One of the stops this morning on John Zimmerman's field trip of the
Monticello Bird Club was so-called Sparrow Road, aka Jones Mill Rd.
or rt. 811, not far from Crozet. As you proceed along that road from
the east, the road makes a sharp 90 degree right turn and takes a
northwest course. About half way along the straight portion that
ensues is the house on the right owned by a Mr. Shearer. As we walked
along, he came by and told us we could walk in his backyard, which we
did. His backyard, which has several piles of woodchips and nearby
low stands of pokeweed, is delineated on its northwest side by a
straight paved road. As we walked among the wood chips piles, I heard
a bird behind me making a chip I wasn't familiar with, turned and saw
a rather upright bird with pale bill, larger than the sparrows
nearby, and with an overall satiny look. I thought it might be a
Dickcissel, summoned others, and some got to see it before it could
not be relocated. This was a probable first winter female. It is, so
far as I can tell, the first fall record for Albemarle County. Since
Dickcissels are migrating along the coast now in low numbers, it
should not be too surprising that one might come through this area.
There was also a Vesper Sparrow at Mr. Shearers. Our group saw about
40 total species on what was a very good outing. Stauffer Miller
