Hey all, Elisa and I headed west to try for some continuing rarities near the
James River. We were mostly unsuccessful but did find some fun birds. We got
a late start but began at Mainland Farm in James City Co. where Greater
White-fronted and Cackling Geese have been reported lately. Unfortunately we
must have missed the flock, as by 10:15 AM (when we arrived) no geese were
present. Probably better to try earlier there judging by the ebird reports. A
fly-over Pine Siskin was nice.
We then caught the Scotland-Jamestown Ferry and were pleased to see 1 female
Long-tailed Duck mixed in with a large feeding flock of scaup in the James
River just off the Jamestown-side ferry terminal. Once on the south side of
the river we headed straight to the City Point Unit of the Petersburg National
Battlefield in Hopewell, where we worked the woods between the western parking
lot and City Point Park (where the cat colony is) hoping to refind the
Nashville Warbler that's been reported recently. This early afternoon attempt
failed to turn up the Nashville Warbler (or Palm Warbler for that matter), but
we were pleased with a very cooperative Black-and-white Warbler near the
western parking area and Elisa got a brief look at an Orange-crowned Warbler in
that same vicinity.
On our way back east we stopped by Sunken Meadow Pond off Beaverdam Rd. in
Surry Co. near dusk, where we enjoyed watching 2 Tundra Swans drop in
(presumably to roost) and also caught fleeting looks at a couple of Rusty
Blackbirds working the headwaters of the pond. Ducks on the pond included a
flock of about 85 Gadwall, 30+ Hooded Mergansers, and 1 Red-breasted Merganser,
and it was interesting to see them in the air repeatedly with up to 8 Bald
Eagles interacting in the area. In addition to the eagle concentration we saw
1 Sharp-shinned Hawk and 1 Red-shouldered Hawk here and heard a Barred Owl.
Finally, we couldn't help but stop at the nearby intersection of Beaverdam Rd.
and Swanns Point Rd. around 5:45 PM as the habitat looked great for Woodcock,
and sure enough we counted at least 7 birds peenting and giving display
flights, and we left them still calling at 6. Best,
Nick and Elisa Flanders
Portsmouth, VA
