Hola,
Was able to cobble together a bit of birding over the last two days, with
the most notable find being a Loggerhead Shrike near Remington today, 7
October. It was along Grassdale Road, which has had fall-arriving wintering
shrikes
in the past. Stranger than the shrike here was the number of Kestrels. All
summer long it has been easy to find up to a dozen Kestrels along the road,
but this afternoon I was able to see nineteen at once perched atop small
trees, alit along wires, or on fence posts, and then a few others at the far
end
of the road. Seems a big number of Kestrels. Grasshoppers and crickets
don't stand a prayer. There was a beautiful immature harrier here as well. I
had adult Harriers in the Remington area twice during August. Eastern
Meadowlarks, Savannah Sparrows, Horned Larks, and a single Grasshopper Sparrow
were
also noted. Two Red-headed Woodpeckers were seen in the dead trees looking
back toward the government facility from Grassdale, a typical haunt.
Elsewhere in Fauquier, Ring-necked Ducks are starting to arrive on some of
the lakes, and one pond held eight Ruddy Ducks. Canada Goose numbers are
building county-wide, but nothing more exotic thus far.
Monday saw thousands of Blue Jays moving through the area. I barely spent
two hours out doors, and had a loose count of 1500 birds.
Cheers,
Todd
---------------------------------
Todd Michael Day
Jeffersonton, Virginia
Culpeper County, USA
blkvulture@xxxxxxx
---------------------------------
**************New MapQuest Local shows what's happening at your destination.
Dining, Movies, Events, News & more. Try it out!
(http://local.mapquest.com/?ncid=emlcntnew00000001)
