Area Birders, On Friday, 1/20/06, fellow Buchanan County Bird Club member, Richard Kretz and I birded an abandoned railroad bed that runs alongside the Dismal River in Buchanan County. The river and railroad pass near the small town of Whitewood VA . We walked about 2 1/2 miles of the railroad bed (5 miles round-trip). We didn't log a high number of species, but some of the ones we did find were rather numerous. Nine Carolina wrens were seen and heard and 11 Golden-crowned Kinglets were found in trees and bushes along the track's edge. One Brown Thrasher was found, which is a bit uncommon for this area at this time of year. Red-tailed Hawks were out with 5 observed. Field, Song, Swamp and White-throated Sparrows were counted and 2 Pileated Woodpeckers kept teasing us, as we would get almost close enough for photos before they would fly a short distance ahead. With the warm temperatures (sunny 50's) it was a great day for some birding and good exercise. For those interested the complete list follows. Roger Mayhorn Compton Mt (near Grundy) Buchanan County American Crow 16 American Goldfinch 2 American Robin 3 (1m, 2f) Belted Kingfisher 3 Brown Thrasher 1 Blue Jay 7 Carolina Chickadee 6 Carolina Wren 9 Dark-eyed Junco 18 (15m, 3f) Downy Woodpecker 2 (1m, 1f) Field Sparrow 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet 11 Hermit Thrush 1 House Finch 3 Northern Cardinal 10 Pileated Woodpecker 2 Red-tailed Hawk 5 Song Sparrow 19 Swamp Sparrow 2 Tufted Titmouse 6 White-breasted Nuthatch 1 White-throated Sparrow 13