FreeLists / va-richmond-general / [va-richmond-general] Dutch Gap this morning

["Bob Reilly" <rjreilly@xxxxxxx>]

A redstart,  in the black and orange plumage of an older male, was singing at 
Dutch Gap this morning at the woods edge, just before reaching the turn to the 
pennisula maintenance shed.  Quite a few of the 91 prothonotary nest boxes I 
checked this morning had some new prothonotary nesting material in them, and 11 
of them had chickadee nests with 6 or 7 eggs each!  The chickadees will likely 
finish up in time for those boxes to be used by late or second-brood 
prothonotaries.  Male prothonotaries were singing adjacent to quite a few of 
the boxes.  Two females were observed, and one of those was next to a box with 
a nearly completed nest.  Very early for that.

Bob Reilly