A late note to say that last Friday (Oct 30) a group of us were
birding along Washington Ditch in the Great Dismal Swamp and we ran into
the squeaking of a flock of Rusty Blackbirds. As usual it was a bit
difficult to gauge how many birds were involved, but they did move
slowly along, flying up and then down onto the floor of the swamp,
feeding and bathing. At no point did we see the entire group. But my
very crude estimate of the size of the flock is about 100 individuals.
It was nice to encounter such a large group of Rusties so early in
the fall. I haven't spent much time in the swamp at this time of year,
but this encounter suggested that perhaps I should spend more time.
Bob Ake
Norfolk
