FreeLists / va-bird / [va-bird] Breep's survey, Difficult Run, Oakton, Fairfax Co

[Frederick Atwood <fredatwood@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hello Ben and others.
I birded from 6:10 to 8:40 on Saturday AM May 1.
Starting at Samaga Rd, I walked downstream along
Rocky Branch and upstream along Difficult Run,
off-trail, for about 2.5 km, and returned via the
trail.

This would not be a very productive site for
starting a big day.  However, for those
interested in reading on, here is what I found. 
None are estimates and I tried to be very careful
not to double-count.  I pished occasionally,
especially whenever I heard chickadees, sparrows
or yellow-rumped warblers.

14 double crested cormorant flying over in a V
1 great blue heron fly-over
1 Mallard drake
4 pair of Canada Geese (one incubating, no
chicks)
1 red-tailed hawk
2 singing mourning dove
1 pair of barred owl
4 chimney swift flying over the marshy area
1 ruby-throated hummingbird zipped by
1 belted kingfisher flew over
9 very noisy red-bellied woodpeckers
2 yellow-shafted flicker
2 drumming pileated woodpeckers
2 hairy woodpeckers
4 downy woodpeckers
no wood pewees or acadian flycatchers here yet.
3 great crested flycatcher ( 2 breeping)
1 eastern kingbird
no swallows
15 blue jay
3 american crow
1 fish crow
8 carolina chcickadee, 1 with caterpillar for
young.
14 tufted titmouse
2 white-breasted nuthatch
2 singing house wren
4 carolina wren, much quieter than usual
2 ruby-crowned kinglet
8 pairs of noisy blue-gray gnatcatchers
1 male eastern bluebird
no robins
3 wood thrush (2 singing)
2 singing mockingbirds
1 singing brown thrasher
2 gray catbird, 1 singing, 1 meowing
3 european starlings at old woodpecker holes 
11 red-eyed vireos (10 singing)
6 white-eyed vireos (5 singing, 1 gathering long
grass fibers for nest material).
5 northern parula (4 singing, 1 gathering box
elder flowers for nest material).
2 singing black-and-white warbler, fun to watch.
3 male black-throated blue warblers (1 singing)
5 yellow-rumped warblers (all up high in trees
chipping, none singing)
3 ovenbird (2 singing)
1 louisiana waterthrush along Difficult Run
2 northern waterthrush in skunk cabbage swamp
12 singing common yellowthroat
1 singing scarlet tanager
36 northern cardinal
2 singing indigo bunting
2 rose-breasted grosbeak ( 1 singing, 1 calling)
6 singing eastern towhee
2 singing song sparrow
1 swamp sparrow
3 white-throated sparrow
1 red-winged blackbird flying over
2 common grackle flying over
2 singing baltimore orioles 
19 very noisy american goldfinches

MAMMALS
1 beaver slapping its tail
1 red fox at 6:10 along the creek
14 deer
12 gray squirrel
no chipmunks

HERPS
1 painted turtle eating toad tadpoles
no singing frogs

Plant notes: Most of the multiflora rose thickets
that used to be here have been eaten by deer.
Young mile-a-minute shoots can bee seen almost
everywhere in the walkable parts of the marshy
area.  The grassy areas along the creek have been
grazed short by the deer and geese.

All the best
Fred






--- Breep@xxxxxxx wrote:
> The weather appears good for migration the next
> two days.  I have not gotten 
> enough responses to have a comprehensive,
> organized survey of Fairfax County 
> migrant traps this weekend.  However, if you
> are out on Saturday, please record 
> the number and species of passage migrants and
> share the data.  Be sure to 
> let me know how long you birded and at what
> time of day.  Ideally, to make the 
> data most comparable, we would all do one hour
> beginning at dawn.
> Thanks.
> 
> Ben Jesup
> 
> 
> You are subscribed to VA-BIRD. To post to this
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> 


=====
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


        
                
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