After Mike Wilson of the Center for Conservation Biology cheerfully and
generously shared his time and expertise teaching members of the Northern
Virginia Teen Bird Club about Red-Cockaded Woodpeckers and their conservation
at
Piney Grove near Wakefield and Waverly, he suggested we loop back to route 460
via Harrell Mill Road to enjoy the beauty of the baldcypress swamp there. As
we
did so, we found a male Anhinga flying low between the baldcypress and then
perching for a long time giving excellent scope views. Thanks Mike! (This pond
is private, so any viewing must be done from the road.)
At Piney Grove we also had great views of most of the typical birds of these
open fire-maintained loblolly forests including red-cockaded woodpeckers,
brown-headed nuthatches, red-headed woodpeckers, summer tanagers, indigo
buntings, blue grosbeak, and prairie warblers. We also heard chat, bobwhite,
yellow-throated warbler, yellow-throated vireo and many others. Thanks again,
Mike!
On our way back to Northern Virginia we had 4 cliff swallows at Shirley
Plantation, a dozen at the Mattaponi River bridge in Aylett (King William), and
several at a bridge outside Tappahannock, and stupendous views of 2 singing
male
dickcissels with exciting bolts of lightning behind them at the Hutchinson
Tract of Rappahannock River Valley NWR outside Tappahannock (Essex Co). We
also
saw a Bobwhite there. At the Aylett Mattaponi R boat ramp we watched a
brilliant
yellow prothonotary warbler flying across the river, so bright it looked like a
flying yellow lightbulb against the dark water and shadows. We saw a female
later following the same path and carrying a fecal sac. So we traced her path
backward and found a nest cavity in a river birch snag on the King and Queen
side of the river that we watched for awhile with the scope.
All of the students got at least two lifers.
An excellent day that was well worth the long drive.
All the best
Fred
Frederick D. Atwood fredatwood@xxxxxxxxx
Flint Hill School, 10409 Academic Dr, Oakton, VA 22124
703-242-1675
http://www.agpix.com/fredatwood
http://www.flinthill.org
http://tea.armadaproject.org/tea_atwoodfrontpage.html
