VA BIRDers,
I birded the top of a Landfill today, thanks to the kind permission of the
owners. It is located in the extreme southern portion of Farifax Co, next
to Rt 1 and just south of Gunston Rd. On a clear day it has a commanding
view of the area (you can see the Seminary Road/Bailey's Crossroads tall
buildings, about 10-12 miles away). The top is grassy, a bit larger than a
soccer field, with weedy bits here and there and the tree line is just below
the crest on the north and east sides. This is the first time I birded the
place in the early morning; I started about 815am and left after 3 hours.
The highlight was two Pine Siskins, flying overhead southward and separated
by about an hour. Other nice sightings were Merlin, 5 Tree Swallows,
Red-breasted Nuthatch, Pine Warbler, White-crowned Sparrows, Indigo Bunting,
Eastern Meadowlark and Rusty Blackbirds. (no sign of the Common Ravens
noted last Monday during a scouting expedition) The list of 46 species is
below.
Kurt Gaskill
C. Goose 18
Many distant flying ducks that were not ID'ed
Black Vulture 5
Turkey Vulture 31
Bald Eagle 5
Northern Harrier 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 4
Cooper's Hawk 4
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 4
Merlin 1
Killdeer 3
Many distant flying gulls that were not ID'ed
Mourning Dove 1
Red-bellied WP 1
Down WP 2
Hairy WP 1
No. Flicker 3
Blue Jay 4
Am. Crow 15
Tree Sw 5
Tufted Titmouse 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
C. Wren 3
RC Kinglet 1
E. Bluebird 7
Am. Robin 5
No. Mocker 2
E. Starling 225
Cedar Waxwing 20
Yellow-rumped Warbler 19
Pine Warbler 1
Palm Warbler 10
Chipping Sp 14
Field Sp 1
Savannah Sp 5
Song Sp 9
White-thr Sp 5
White-crowned Sp 2
No. Cardinal 2
Indigo Bunting 1
Red-winged BB 11
E. Meadowlark 3
Rusty BB 30
Common Grackle 4150, one small and one large flock
Brown-headed Cowbird 2
Pine Siskin 2
Am. Goldfinch 2
