Yep, robins on Friday, mourning doves singing on Saturday morning and
blackbirds croaking yesterday afternoon, a sure harbinger of change.
Debra Blake
Arlington
"Colwell, Darby" <DColwell@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Just a quick posting to say that there were over 40 robins foraging in the
leaf mulch in my yard yesterday in Falls Church. Many of them sported the
bright red breasts which (my husband says) are indicative of migrating
rather than winter-over birds. this "winter of our discontent" may soon be
over!
-----Original Message-----
From: FreeLists Mailing List Manager [mailto:ecartis@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2004 11:07 PM
To: va-bird digest users
Subject: va-bird Digest V3 #50
va-bird Digest Thu, 19 Feb 2004 Volume: 03 Issue: 050
In This Issue:
[va-bird] Patuxent NWR Birding
[va-bird] Re: Short-eared Owls - Loudoun County
[va-bird] peregrine falcon in Gloucester/York Co
[va-bird] RFI: Craney Island
[va-bird] Re: RFI: Craney Island
[va-bird] Craney Island
[va-bird] Sharp-shinned Photos
[va-bird] Re: Short-eared Owls At Montresor Farm
[va-bird] Chincoteague 19 February
[va-bird] Razorbill at Ft. Story
[va-bird] Osprey at Craney
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2004 09:00:51 -0500
From: Dave Hewitt
Subject: [va-bird] Patuxent NWR Birding
VA-Birders-
I am going to be at the Visitor's Center of Patuxent NWR next week for a
meeting, and will have a short amount of time to duck out and look at the
local birds. I see that there are some trails immediately around the
visitor's center and associated ponds/lake, but wondered if anyone had
other favorite spots on the refuge to check out.
Thanks for any help,
Dave Hewitt
Williamsburg, VA
---------------------------------------------
Dave Hewitt
Fisheries Science/Crustacean Ecology
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
College of William and Mary
P.O. Box 1346
Gloucester Point, VA 23062
804.684.7643
dhewitt@xxxxxxxx
------------------------------
From: "Gary Harris"
Subject: [va-bird] Re: Short-eared Owls - Loudoun County
Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2004 09:36:24 -0500
Thanks to previous postings on this subject, we were able to locate a group
of short-eared owls yesterday evening. Conditions were clear and calm. A
group of at least six were actively flying and feeding in the fields across
from Montressor Farm on Montressor Road (route 661), west of route 15. They
became very vocal as it became dark.
About half an hour earlier, we had had no luck at the northwest corner
woodlot at Limestone School Road (Rt. 661) and Hibler Road (Rt. 656), east
of route 15.
Gary Harris
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2004 14:46:43 -0500
From: Dave Hewitt
Subject: [va-bird] peregrine falcon in Gloucester/York Co
Folks-
A peregrine falcon has been seen today cruising the skies around the
Coleman Bridge, the connection between York and Gloucester counties over
the York River. The bird has half-heartedly swooped after pigeons from the
group of them that hang out under the bridge. My understanding is that this
bird or some of its relatives nest under the bridge each year.
Dave Hewitt
Williamsburg, VA
---------------------------------------------
Dave Hewitt
Fisheries Science/Crustacean Ecology
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
College of William and Mary
P.O. Box 1346
Gloucester Point, VA 23062
804.684.7643
dhewitt@xxxxxxxx
------------------------------
From: mboater@xxxxxxx
Subject: [va-bird] RFI: Craney Island
Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2004 21:29:30 +0000
Can someone tell me the current entrance conditions for Craney?(Can you get
in
on Saturdays without a key? Which gates are open/locked? What are normal
hours
of operation?).
Please reply off-line unless you think a general posting is needed.
Thanks,
Mike Boatwright
Amherst,VA
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2004 15:00:37 -0800 (PST)
From: Karen Chiasson
Subject: [va-bird] Re: RFI: Craney Island
I am also interested in visiting Craney Island and would like to know
entrance gates, etc. So, any information provided would be greatly
appreciated.
Thank you,
Karen Chiasson
mboater@xxxxxxx wrote:
Can someone tell me the current entrance conditions for Craney?(Can you get
in
on Saturdays without a key? Which gates are open/locked? What are normal
hours
of operation?).
Please reply off-line unless you think a general posting is needed.
Thanks,
Mike Boatwright
Amherst,VA
You are subscribed to VA-BIRD. To post to this mailing list, simply send
email to va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx. To unsubscribe, send email to
va-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail SpamGuard - Read only the mail you want.
------------------------------
From: "P R Mocko"
Subject: [va-bird] Craney Island
Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2004 18:28:05 -0500
The contact information (as of August 2003) at Craney Island:
Karrin Frankie
Craney Island
Administrative Support Assistant
757-484-1021.
Very cooperative and pleasant with birders.
Paul
_________________________________________________________________
Store more e-mails with MSN Hotmail Extra Storage - 4 plans to choose from!
http://click.atdmt.com/AVE/go/onm00200362ave/direct/01/
------------------------------
From: "Roger Mayhorn"
Subject: [va-bird] Sharp-shinned Photos
Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2004 19:09:20 -0500
VA Birders,
This week there have been two Sharpies visiting my feeders.One is an adult
and the other is a juvenile. I haven't seen them catch anything, but they
are trying and are certainly keeping the feeder birds on their toes.
