[va-bird] Manassas CBC- Battlefield count

To echo Kurt, the day was absolutely beautiful!  However, we started the day 
(pre-daylight hours actually) with no owls.  Skunked for the first time ever!  
The general feeling now circulating is that the grass in the battlefield has 
been mowed too short.  (On the other hand, maybe the sector leader is an 
incompetent boob and ought to be fired!)   

Things picked up during the daylight hours and all teams contributed unique 
birds.  The team composed of Sue Heath, Dave Nichols, Ginny NcNair, and Dorothy 
Tella, tallied the only Merlin of the day while the crack team of Bob Abrams, 
John Boudreau, and everyone's favorite Minnesotan, Jon Little, presented us 
with the battlefield's sole Am. Kestrel. 

Eagle- eyed Carl Schulz (on the Laura Catterton and Larry Cartwright team) 
spotted 3 Wild Turkeys and Ginny McNair saw our only Bobwhite.  Even I did 
something useful, finding a lone Eastern Phoebe in the southwest subsector.  

Corvids made headlines, with the Paula Sullivan, Paul Kane, and Roger Miller 
trio seeing a Common Raven while the Abrams squad spotted large flocks of Fish 
Crows.  Fish Crows, in fact, practically equaled Am. Crow numbers, an 
unprecedented event, I believe. 

Carl, Laura, and I collectively tallied 5 Savannah Sparrows and Laura went one 
better, finding a Chipping Sparrow in a flock of Juncos, while the Sullivan 
gang found an American Tree Sparrow.  

Robins, mixed in with smaller numbers of Cedar Waxwings, were everywhere.  In 
some instances, waxwings preferred the company of bluebirds instead.  

For those interested, the complete list follows.  If bored by such dry stuff, 
delete and move on.  
Happy holidays, everyone!

Canada Goose  98
Mallard   4
Hooded Merganser     12
Black Vulture         14
Turkey Vulture       92

Northern Harrier        5
Sharp-shinned Hawk     2
      accipter spa.          1
Red-shouldered Hawk       11
Red-tailed Hawk    8
American Kestrel     1

Merlin         1
Wild Turkey       3
Northern Bobwhite    1  
Ring-billed Gull    45
Mourning Dove      47

Belted Kingfisher       1
Red-bellied woodpecker     35
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker     6
Downy Woodpecker     19
Hairy Woodpecker       4

Northern Flicker   45
Pileated Woodpecker 4
Eastern Phoebe        1
Blue Jay        78
American Crow     155

Fish Crow        135
    crow spa.    79
Common Raven       1
Carolina Chickadee    97
Tufted Titmouse        30
White-breasted Nuthatch   14

Brown Creeper      5
Carolina Wren         37
Golden-crowned Kinglet             13
Ruby-crowned Kinglet           1
Eastern Bluebird         105

Hermit Thrush          7
American Robin             3063
Northern Mockingbird           41
Cedar Waxwing            722
European Starling         187

Yellow-rumped Warbler        172
Northern Cardinal           94
American Tree Sparrow        1
Chipping Sparrow          1
Field Sparrow         46

Savannah Sparrow          5
Song Sparrow             43
Swamp Sparrow          5
White-throated sparrow         41
Dark-eyed Junco             187

Red-winged Blackbird         2
House Finch                   51
American Goldfinch               23 


Larry Cartwright
Sector Leader for the battlefield
acartwright@xxxxxxxxx

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