Hola,
This year's version of The Plains/Airlie CBC is going to be held Sunday,
16 December. Regrettably, that is the same date as the Manassas Battlefield
Count that is essentially adjacent to the east of us. The Plains/Airlie
count is centered near Warrenton, in Fauquier County, and includes a few
well-known Fauquier County birding spots such as Harrison Road, Airlie,
Clifton Farm, Northern Fauquier Community Park, the Fauquier Landfill, Lake
Brittle, as well as Prince William locations of North Fork Wetlands, Lake
Manassas, and Silver Lake.
If you are a past participant and would like to do the count again, either
contact me or whoever was your sector leader (if you don't know who that
is, just drop me a note and let me know and we'll get it sorted out). If
you are new to the count, send me an email, and let me know where you'll be
coming from (so that I can make an attempt to get you birding in an area
that is geographically convenient), your familiarity with the area, and also a
couple words regarding your birding ability if I don't know you (so that
we can get you paired up with people if you need, or perhaps send some
beginning birders your way if you are interested).
If the lure of great piedmont birding isn't enough, we offer a fine
compilation dinner at a cozy location and a roaring fire at Airlie at the end
of
the count, serving a few varieties of chili.
In years past, this count has had some great birds, and has been among the
highest counts in the United States for a few species. Highlight birds
have included:
Greater White-fronted Goose, Cackling Goose, Trumpeter Swan (rogue birds
from eastern North America re-introduction programs), Eurasian Wigeon, near
national high count for Ring-necked Duck, Great Cormorant, high counts of
Red-shouldered and Red-tailed Hawks, Rough-legged Hawk, Sandhill Crane,
Thayer's Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, California Gull, Iceland Gull,
Glaucous
Gull, Barn Owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl, Long-eared Owl, good counts of
other owls, high counts of several woodpeckers, Loggerhead Shrike, among the
national high counts of Eastern Bluebirds, Townsend's Solitaire, Henslow's
Sparrow, Lapland Longspur, Snow Bunting, and Evening Grosbeak.
So please contact me at the below email if you are interested in
participating in this year's count.
Cheers,
Todd
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Todd Michael Day
Jeffersonton, Virginia
Culpeper County
blkvulture@xxxxxxx
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