By Daniel Bailey

Photos by Daniel Bailey

Bald eagle. California condor. Whooping crane. When I think of those birds, I immediately think of conservation success stories. These North American species were all on the brink of extinction due to a multitude of reasons to include overhunting, habitat fragmentation, and poisoning (DDT, insecticides). Both the whooping crane (1940s) and the California condor (1980s) populations plummeted to staggering numbers of about 20 birds! The bald eagle (1970s), our country’s national symbol, dropped to around 400 nesting pairs. Thanks to extensive conservation efforts, their numbers have exponentially grown. The bald eagle population now consists of around 316,000 individual birds.

Big birds equal big problems, right?! But, what about the little guy? What about the Kirtland’s warbler (Setophaga kirtlandii)? Wait… who? (I scour my field guide and research eBird data.)

This warbler is considered one of the rarest songbirds in North America. This bird breeds exclusively in the young jack pine forests of Michigan and Wisconsin, and due to habitat loss, suppression of necessary prescribed fires, and brown-headed cowbird nest parasitism, its numbers sank to approximately 167 nesting pairs in the first half of the 20th century. As a result, in 1973 it was selected as one of the first animals to be placed on the Federal Endangered Species List, where it remained for nearly half a century. Thanks to extensive conservation efforts, the warbler was removed from the Federal Endangered Species List in 2019. However, sightings of this species away from its breeding grounds remain few and far between, as this species overwinters solely in the Bahamas and is rarely seen during migration in the eastern U.S.

So, what does the Kirtland’s warbler have to do with Virginia? It’s been seen in our fine state a whopping three times! Why are we talking about it?

I consider myself a completionist. When I first started my birding journey, just three years ago, I knew that I was going to make it my mission to see ALL of the birds. One of the first groups of species I focused on were the warblers. One by one, I was able to check individual species of the Parulidae family off my lifer list. That “needs” list got smaller and smaller until one name remained… the Kirtland’s warbler.

I thought to myself, if Virginia can get an American flamingo, a gray-crowned rosy-finch, and a MacGillivray’s warbler—all birds rarely seen in the Commonwealth but spotted here recently—then surely another Kirtland’s warbler would visit the state. If I was lucky, someone would find one and I would be able to piggyback off of their success.

During the first week of October, David Raines was lucky enough to find and photograph a Kirtland’s warbler in Buchanan County, Virginia. Unfortunately, that bird did not like fame and was not able to be located again. Disappointing to those who did not get to see it, but nonetheless a promising sighting that sparked some optimism that one could be found in these parts.

The next day, at 5 a.m., I found myself deliberating between staying in the warm confines of my bed or making the several-hour drive to find the common gallinule that had been reported in Rockingham County by Mike McDonaldson. Just a “year-bird” need, I convinced myself it would be a good opportunity to add a few species to my Rockingham County Life List. Success! The common gallinule and a little blue heron were there waiting for me at Grottoes Town Park.

Now what? I needed something to break up the monotony of the drive home. A quick look at the map showed Waynesboro along the route and an overwhelming (enter sarcasm) number of eight species that I had previously seen in that city. I closed my eyes, put my finger on the map, and chose Coyner Springs Park as my next destination.

I wasn’t 10 yards into my walk before I was inundated by songbirds. Black-throated blue, bay-breasted, Cape May, and yellow-rumped warblers were flitting about all around me. Then a new bird hopped down from the canopy to greet me. A warbler… blue-grey top and a streaky, yellow underside. My initial reaction was that it was a magnolia warbler. But then the bird, literally and figuratively, showed me its telltail sign—the tail-pump. This unique, characteristic motion amongst eastern warblers was one the Kirtland’s shared only with palm warblers, which this was clearly not.

My mind began to race. Did I find what I think I just found…a Kirtland’s warbler?! The bird gave me a few good poses for some photographs, and I let my camera shutter rip, hoping to catch a couple of pictures to confirm the identification.

There it was – the Kirtland’s warbler!

Not one to want to wait to see if I was correct, I took a photograph of one of the shots from the back of my camera and posted it to a group chat that consisted of birders from throughout the state. My phone began to chirp as loud as the surrounding birds with replies of confirmation!

Now to share the wealth! I quickly shared the bird’s location to the group chat and social media sites. Within just a few minutes, birders began to flock to the park to find this rarity. For the next 48 hours, over 100 birders were able to come and see this treasure.

It’s one thing to see a mega-rare bird. It’s another to discover one first and share the news, which was, self-admittedly, a personal goal of mine. As big of a thrill as it was to find this bird, I found even more joy seeing birder after birder check this rarity off their life-list!

What mega-rarity sighting will Virginia produce next? Whatever it is I hope I’m there to see it! Happy birding!

A police detective with a passion for birding, Daniel Bailey of Lynchburg applies his investigative skills to checking species off his life list.