-----Original Message-----
From: Kurt Gaskill [mailto:KurtCapt87@xxxxxxxxxxx] ;
Sent: Monday, July 24, 2006 9:58 PM
To: (va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx)
Subject: Rx for those July Birding Blues
VA BIRDers,
Its the end of July and its hot and sticky. The birds in your local patch
are getting harder and harder to find and you dont know whats going down
faster the frequency of bird song or the rivulets of sweat down your
neck. Whats a birder to do?
Try a Big Day!
Yep, go out there and see how many species you can find in 24 hrs at your
local patch or county or region. Racing from habitat to habitat, yeah
thats the ticket, to bust those blues. Or at least Rich Rieger and I
thought so Sunday, July 23.
We had been chatting about a July Big Day for a while the recent ABA Big
Day Report had Virginia down for only 91 species as the top total for the
month (thats all?). It seemed beatable. We had thought about starting
Saturday, but the weather prediction was very poor. So, we selected Sunday.
We planned to bird the local area.
We left our houses at 3 AM and headed to our first stop along Rt 619 (Joplin
Rd, Pr Wm Co) adjacent to Prince William Forest Park to listen for wills.
We quickly tallied Chuck-wills-widow and a nearby Barred Owl but the Whips
were silent perhaps because it had RAINED a few hours ago! We went down
the road for one of the many Eastern Screech Owls that live here and
encountered a very loud and enthusiastic representative of that species.
Next stop was the Nokesville area it rained as we drove - and we were soon
listening to one of the local Barn Owls.
Its a bit different out there at the end of July than in May. Not too many
things are making noises in the dark. Top audibles are mosquitoes, other
insects and frogs. Next are the owls. And next is Northern Mockingbird.
Nearly all of the other self-respecting birds are quiet.
We then drove on to Shenandoah National Park the Panorama entrance on Rt
211. We arrived near 0545 and in the near dark could make out a bird
perched on a nearby snag between Skyline Drive and Rt 211; a Great Horned
Owl which nicely closed out the owl portion of the day.
But, what really surprised us was the weather condition on the Parkway. Not
rain - that had passed. Nope, it was fog. Fairly dense. And, as we drove
south and rounded a corner to another turn out, we found another problem:
Wind. About 20 mph from the NW. And it was cold. Maybe 55F WITHOUT THE
WIND. Fortunately we were both ex-Boy Scouts and donned our jackets.
There were hundreds of birds along our Parkway route but most were Eastern
Towhees or Indigo Buntings. Occasionally we would hear a Red-eyed Vireo,
another turn presents a Hooded Warbler, down the road is small group of
Dark-eyed Junco, and I new turn out has a Carolina Wren
well, I think you
get the picture. The other birds were not of the Boy Scout-ilk and instead
hunkered down waiting for the sun to shine and the wind to stop. And so,
the diversity seemed tight under these conditions. Our visit to the
Limberlost Trail did produce a few calling Veerys (after 15 minutes of
searching) and of course Blue-headed Vireo. A fine family of American
Redstarts was encountered, including several stubby-tailed juvies. We left
noting a Black & White Warbler and then started our trek back to the Rt
211. We stopped at the turn out near Little Stony Man. Peering into the
fog blowing past us we saw
well nothing. Did I mention the fog? But, we
heard this Peregrine Falcon screaming from behind the dull white curtain.
That was one of our days highlights its pretty impressive when you hear
a Peregrine. We left the park and soon sped downslope, stopping along an
innocuous road to tally Warbling Vireo, Yellow Warbler and LA Waterthrush.
Next stop: the Remington, Fauquier Co area.
Highlights at the Remington area were not one but two Loggerhead Shrikes.
Nice, friendly birds perching up on a wire near Grassdale Rd alongside some
Mourning Doves one of the top finds of the day. Thank you! The turf farm
yielded up one calling Horned Lark from somewhere (never saw it!). And of
course the American Kestrels were about. But, no Dickcissel for us. We
passed by a calling juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk near Marsh Run as we drove
north.
We came into the Sky Meadows area via the back door Rt 688 (Leeds Manor
Rd) mainly to look for hawks along the ridge. And the target was there a
Broad-winged circling about. Just before Sky Meadows we find a Baltimore
Oriole family. The park yields up the usual Red-headed Woodpeckers. And
then we drove east, merging on to Rt 710 (Rectorstown Rd) for the bridge
over Goose Cr. Yep, the Cliff Swallows are there, plus a couple of Cedar
Waxwings. But, its getting late and we head to our next stop, Dulles
Wetlands, Loudoun Co.
Having previously arranged access, we enter the wetlands and soon pass a
very audible Virginia Rail. We move on, looking for shorebirds but find
none nor ducks! There was an Orchard Oriole family, and a Willow
Flycatcher which also seemed to be in the family way. At least 9 Green
Heron (yes, many are birds-of-the-year) plus a couple of Great Egrets.
