Hello, birders.
Good birding today. Top honors go to my state first
EVENING GROSBEAK. Other notables are PINE SISKIN,
LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE, SHRIKE SP., AMERICAN TREE SPARROW,
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, PURPLE
FINCH and RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH.
I started at Sky Meadows SP in the drizzle at 7:15 but
the precip. stopped w/in a half an hour.
At Sky Meadows the LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE continues near
the fishing pond. After birding there I surveyed part
of the Rolling Meadow Trail, where I could not locate
the shrike that has been hanging out on that side of
the park. Most of the activity occurred in the grass
and brush around the southern duck pond, which held
lots of sparrows. 2 AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS were in a
mixed sparrow flock. In order of abundance - SONG,
SAVANNAH, SWAMP SPARROWS and AM. TREE. A HARRIER
surprised me as it flew, I may have scared it from off
the ground. It was great to see it so close.
I got all 7 woodpeckers incl. a RED-HEADED calling
from the far Bridle Trail area.
Next I went to Blandy Experimental Farm in Clarke Co.
I arrived at 10:15am. I wanted winter finches. At
first the birding was rather slow except for at the
feeders, which provided lots of activity. While I
stood about 15' away, several CAROLINA CHICKADEES, a
couple of TITMICE and BOTH NUTHATCH SPECIES took turns
at the feeders. The Red-breasted Nuthatches totaled 4
at Blandy - 3 near the feeders and one N of the
wetland N of the gazebo. The Red-breasteds really
liked the mix at the suet feeders, which seemed to be
a peanut mix of some sort. The chickadees got all
riled up about something but I couldn't find what they
were upset about. I imagine that an owl may have been
present. I didn't find a Black-capped Chickadee here.
Later, a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK flew right over my head.
I counted 6 PURPLE FINCHES at Blandy. All or most
more overhead. I didn't see a one.
Finches and sparrows were abundant and active near the
gazebo and nearby wetlands. These wetlands, even the
pond, are now dry and vegetation covered. In fact,
the duck ponds at Sky Meadows don't have much water in
them and the farm ponds there are totally dry, too.
Anyway, a female PINE SISKIN was in a flock of several
AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES. They'd fly from the gazebo area
to dry wetland and back, sometimes feeding, sometimes
bathing, sometimes perched. These birds, many HOUSE
FINCHES and sparrows enjoyed bathing in a depression
in a large bedrock w/ a small depression that held
water. This bedrock, long and narrow, is about 20'
long, runs east-west and is located N of the dry
wetland which is just N of the gazebo. I imagine that
one could get some nice photos of the birds here as
they bathe and preen in the nearby trees and bushes.
Sparrow species that I observed - in order of
abundance - were JUNCO, WHITE-THROATED, AM. TREE (7),
SONG, WHITE-CROWNED (2 ad., 1 imm.) and FIELD and
SWAMP (tie at 2 for the latter 2 species).
Within 5 minutes of seeing the Pine Siskin I heard a
loud, slightly burry finchy call. It sounded kind of
like it was saying "beer." The bird was from above
and called every 2 seconds. Hmm, Grosbeak? I didn't
see the bird until it was past me and then it was just
a silhouette. Smaller than a Robin, bigger than a
sparrow, YES, EVENING GROSBEAK! I wish I had a better
look, though. It flew S over treetop level all by
itself.
The sun began to shine and the temp warmed to near 50.
Satisfied, I headed over to Little River Farm on Rte.
15 in Loudoun Co. This area is located about 3 mi. N
of Rte. 50, .5 mi. N of Little River Lane and 1.75 mi.
S of Oatlands Rd. I saw the reported SHRIKE soon
after I arrived but I never got a good ID on the bird
as it was mostly on the distant phone wires on the E
side of the road. Also, I don't have much experience
w/ Northern Shrike. A SECOND shrike displaced the
first one after a while. I watched it but it stayed
near the wires. Both hunted actively while I was
watching. They were finding lots of large insects on
the ground. The bird would fly from their perch to
the ground, carry the insect to their perch and devour
the creature. I did not have my scope with me. I may
try to go back tomorrow. I didn't see a bird that
looked like a Northern but I can't say for sure.
Happy birding,
Scott Baron
Fairfax, Va.
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