I have never seen as many Dickcissels as I have seen this summer. I was birding
down in King George and Westmoreland Co today (July 6) planning to meet up with
Nick Flanders to bird later in the day. Soon after finding 4 (or 5) singing
male dickcissels on one private farm in Sealston (King George) and 2 singing
males on a neighboring private farm, one of which was excitedly escorting a
female who was carrying food for young, I got an excited call from Nick about
the Bobolink he found at Wilna--a great find, and I hoped to make it down there
to see it. But the longish drive to Wilna became unnecessary because merely
100
yards further down the road I was on (LaGrange Lane, King George Co), driving
slowly with the windows open, I heard the characteristic "bink" call of a
Bobolink. I immediately stopped the car and saw a male bobolink in the grass.
Within ten seconds he flew off and out of sight with 2 female Bobolinks. I
wondered if maybe these birds, and the ones Nick has seen at Wilna and
Hutchinson, are breeding here, or if they are perhaps wandering around after
haying destroyed their nests/habitat somewhere else in another part of the
state. My birds flew far off and out of sight, so I doubt they were on
territory. Goldbook notes it as a rare summer visitor in the coastal plain in
July, and one known nesting in Northampton Co,but none on the Northern Neck.
Nick, who is working this summer at Wilna, said he is keeping his eyes open
hoping to find a female and signs of nesting.
Those were the most exciting birds of the day, but Nick and I also had our
first
"fall" shorebirds in Leedstown (Westmoreland Co) today: 2 spotted sandpipers, a
solitary sandpiper, and a least sandpiper. I also had a Spotted at LaGrange
Lane
in King George, where there was also an American Coot and a few hundred Canada
Geese, which have started to flock together after breeding. We also had 3 Great
Egrets and seven singing Bobwhites in Leedstown.
As I left after dark, I checked out a road where Nick had heard lots of
Chuck-wills-widows and whip-poor-wills in mid-June, but despite the moon-lit
night, not a single nightjar was singing. However, before heading home I
stopped by my mucky spatterdock-and-buttonbush-filled pond on Peedee Creek and
my spirits were lifted by the resounding chorus of green tree frogs, copes gray
tree frogs, northern cricket frogs, green frogs and bullfrogs.
It's late.
I'd better get some sleep.
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
