I wasn't able to get out on any Christmas Counts this weekend, but from
the hours of time spent birding from a deer blind near my home west of
Middleburg, it appears the warm weather has held a good number of
species north in my neighborhood that would otherwise have migrated
south by now.
Highlights from three hours sitting Saturday, December 16 include:
Common goldeneye?- pair, brief look with very significant wing
whistling overhead
Black vultures- 20-30 coming off roost nearby
Belted kingfisher- checking out nearby pond and outflow
Common raven- 2-3 likely scavenging for deer carcasses
Woodpeckers- all local species except for red-headeds; sapsuckers very
vocal
Eastern phoebe- single bird calling. May be overwintering in berry
thickets/sewage plant ponds and seepage
Eastern bluebirds- 5-6 in bittersweet with waxwings and hermit
thrushes
Hermit thrushes- 3-4 individuals calling, feeding on bittersweet and
Hercule's club fruits.
Cedar waxwings- 6-8 mobbing oriental bittersweet fruit clusters
Eastern towhee- 1-2 individuals calling from dense brushpiles in white
pine hedgerow
Craig Tufts
St. Louis, VA- west of Middleburg, Loudoun Cty
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