Yesterday, the juvenile bird was sitting in the cherry tree watching and
waiting. I left the window for a moment and when I returned the juvenile was
gone. In a couple of seconds the adult Sharpie took his place. I think he
had driven the juvenile away.
This morning, as the juvenile Sharpie sat near the top of the cherry tree, a
goldfinch flew over about 6 feet above him. The hawk gave chase then went
down to the ground behind a shrub. I thought he had lunch, but I could see
through the bush with the binos, and saw that he had missed. It then flew
into a nearby shrub before finally giving up and flying away. I took some
photos of these two small raptors. You can see a couple of them at
http://www.bcplnet.org/birdclub/gallery/Sharp1.htm
Enjoy the birds,
Roger Mayhorn
Grundy, VA
------------------------------
From:
Subject: [va-bird] Re: Short-eared Owls At Montresor Farm
Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2004 21:39:07 -0500
Four Short-eared Owls were seen at twilight tonight(1810) when the birds
rose up out of the tree line in the field in front of Montresor Farm on
Route 661 near Lucketts, Virginia. The birds put on quite a show of
whirling and fencing in the sky. They seemed unafraid of humans. The
spectacle was witnessed by Ray Smith, Matt Orsie, Bill Seebeck, and Fred
Bogar.
Also seen were
500 Canada Geese
13 American Black Ducks
5 Green-winged Teals
6 Red-tailed Hawks
13 Rough-legged Hawks
3 Northern Harriers
2 American Kestrels
13 Mourning Doves
4 Short-eared Owls
2 Flickers
1 Pileated Woodpecker
15 American Crows
27 Blue Jays
4 Carolina Chickadees
1 White-breasted Nuthatch
1 American Robin
33 European Starlings
41 Northern Cardinals
4 Red-winged blackbirds
4 House Sparrows
Fred Bogar
703-768-3793
Alexandria, VA
------------------------------
From: Phoebetria@xxxxxxx
Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2004 21:43:33 EST
Subject: [va-bird] Chincoteague 19 February
A short run up to Chincoteague (3:15 to dark) was most productive. Off the
beach, plenty of both loons, buckets of Surf Scoters, a Bonaparte's Gull, a
few
gannets, some Black Scoters, and maybe 10 Horned Grebes. On the beach, Tom
Saunders and I had long, lovely studies of first-winter Glaucous and Iceland
Gulls. So rare on the state's coast that one gets to see both white-winged
gulls like this. Inside Tom's Cove, two grebes, at least one of which was a
Red-necked, foraging right next to the road (a first-winter bird, surely),
plus
more loons. Scads of waterfowl winging around the refuge, including Lesser
Scaup, Northern Shoveler, Green-winged Teal, American Black Duck (many),
Mallard,
Ring-necked Duck, Ruddy Duck, Northern Pintail. Didn't spend any real time
looking at interior impoundments, as we ran out of light. We ended the day
at
the first (westernmost) pull-out on the Causeway, where, after a harrier
show of
a dozen birds or more, we were treated to a hunting Short-eared Owl and
half-a-dozen Black-crowned Night-Herons. A much-needed fix!
Ned Brinkley
Cape Charles, VA
------------------------------
From: "Joyce and Hayes Williams"
Subject: [va-bird] Razorbill at Ft. Story
Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2004 22:42:00 -0500
Joyce and I arrived at Ft. Story around 10:20 this morning. Within five
minutes a razorbill passed by close to the beach heading west. Northern
Gannets were streaming by in small groups (10 - 30). We estimate over 3,000
in the two hours we were there. Several hundred Brown Pelicans passed by
heading west. Also seen there from the Harbormaster's headquarters were
Red-throated Loons, Common Loons, Horned Grebes, Double-crested Cormorants,
all three scoters, Buffleheads, Red-breasted Mergansers, one female Northern
Harrier, an American Kestrel, Ring-billed Gulls and Great Black-backed
Gulls. Only the one Alcid was seen. Now on to Craney Island (separate
message).
Hayes Williams
------------------------------
From: "Joyce and Hayes Williams"
Subject: [va-bird] Osprey at Craney
Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2004 23:02:46 -0500
Joyce and I went from Ft. Story to Craney Island today. An Osprey was
sitting on the nest on the west side (on the pole out in the water). We
also saw it flying a few times while we were there. This is our first one
for the year (other than the one that spent the winter in York County).
Also seen at Craney were one Common Loon, 23 Horned Grebes, Brown Pelicans,
D. C. Cormorants, a Great Egret, one Canada Goose, American Black Ducks,
Mallards, Northern Pintails, Gadwalls, American Widgeons, one Canvasback (on
the east side), Lesser Scaup, Buffleheads, Hooded Mergansers, Red-breasted
Mergansers, Ruddy Ducks, a male Northern Harrier, a Cooper's Hawk, two
Red-tailed Hawks, American Coots, some unidentified peeps, Rock Doves,
Mourning Doves, a Red-bellied Woodpecker, European Starlings, Northern
Cardinals, a male Towee, White-throated Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Red-winged
Blackbirds, Eastern Meadowlarks and Common Grackles.
Hayes Williams
------------------------------
End of va-bird Digest V3 #50
****************************
You are subscribed to VA-BIRD. To post to this mailing list, simply send email
to va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx. To unsubscribe, send email to
va-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail SpamGuard - Read only the mail you want.
You are subscribed to VA-BIRD. To post to this mailing list, simply send email
to va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx. To unsubscribe, send email to
va-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
