A group of 4 of us birded Huntley Meadows for several hours this morning. At 8
a.m. I was the only car on the lot, a phenomenon I've never seen there on a
Saturday. Although fairly windy, there was a lot of bird activity. Most
notable was a lone Pine Siskin at very close range, in the same small tree as a
White-crowned Sparrow. I circled back to the same spot (just to the right of
the boardwalk, about 50-100 yards from entrance to boardwalk) and observed a
Merlin after the rest of my group left, but did not see the Siskin again. The
Huntley Meadows bird list has it as "Very Rare" for this location. Waterfowl
was limited to Mallards and Canada Geese and we got only a brief glimpse at an
unidentified shorebird. All woodpeckers except Red-headed were also seen, with
Northern Flickers being very abundant. Complete list below.
Dave Boltz
Alexandria, VA
Location: Huntley Meadows Park
Observation date: 11/3/07
Notes: White-crowned Sparrow & Pine Siskin (both in same tree at the same
time) were life birds.
Number of species: 40
Canada Goose 8
Mallard 8
Turkey Vulture 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 3
Merlin 1
Mourning Dove 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 3
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Downy Woodpecker 6
Hairy Woodpecker 4
Northern Flicker 12
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Blue Jay X
American Crow X
Fish Crow X
Carolina Chickadee X
Tufted Titmouse X
White-breasted Nuthatch 6
Carolina Wren 3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet X
Golden-crowned Kinglet X
Eastern Bluebird 27
American Robin 6
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling X
Yellow-rumped Warbler X
Eastern Towhee 2
Chipping Sparrow 1
Field Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow X
Swamp Sparrow 2
White-throated Sparrow X
White-crowned Sparrow 1
Dark-eyed Junco X
Northern Cardinal X
Red-winged Blackbird X
Common Grackle X
House Finch 3
Pine Siskin 1
American Goldfinch X
