[va-bird] Blandy Farm and Bluemont, Saturday, June 18

VA Birders,

    Joanna Taylor and I co-led our last scheduled Northern Virginia Bird Club 
(NVBC) trip of the season at Blandy Farm (the State Arboretum of Virginia), 
Clarke Co., on Saturday, June 18.  Altho we didn't find any unusual birds, it 
was a glorious day (in terms of weather) to be out.  Highlights were several 
CEDAR WAXWINGS, including one on a nest and both orioles, including BALTIMORE 
ORIOLES with 2 newly fledged young.

    After the walk, 9 of us has lunch at a new (for us) restaurant, Doc's 
BBQ, which my husband had tried and recommended to us.  They serve both Texas 
(tomato-based, and milder) and North Carolina (vinegar-based) BBQ, as well as 
other items.  We all tried the TX BBQ and enjoyed it very much; Doc's includes 
a 
store and a dining section which includes several tables and is non-smoking.  
Doc's is located on Rt. 50, about halfway between Sky Meadows State Park and 
Blandy Farm.  Going north on Rt. 17 from Sky Meadows, turn left on Rt. 50, and 
Doc's will be on your right, between Rts. 601 and 606; it is set back from the 
highway and you go down an unpaved driveway to get there.  (Since most 
birders get hungry and like to eat as well as bird, and there's not many 
restaurants 
out there, I thought this might be of interest.)  

    After lunch, Pat Blyer, Mike Duffy, and I went back and checked under the 
Rt. 50 bridge over the Shenandoah River, where we found the colony of Cliff 
Swallows.  Then we went home via Berryville and Rt. 7, stopping along the way 
in Bluemont, where we checked out Rt. 779 (Ebenezer Church Rd.).  We didn't 
find the Bobolinks reported by Joe Coleman, but we did find at least one, and 
possibly 2, WILLOW FLYCATCHERS (our first of the year) in the field with shrubs 
and willows across the road from Legacy Farm.  Thanks Joe.

Good birding,
Val Kitchens
Arlington, VA
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