Because we missed getting a LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE on yesterday's Central Loudoun
CBC I stopped by Little River Farm about 8 miles south of Leesburg on Rte 15 on
the east side of the hwy, and about 2 miles south of where Rte 15 crosses the
Goose Creek (and a little north of Gilbert's corner, the intersection of Rte 50
& Rte 15. At about 1 pm today I quickly saw an AMERICAN KESTREL on the wires
that cross the farm but there wasn't any sign of a shrike. After about 15
minutes of checking out the area including the fields and pond on Oak Hill
where there were 4 BLACK DUCKS and 3 BUFFLEHEADS, a LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE popped up
on the white paddock fence close to rte 15. At first it was about 100 feet
north of the actual entrance to the driveway but after a few minutes it was
almost immediately next to the driveway entrance to Little River Farm. It kept
darting into the grass to catch insects and then either returning to the white
paddock fence or disappearing in the scattered eastern red cedars that were
near the fence.
It was also nice to see on the way home, a drive of about 16 miles, 3 more
AMERICAN KESTRELS sitting on wires.
Joe Coleman, near Bluemont, Loudoun Co, VA
