Hello VA-Birders,
I had a fine morning today in my usual haunts, and one not so usual. I
started listening for night birds pre-dawn at Julie Metz Wetlands, and for
the second week in a row, really did not get much.
I again heard a distant BARRED OWL up on Cockpit Point Road at Possum Point,
my next stop, but found the migrant activity there to be rather slow.
Interesting birds were: all three Tringa shorebirds, including my FOY
SOLITARY SANDPIPER at the marshy area on Cockpit Point, a near breeding
plumage COMMON LOON in Quantico Creek, WILD TURKEY, and warblers including
BLACK-AND-WHITE, LA WATERTHRUSH, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, YELLOW-THROATED, PINE,
and YELLOW-RUMPED. 67 species.
Later in Nokesville, specifically Hazelwood Drive, 12 CASPIAN TERNS migrated
in and started dive-feeding this very small pond - very interesting. I
noted 4 AMERICAN KESTRELS (plus 3 more later) all of which were sitting near
the nest boxes that have been provided on telephone poles. It's great to
see that kind of success! I found a new (to me) PURPLE MARTIN house at a
residence that had three individuals fighting with a house sparrow for
supremacy. Also present were TREE, ROUGH-WINGED and BARN SWALLOWS. Two
PALM WARBLERS were noted, capping a 7 warbler day here, and a singing
WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW capped a 9 sparrow day, though no Grasshopper Sparrows
as yet. EASTERN MEADOWLARKS were again everywhere in Nokesville, counting
23 on about 8 miles of roadsides. 46 species.
I was very fortunate to be able to join in on the walk at the nearby
Merrimac Farm hosted by the Prince William Conservation Alliance:
www.pwconserve.org. We all had a very enjoyable time observing the property
with its rich and diverse habitats adjacent to Cedar Run Creek. A few of us
paid special attention to the birds present and tallied 38 species, with the
best being the COMMON MOORHEN I previously noted from the field. The few of
us that saw it were dumbstruck at the location of the bird when it was
flushed. We were walking along a roadside with a moderately-vegetated
fencerow and we saw something scurry along the roots and grasses. It had to
squeeze through a portion of the fence, which made it pause long enough for
us to see the bright red beak and face plate, along with the white stripes
on the flanks before it flew off along the opposite side of the fenceline.
The habitat is a somewhat open field with a large (appropriate-looking) pond
a small distance away with a smaller pond quite close. I suppose on
migration, anything can happen. I am interested in finding out if this is
normal behavior for Moorhens to be roosting on dry ground. At any rate, it
is my first PW County Moorhen and a truly delightful find!
Be sure to check out the above web site for the Prince William Conservation
Alliance. It's an organization working hard to promote conservation in a
much-needed area of Virginia.
Take Care,
Jay Keller,
Arlington
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