Peggy Lyons and I birded in Campbell and Appomattox Counties yesterday. The
highlight was seeing a MERLIN. We nearly wrote it off as a kestrel but luckily
drove closer and stopped to take a closer look at it perched atop a utility
pole. Gala Lake had about 60 CANADA GEESE, 15 HOODED MERGANSERS, a lone
PIED-BILLED GREBE and a calling BELTED KINGFISHER. The water level at most
other ponds and lakes was down and none had more than an occasional goose. We
saw unusually large flocks of some common species, e.g., 60 MOURNING DOVES on
wires, 130 AMERICAN CROWS in a field, and large mixed flocks of ROBINS and
WAXWINGS everywhere usually feeding in spruce trees. We saw KINGLETS at several
locations usually golden-crowned. We only encountered PURPLE FINCHES at two
stops and saw no Red-breasted Nuthatches or Pine Siskins.
Species list follows with exact or conservative numbers seen.
Rexanne Bruno
Lynchburg, VA
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Location: Campbell & Appomattox counties
Observation date: 12/2/07
Number of species: 38
Canada Goose 60
Hooded Merganser 15
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Great Blue Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 5
Red-tailed Hawk 4
Merlin 1
Rock Pigeon 12
Mourning Dove 60
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2
Downy Woodpecker 3
Northern Flicker 2
Eastern Phoebe 1
Blue Jay 4
American Crow 130
Carolina Chickadee 1
Tufted Titmouse 3
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Carolina Wren 5
Golden-crowned Kinglet 4
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Eastern Bluebird 5
Hermit Thrush 1
American Robin 100
Northern Mockingbird 2
European Starling 10
Cedar Waxwing 100
Field Sparrow 4
Song Sparrow 4
White-throated Sparrow 10
Dark-eyed Junco 15
Northern Cardinal 6
Eastern Meadowlark 2
Purple Finch 6
House Finch 1
American Goldfinch 5
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/VA)
