VA Birders,
The 14 birders on our NVBC bird walk on Saturday, Sep. 18, tallied 47
species of birds, including 9 species of raptors and 7 species of warblers.
The raptors included 2 each of Black & Turkey Vultures, 2 Ospreys, 1 Bald
Eagle, 2 each of Sharp-shinned & Cooper's Hawks, 1 Broad-winged Hawk (low and
its banded tail seen well), 1 Red-tailed Hawk, and 1 Am. Kestrel. The adult
Red-tail was soaring fairly low over the meadow, giving us all great views,
when all of a sudden, the kestrel appeared out of nowhere and started to dive
bomb it! The Red-tail flew away, and the kestrel flew off in another direction
and disappeared!
The warblers were Chestnut-sided, Black-throated Green, Pine, Palm,
Black-and-White, Am. Redstart, and Common Yellowthroat. We saw 2
Black-throated Greens and Am. Redstarts, and 1 each of the other species,
except Common Yellowthroat, which was only heard. We also had 1 each of
Rose-breasted & Blue Grosbeaks (the latter was seen by a few people before the
walk started).
I should also mention that our excellent Arlington Co. plumber went ahead
and ordered a new pump for the stream on Friday afternoon, and also acquired a
temporary (not as strong) pump, and he came back on his own time and put it in
Friday afternoon so that we would have at least a little water running in the
stream for the weekend. As a result, I went back to Fort Smith on Sunday
afternoon from 4-6 pm to see if any birds were bathing in the afternoon. I
noted that 4-5 pm seemed to be the best bathing time, with 4 species of
warblers (2 Magnolia and 1 Black-throated Green, 1 Am. Redstart, and 1 Common
Yellowthroat) among the birds seen in or near the stream then.
Good birding,
Val Kitchens
Arlington, VA
