VA Birders,
Sorry for the late report, but I haven't had time to post anything sooner.
The 14 members of the Northern Virginia Bird Club (NVBC) who took part in
our Summer 2011 Highland Co. Weekend found 81 species of birds plus a
Brewster's Warbler (hybrid). Most notable was the new bird we added to our
overall trip lists: Alder Flycatcher. We found this bird on Saturday
afternoon, June 11, at the Beaver pond on the south side of US Rt. 250 several
miles west of Monterey and just east of Rt. 600. The bird was heard singing
and/or seen by several members of our group.
From our headquarters at the Highland Inn in Monterey, we started the
weekend with a Friday afternoon trip to the Blue Grass Valley. We saw a
Bobolink on the wires along Rt. 220, but didn't find any more in the Blue Grass
area where we have seen many of them in past years. At the Trout Hatchery, we
had a quick look at a Broad-winged Hawk, and saw a female Wood Duck with chicks
and a Belted Kingfisher. At Forks of Water, where we also stopped Sunday
morning, we found Least Flycatcher, Warbling and Yellow-throated Vireo, Cedar
Waxwing, and both Orchard and Baltimore Orioles.
On Saturday morning, we birded our way down to Paddy's Knob, where the most
common birds were Chestnut-sided Warbler and Dark-eyed Junco. Altho one car
thought they might have heard a Mourning Warbler and Blue-headed Vireo at the
beginning of this road, we didn't see either species, nor did we even hear a
Least Flycatcher. We did have a hail storm up there, but fortunately, we were
all in our cars when it hit. We can only wonder if this storm had an effect on
the birds. After lunch at a private farm in the Mill Gap area, where we had
our best look at a Scarlet Tanager on the trip, we went north on Rt. 640, where
we saw a pair of Bald Eagles, to Rt. 250. Then we headed west, stopping first
for the Alder Flycatcher mentioned above, and then on to Rt. 601, where we
found Vesper and Savannah Sparrows. On the way back to Monterey, we took Rt.
637 north from Rt. 250, and had great looks at a Red-headed Woodpecker on fence
posts next to the road.
On Sunday morning, with permission of the owner, we birded a private farm
in the Blue Grass Valley. We met some other birders there, who told us they
had just seen both Black-billed Cuckoo and Golden-winged Warblers. We soon had
good looks at a Black-billed Cuckoo, but we didn't hear any Golden-wings for
over an hour. When we finally heard one and then tracked it down, the bird we
saw was definitely a Brewster's Warbler; it had an all-white chin. One member
of our group said he saw a bird he believed to be a female Golden-wing across
the road from the farm. Other birds of note seen during the weekend included
several Am. Kestrels, Common Raven, Cliff Swallow, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and
Eastern Meadowlark.
Good birding,
Val Kitchens
Arlington, VA
