[va-bird] Bobolink & Yellow-throated Vireo at Ft.Smith Park, Arlington, Friday, May 26

VA Birders,

    Friday morning, May 26, when I arrived at Ft. C. F. Smith Park, 
Arlington, I heard a bird which I had heard there previously but couldn't find. 
 When I 
walked to the back of the parking lot to look for it, another bird in the 
field caught my eye.  It was bigger than a sparrow and had bold stripes on its 
head, a finch-like bill, buffy front, and patterned back.  I suspected it might 
be a female BOBOLINK, and after checking my National Geographic field guide, I 
feel confident that it was.  When I went back to my car to check the book, I 
met Roger Anderson, who had just arrived, but when we went back to look for 
the bird together, we could not find it again.

    By then, the bird I thought was a vireo had stopped singing, and I didn't 
hear it again the rest of the morning.  However, because I wanted to see what 
birds might come to bathe in the Bird Stream in the early afternoon, I stayed 
at the park until 2:30 pm.  Then, just as I was getting in my car, the bird 
started singing again, and it sounded very close, so fortunately, I went and 
looked for it again.  This time, a lovely YELLOW-THROATED VIREO came out on a 
bare twig and sang his song for me, almost as if to say "Yes, I am real--you 
were not just imagining that you heard me"!

    As far as I know, the Bobolink is a first record for the park, and it was 
a first Arlington Co. record for me as well.  We used to get Yellow-throated 
Vireos in the park in spring, but I had not found them there in the past few 
springs until yesterday.

Good birding,
Val Kitchens
Arlington, VA
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