All,
After hearing a Chestnut-sided Warbler this morning while walking the
50 feet to the car, I figured I'd try to find some more migrants this
afternoon even if it was a bit late (7pm). Almost right off the bat,
I had a skulking Ovenbird and later I had other county Firsts of the
Year (FOY) including Heard Only (HO) Scarlet Tanager and Indigo
Bunting and, by far the find of the day, a Grasshopper Sparrow
(GRSP). This bird was a county lifer for me so I was stoked to find
it in Difficult Run, my local patch, which has habitat not really
suited for GRSPs (a small open flood plain surrounded by second
generation woodland) so I assume this was a migrant. This gorgeous
sparrow strongly competes with Merlin, Wilson's Warbler and Marsh Wren
for most awesome bird seen in the park.
Here's a link to pics of the bird:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32293993@N04/7134023059/in/photostream
Hope you are enjoying migration,
Nick Newberry
Fairfax, VA
