I was at Long Branch this morning, where it was pretty quiet (probably
because of the high winds) with a few very notable exceptions. I saw the
Pileated Woodpeckers that are presumably nesting nearby, in the parking area
at "Pavilion 1" (technically Glencarlyn Park), where the male was throwing
up woodchips at an impressive rate from a fallen log 20-30 feet back in the
forest, while the female flew around in the trees nearby. Also in the same
area was my FOY SCARLET TANAGER, an extremely cooperative male, who flew
from tree to tree for a good 10 minutes, always staying within view of the
nearby picnic table where I settled down to watch. Just after I moved on,
two American Crows flew upstream in hot pursuit of an adult Red-Tailed Hawk.
I headed up the hill from there, when a few minutes later (around 11:10) I
heard a BARRED OWL hooting. I took off in pursuit, and found myself on Four
Mile Run just north of the main Bike Train, just in time to the owl land,
pursued by a pair of Blue Jays. It stayed perched in plain sight for at
least 10 minutes, ignoring the jays until they were reinforced by an Am.
Crow. The crow and a blue jay took turns dive bombing the owl, until it
finally took off and I lost sight of it.
Yellow-rumped warblers are on the increase, but I failed to find any other
migrants. No signs of ducklings, but I did see a male Wood Duck in the
marsh above the bike path.
Alan Handley
Arlington
