The first Louisiana Waterthrushes of the season returned to Ivy Creek today
where two birds, remaining mostly silent, were bobbing on the rocks along
Martins Branch.
Albemarle does not have many wintering waterfowl, but a few things have been
noted on passage lately. Hooded Mergansers, Ring-necked Ducks, and
Pied-billed Grebes have been fairly widespread; a female Red-breasted
Merganser and a small group of Green-winged Teal were at Chris Greene Lake
on the 26th; 5 Horned Grebes were at Sugar Hollow Reservoir on March 15th;
and a single Horned Grebe was at Beaver Creek Reservoir on March 23rd. Wood
Ducks arrived in late February and are now paired up across the county in
numbers. Double-crested Cormorant was seen yesterday (March 27) along the
James River and again today soaring over Ivy Creek. I imagine these are not
terribly common in the county.
Tree Swallows first arrived at Lake Albemarle on March 15th, but they seem
most common at Chris Greene Lake were over a dozen birds can be seen flying
around and investigating nest boxes. A group of Tree Swallows along the
James River yesterday were joined by 2 Barn Swallows the first of the
season. I havent found any No. Rough-winged Swallows or Purple Martins
this spring, but Im sure they will be back this week if they arent
already.
The Brown Thrasher that overwintered at Ivy Creek is still around, and a
newly arrived pair at Lake Albemarle is rather vocal. Numbers of both
species of kinglets seem to be on the rise, and many are singing. Pine
Warblers have been back since the first week of March; 2 were singing today
at Ivy Creek and several were seen yesterday around Mt. Alto. The biggest
push of Fox Sparrows was in the first two weeks of March, and their numbers
have dropped recently. Thats about it from here
Alex Merritt
Charlottesville, VA
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