FreeLists / va-bird / [va-bird] Veeries & Other Breeding Birds at Long Branch/Glencarlyn Park, Arlington, June 1

[VBKitchens@xxxxxxx]

VA Birders,

    On our Northern Virginia Bird Club (NVBC) walk at Long Branch Nature Area 
(which includes Glencarlyn Park) in Arlington on Wednesday, June 1, we 
observed several species of breeding birds.  Early on, we found an AM. ROBIN 
feeding 
young in a nest, and a little later we found an ACADIAN FLYCATCHER on a nest. 
 (We found a pair of Acadians, and after one flew off, the other one went and 
sat on its nest practically over our heads!)  Then, on the way back, we found 
a pair of SCARLET TANAGERS, which should have left weeks ago, but were still 
there.  Recent studies have indicated that these tanagers usually nest in 
larger woodlands.  According to the list we used when we did the field work for 
the yet-to-be-published VA Breeding Bird Atlas in the 1980's, the safe date 
(when a species is supposed to be on territory) for Scarlet Tanagers begins May 
25.  Finally, on the way back to the nature center, we found 2 VEERIES.  At 
first, I thought they must be late migrants, because the only Virginia breeding 
records for this species of which I am aware are in the mountains.  However, as 
I was about to leave after the walk, I saw a Veery land on a fence post, and I 
realized it was carrying food!  For the atlas project, finding a bird 
carrying food confirmed that it was breeding, even if we did not find the nest, 
so it 
appears that a pair of Veeries is nesting at Long Branch this summer.   
  
Val Kitchens
Arlington, VA
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