Hello birders,
I mentioned last week about the recently burned field parcel at Sully
Woodlands. I returned today, during the last hour before the sleet started
falling.
In the burn area, very conservative estimates, there were 800+ birds feeding.
The parcel is an area of roughly 150 by 300 meters. It was burned 5 days ago,
on Jan. 3rd. Here is a rough census, just of the birds in this one parcel
today.
500+ Starlings
200+ Robins
80+ Red-winged Blackbirds
dozen+ each of: White-throated and Song Sparrows, Juncos, and Cardinals
6+ Bluebirds
2-3 each Flicker, Jay, Mockingbird, Field and Fox Sparrows, and Goldfinch
I scanned for less-common visitors like other Icterids, Sparrows, etc., and did
not find any. But it was really neat to see so many actively feeding birds, on
such a chilly (22 deg F) day. Apparently it was a very well-timed barbeque,
for the birds. As a bonus, the adjacent unburned field had a hunting Northern
Harrier.
Steve Johnson
Fairfax, Virginia
