VA BIRDers,
I arrived at Sky Meadows at 10 am and set up on the ridge near the visitors
center looking north until 1145 hoping to find a few hawks and such. It
worked reasonably well with a first year Golden Eagle being the highlight;
it loitered for some time over the partly bald area on the ridge just north
of Rt 50. I only partly distinguished between migrants and locals as noted
below:
Bald Eagle 2, adult and second year, repeatedly observed, the second year
sometimes was on the aforementioned ridge making an ID challenge
No. Harrier 3, prob. one migrant going south along the ridge
Sharp-shinned Hawk 2
Cooper's Hawk 3
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 10, prob. 1 or 2 were migrants
Golden Eagle 1
also: Horned Lark (2 overflyers), resident Red-headed WPs in the woods next
door, and a likely flock of American Pipits flying south along the ridge
near the midline.
After lunch, I walked the one of the meadows (straight and slightly right as
you walk downhill from the Bridle Trail parking lot). A few sparrows to wit:
Savannah 5
Song 14
White-crowned 5
plus 3 E. Meadowlarks.
On the way back home, Rectortown Rd produced 4 different No. Harriers,
making it one of the most productive harrier days in November for me.
Harrison Rd was not productive in the mid-afternoon (and the main pond is
gone). A stop at UOSA pond (FRFX Co) produced 8 Boneys plus Pied-billed
Grebe. The mutt goose was mixed in with the Canadas.
I started and ended the day at Dyke Marsh scanning the gulls. No luck on
finding a Franklin's today. The waterfowl was pretty good here with:
C. Goose 200
Gadwall 68
Am. Wigeon 3
Am. Black Duck 4
Mallard ca. 100
No. Shoveler 128
Green-winged Teal 3
Lesser Scaup 30
Bufflehead 45 - centralized group
Ruddy Duck 1
Pied-billed Grebe 1
plus a dozen Great Egrets and 2 Red-tailed Hawks chasing each other over the
parkway.
Kurt Gaskill
