I visited Ellanor Lawrence Park in western Fairfax County from 7:30 to
8:00 AM today, Wednesday 12 December.
Birds in the yard behind the visitor center (near the feeder) included
common year-round residents, plus one BROWN CREEPER and two PINE SISKINS.
The Pine Siskins apparently have been reading the recent VA-Bird
postings, because they were acting exactly as people have described
here. They were foraging beneath the bird feeder, together with a few
Amer Goldfinches and Juncoes. I got a very good look at them.
Could some of you kind souls please help me confirm? The Siskins
matched the pictures in my Sibley guide quite well. What I'd like to
know is, what other birds should I compare against? The only similar
species I know of are goldfinches, house finches, and crossbills. Any
others I should check? Thanks.
Two behavioral notes:
The Creeper was amusingly oblivious to the bird feeder. Maybe it
preferred insects. In any case, it worked its way up the bark of one
tree twice, right next to the feeder, then worked up another tree on the
other side of the feeder, never stopping on the ground where all the
other birds were, nor visiting the feeder.
When I first reached the backyard, there were (as usual) a lot of birds
near the feeders. They suddenly took off all at once, for no visible
reason. However I could tell exactly what had happened, just from their
behavior. Sure enough, a minute later, a large accipiter took off from
behind the building. It had arrived out of my sight, but where the yard
birds could see it. Probably a Cooper's, but possibly a large female
Sharpie.
- Steve Johnson
Fairfax, VA