Northern Rough-winged Swallows cruise the wetlands. On the way out, a
White-eyed Vireo gives its odd song. On the road, we pass a pond with
Mallards and soon we are out of the piedmont. About 86 species at this
point. Its close to noon.
We arrive at the Potomac River and stop at the Stone Bridge near Dyke Marsh
finding many of the expected birds: Osprey, Greater Yellowlegs,
Semipalmated Sandpiper (only one mixed in with the many Least Sandpipers),
Laughing, Ring-billed and Great Black-backed Gulls. But, no terns. We head
south on the GW Parkway and then to Mason Neck NWR.
At Mason Neck NWR we hoped to finish off the missing upland forest birds.
Fat chance. Apparently there are no more Northern Parulas or Ovenbirds.
Yeah, we know these species are there, just quiet, quiet, quiet. But we
pick up Acadian Flycatcher and Pileated Woodpecker and leave (running a bit
late since we still find it hard to believe we could not find a !$*@&^!
Ovenbird at 5PM). We scan Occoquan Bay from the marina at the mouth of the
Occoquan River and notch Bald Eagle and Forsters Terns and we find a small
raft of nearly a dozen Lesser Scaup! And another great highlight of the day
in the small riverside marsh by the bridge Pied-billed Grebe!
We head over to Occoquan Bay NWR and notch a few more goodies. The Least
Bitterns were still flying at the end of Easy Rd (at least 4, the color
pattern said 2 juvies). Nearby was a couple of King Rails (maybe more given
the noises). We also spot our first Ruby-throated Hummers, hear a couple of
Northern Bobwhites, tally Tree Swallow and net the unexpected Ruddy Duck
group (4 of them)!
We traveled to Leesylvania SP and finally find Purple Martins. And hear a
Great Crested Flycatcher that plugged a big hole in the list. But, the
really nice bird was this first year male Prothonotary Warbler along the car
top boat launch area boardwalk. Sweet!
Yet, it was getting late so we drive north to Huntley Meadows to finish the
day arriving near 730pm. Huntley was good to the end giving us many, many
Wood Duck (including a little one which stood on a log and flapped its wings
as its body braced at an angle like those whirligigs that people put in
their yards). Also were several Solitary Sandpipers plus 2 (likely) juvie
Spotted Sandpipers. Although not new, we also noted Red-shouldered Hawk,
Purple Martin, and Cedar Waxwing.
We ended the day at about 840 pm. Over 300 miles and 115 species. We had
lots of misses, but then again, its July. Perhaps better weather would
have helped? I dunno. We still ache a bit and wish we had a few more hours
of sleep. Yet, we were thrilled to make this effort and set a new mark for
others to better.
Its your turn now.
Kurt Gaskill and Rich Rieger
The list:
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Mallard
Lesser Scaup
Ruddy Duck
Wild Turkey (female + 4 larger poults Skyline Dr)
Northern Bobwhite
Pied-billed Grebe
DC Cormorant
Least Bittern, some juvies at OBNWR
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Green Heron, juvies at Dulles Wetlands
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Red-shouldered Hawk, juvie calling near Remington
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon
King Rail
Virginia Rail
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Solitary Sandpiper
Spotted Sandpiper
Semi-palmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Forsters Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove, many locations
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Barn Owl
Eastern Screech Owl
Great Horned Owl
Barred Owl
Chuck-wills-widow
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummer
Belted Kingfisher, several locations
Red-headed WP
Red-bellied WP
Downy WP
Hairy WP
Northern Flicker
Pileated WP
Eastern Wood Pewee, many locations
Acadian Flycatcher
Willow Flycatcher, a pair at Dulles Wetlands
Eastern Phoebe, several locations
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird, many locations
Loggerhead Shrike
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo, many locations on Shenandoah Parkway
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow, the first of the day was over Dulles Wetlands
Common Raven, a few along Shenandoah Parkway, even in the fog
Horned Lark
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
House Wren, only a few
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, several locations
Eastern Bluebird
Veery
Wood Thrush, many singing at Mason Neck NWR & elsewhere
American Robin
Gray Catbird, many locations
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
E. Starling
Cedar Waxwing, a few locations
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler, one on Shenandoah Parkway (We blame the fog)
Black & White Warbler
American Redstart, family group at Limberlost
Prothonotary Warbler, first year male at Leesylvania SP
LA Waterthrush, two places near the Blue Ridge
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler, only on S. Parkway
Yellow-breasted Chat
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco, two juvies along S. Parkway (one near Marys Rock tunnel
Roger)
Northern Cardinal
Blue Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting, juvie along S. Parkway
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark, CF Remington area
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole, FY outside of Sperryville nr Rt 211
Baltimore Oriole, family group south of Sky Meadows
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
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