Greetings...
Mike Stinson and I did some birding in the hills today. The day started off
annoyingly when I hit and killed a Saw-whet in Albemarle County prior to
meeting Mike, a half-mile north of the North Fork of the Rivanna River on US
29 South. That was at about six-twenty AM. It was on a blind downhill
portion of US 29 and I was unable to retrieve the specimen without becoming
one.
The day was purely a hunt for crossbills and the ridiculously rare, plus a
little county listing to keep Mike happy. We were hoping for any of a number
of things that rarely show up in Virginia, and even thought of a few that
have never been reported here. We found none of the above. We did see a lot
of blaze orange, men with guns, however only a few dead deer.
The scenery in the northern part of Highland was rather pretty today. A
fresh, thin coating of snow covered some fields and roof tops, and we had a
few minutes of snow flurries with a gray backdrop. It was cold and windy
most of the day, but when we did have areas of sun, it was pleasant.
Birds of note in Highland County were:
Barred Owl, calling from hairpin turn west of the Breastworks. Heard by me
only.
Bald Eagle just west of McDowell.
Fox Sparrow near a feeder in Monterey.
Chipping Sparrow on a gravel lot in Blue Grass.
Golden Eagle north of Blue Grass at the state line, seen in both states.
In Bath County: Bald Eagle, Green-winged Teal (4), Black-capped Chickadee
(4), Red-breasted Nuthatch, and Winter Wren in Bath County, above the dam
along the east side of the Lower Reservoir (the place has a cumbersome name
that escapes me right now). Gadwall (2), Hooded Merganser (30-40),
Ring-necked Duck (circa 150), Lesser Scaup (maybe 60), and one Ruddy Duck on
the first two ponds below the dam.
At Lake Moomaw, seen from several vantage points, 150+ American Coot, 4
Ring-billed Gulls. One juv. Golden Eagle from the slips on Moomaw, soaring
above the ridge. One Tree Swallow (carefully identified by CMS), 3
Pied-billed Grebes, 2 Eastern Towhees, 4 Northern Pintail, and American
Wigeon seen downstream of the boat slip/ramp area.
As for the County Listing, we did manage eight species in the Independent
City of Covington, while Mike repeatedly tried to string a House Sparrow. I
was having none of it.
I think that's about it. One Chipmunk seen out there, in Highland I think.
Cheers...
Todd
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Todd M. Day
Jeffersonton, VA
Culpeper County
BlkVulture@xxxxxxx
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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.
