Morning,
The past two wet morning walks have produced many of our winter avian
residents. (Along w/a terrapin, Spotted Salamander & a small Black Racer.)
Plenty of wild grapes, English & poison ivy & Virginia Creeper, plus patches of
leftover weeds, hold both Kinglets, Yellow-rumps & Cedar Waxwings in good
numbers. (A FOS Brown Creeper was among them yesterday.) Also picked-up six
of our Woodpeckers: Downy, Hairy, Yellow-belly SS, Red-belly, Pileated &
Northern Flickers. Juncos, White-throats & Towhees are present daily, but it
hasn’t been cold enough for Fox Sparrows & Siskins....yet. All the brush piles
& Christmas trees I have scattered about our farms over the years, plus food
plots & ponds are really paying off. We had a late Eastern Phoebe last week as
well as an Ovenbird that hung-out around “an edge of the woods” seed feeder.
We hear Barred Owls most every night, but no Eastern Screeches have taken-up
residence in our Wood Duck boxes as they have in past winters. Great time to
be afield. Regards,
Dennis Irby
Northern Pitt. Co. Hurt, VA
