I have a question – today (Dec. 18th) I saw a flock of 6 large birds
fly north over Cub Run (western Fairfax County). They were at least
the size of Canada Geese or even Swans, but definitely not Canadas.
Different outline, different wingbeats, and not in a V formation.
At first I guessed Swans, but they seemed dark from underneath. With
the overcast conditions, the lighting was poor, so I'm not sure.
Any thoughts on what species these might have been?
The birding at the Cub Run woods at 9:00 AM was great. It seemed like
every bird in the forest was in front of me. Only one uncommon bird,
a Fox Sparrow – but lots and lots of all the others. One could guess
that they knew bad weather was coming, because they were actively
foraging everywhere.
List is below.
- Steve Johnson
Fairfax, VA
Most of these were present in large numbers ---
Mallard
Turkey Vulture
Red-Bellied Woodpecker - 6
Northern Flicker - 4
Blue Jay
Crow sp.
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-Breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
Yellow-Rumped Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Song Sparrow - 3
Field Sparrow - 4
Fox Sparrow - 1
White-Throated Sparrow
Dark-Eyed Junco
Eastern Towhee - 1
House Finch
