a listen for about 40 seconds, and see
if you recognize these sounds from birds found very commonly around Virginia’s waters in summer. And here’s a hint: the first two birds are commonly
seen and heard, the next two are often heard but not as obviously seen, and the
last two are frequently seen but not so frequently heard. Ready?
SOUND.
See if you guessed right!
The birds were the Mallard duck, Canada Goose, Red-winged Blackbird,
Belted Kingfisher, Great Blue Heron, Tree Swallow. At least 350 bird species are found in Virginia,
and many of these prefer habitats on or near water. Some are year-round Virginia residents, others
normally are seen in Virginia only in warmer weather, and still others winter
here. So on your next visit to any
Virginia stream, pond, river, or beach, enrich your experience by taking time
to see and hear some of the Commonwealth’s treasure of bird life. Thanks to Lang Elliott of NatureSound Studio
for permission to use this week’s sounds.
For other water sounds and music, and for more Virginia water
information, visit our Web site at virginiawaterradio.org,
or call us at (540) 231-5463. From the
Virginia Water Resources Research Center in Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo,
thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.
SHOW NOTES
Photos of the birds mentioned, from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Digital Library, online at http://digitalmedia.fws.gov, are shown below.
Photos of the birds mentioned, from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Digital Library, online at http://digitalmedia.fws.gov, are shown below.
 | |||
| Mallard |
 | |
| Canada Geese |
 |
| Red-winged Blackbird |
 |
| Belted Kingfisher |
 |
| Great Blue Heron |
 |
| Tree Swallow |
Acknowledgments and Sources: Except for the Red-winged Blackbird, the sounds used in this episode were taken from the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs-Eastern Region CD set, by Lang Elliott with Donald and Lillian Stokes (Time Warner Audio Books, copyright 1997), used with permission of Lang Elliott and NatureSound Studio (online at http://www.naturesound.com/corepage/core.html).
The number of bird species found in Virginia is from the
Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries’ March 2010 “Official List of
Native and Naturalized Fauna of Virginia,” available online at http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wildlife/
(as of 7/9/12). Information on the
species mentioned was taken from A Guide
to Field Identification of Birds of North America, by Chandler S. Robbins et al., St. Martin’s Press, 2001
edition; Cornell’s “Birds of North America Online” Web site at http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna
(subscription required); and the
Wildlife Information Database maintained by the Virginia Department of Game and
Inland Fisheries, online at http://vafwis.org/fwis/?Title=VaFWIS+Species+Information (as of 7/9/12).
For more information:
For photos, distribution maps, recordings of calls, and ecological
information on birds in Virginia and throughout the Western Hemisphere, visit
the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s “Bird Guide” Web site at http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/search. For more information about birds or
bird-watching in Virginia, visit the Web site of the Virginia Society of
Ornithology at www.virginiabirds.net.
Recent Virginia Water
News
For
news relevant to Virginia's water resources, please visit the Virginia Water Central News Grouper,
available online at http://vawatercentralnewsgrouper.wordpress.com/.
Water Meetings and
Other Events
For
events related to Virginia's water resources, please visit the Quick Guide to Virginia Water–related
Conferences, Workshops, and Other Events, online at http://virginiawaterevents.wordpress.com/. The site includes a list of Virginia
government policy and regulatory meetings occurring in the coming week.
