After being stuck in the house following the 15 inches of snow on Friday &
Saturday, Laverne and I decided to get out and bird by car this afternoon. We
traveled through the Elk Garden and Big Cedar Creek areas.. We saw lots of
White-crowned Sparrows at Elk Garden and a Loggerhead Shrike. I went out on my
own to Mountain Road and Clifton Farms Road. The most numerous birds were
White-crowned Sparrows and Juncos with at least 175 of each. I also had 2 more
Loggerhead Shrikes and an adult Golden Eagle on Clifton Farms Road and a female
Blue-winged Teal at Stuarts Pond. I also had 8 Fox Sparrows along the way. At
our feeders we have had 3 Chipping Sparrows since Friday evening. These are
unusual as they usually leave our area by early November. On Clifton Farms Road
in one wetland area I saw 3 Savannah Sparrows, 4 Song Sparrows, a Swamp
Sparrow. a Field Sparrow a Fox Sparrow, 2 Juncos, a White-crowned Sparrow, and
3 Yellow-rumped Warblers. All of these
were in an area about 5 by 15 feet.
Tom
Tom & Laverne Hunter
Russell County Bird Club
Lebanon, VA