I drove to Clark County and the Blandy Farm/State Arboretum of Virginia
this morning. I don't recall any reports on this bird since 1/7 so
here's what I found.
I arrived at 11 am this morning. Cold, snowing and windy. By 11:45, just
150 ft south of the Peetwood Pavilion, in the row of mixed conifers,
watched the warbler feed slowly through pine needle clumps, about 6 feet
from the ground. I got excellent looks at the bird from about 40 ft
away. It seems to be holding up against the cold and travels with a
group of both kinglet species; a yellow-rumped warbler and a brown
creeper were also in the group of birds.
I hiked over a much larger area south of the pavilion before I found the
warbler and saw yellow-rumps as well as white-throated, white-crowned
and song sparrows. A Carolina wren was foraging in the pavilion. A
sapsucker and a red-bellied wp were vocalizing nearby.
By the time I left at noon, good numbers of both vultures and a
red-tail, were cruising overhead.
The warbler was terrific; likely a life bird for me. There was a second
highlight of the trip. At the Upperville Fair Grounds on Rt 50 between
Middleburg and Upperville, as I drove west on Rt 50, an adult bald eagle
was attempting to land in the pasture to the north of the
road(roadkilled deer?) but was being harassed by a red-tailed hawk.
Craig Tufts
Middleburg, VA
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