VA Birders,
On Friday, 1/20/06, fellow Buchanan County Bird Club member, Richard Kretz and
I birded an abandoned railroad bed that runs alongside the Dismal River in
Buchanan County. The river and railroad pass near the small town of Whitewood
VA . We walked about 2 1/2 miles of the railroad bed (5 miles round-trip). We
didn't log a high number of species, but some of the ones we did find were
rather numerous. Nine Carolina wrens were seen and heard and 11 Golden-crowned
Kinglets were found in trees and bushes along the track's edge. One Brown
Thrasher was found, which is a bit uncommon for this area at this time of year.
Red-tailed Hawks were out with 5 observed. Field, Song, Swamp and
White-throated Sparrows were counted and 2 Pileated Woodpeckers kept teasing
us, as we would get almost close enough for photos before they would fly a
short distance ahead. With the warm temperatures (sunny 50's) it was a great
day for some birding and good exercise.
For those interested the complete list follows.
Roger Mayhorn
Compton Mt (near Grundy)
Buchanan County
American Crow 16
American Goldfinch 2
American Robin 3 (1m, 2f)
Belted Kingfisher 3
Brown Thrasher 1
Blue Jay 7
Carolina Chickadee 6
Carolina Wren 9
Dark-eyed Junco 18 (15m, 3f)
Downy Woodpecker 2 (1m, 1f)
Field Sparrow 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 11
Hermit Thrush 1
House Finch 3
Northern Cardinal 10
Pileated Woodpecker 2
Red-tailed Hawk 5
Song Sparrow 19
Swamp Sparrow 2
Tufted Titmouse 6
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
White-throated Sparrow 13