VA BIRDers,
Let me add a beginning and end to the stories you have read. Before =
joining
up with Marc, Jay, Larry and Depesh, I started out early heading to the
Nokesville area. I think the early morning chill (I swear that =
Nokesville
can give Highland County a good contest for "coldest dawns") may have =
kept
my target - Whip-poor-will - speechless. With hands dug deep into =
pockets
(yep, no gloves) I listened to 2 or 3 or more Barred Owls hooting at =
each
other along Cedar Run and tributaries near Fleetwood Rd. =20
The sky gave way to a rather incredible mixture of greenish-blue to dark
blue hues as the sun pushed its way to the horizon. I moved on to =
nearby
private Cedar Run Wetlands. Whilst lacing my boots a King Rail
kek-kek-kek'ed nearly continuously. Many Swamp sparrows were singing =
and a
similar number of Wilson's Snipe winnowed (a great sound, somewhat like =
that
of a Boreal Owl). Two or three Wild Turkeys gobbled. I watched a Great
Blue lift out of the wetland. Over my shoulder I heard a somewhat =
breathy
"sshoooww" call - I could not place it immediately. Following the path =
of
the Great Blue another heron lifted out - only it was shorter, stockier =
and
had a thick neck. The American Bittern flew in front of me near eye =
level,
perhaps two dozen feet away. It joined up with another American Bittern
that emitted the "sshoooww" call. The two flew above tree height along =
the
edge of the wetlands.
I tore myself away and headed for the Possum Point Rd area. I noted =
Common
Mergansers and a Belted Kingfisher in Quantico Creek before meeting up =
with
the crew.
At the end of the afternoon, I stopped off at the Stone Bridge just =
north of
the Dyke Marsh picnic area. Here I spotted a 3rd summer Lesser =
Black-backed
on the mudflats mixed in with the other 3 typical larids. Nearby were 6
Caspian Terns.
Kurt Gaskill
-----Original Message-----
From: va-bird-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:va-bird-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] =
On
Behalf Of MARC RIBAUDO
Sent: Sunday, April 10, 2005 1:44 PM
To: VA-BIRD
Subject: [va-bird] 8 warbler morning, eastern Prince William Co.
I birded Cockpit Pt. Rd., Leesylvania State Park, Metz Wetlands, and
Occoquan NWR this morning, and tallied 8 warbler species, plus some =
other
goodies such as purple finch (Cockpit Pt.), turkey (Cockpit Pt.), winter
wren (Cockpit Pt.), king rail (Metz), Bonaparte's gull (Leesylvania),
american kestrel (Occoquan), rusty blackbird (Metz) and white-eyed vireo
(Metz). Warblers included black-throated green, black-and-white, =
parula,
Louisiana waterthrush, pine warbler, yellow-rumped warbler, and
yellow-throated warbler along Cockpit Pt. road, and palm warbler at =
Metz. I
had 73 species in all.
Here is the complete list:
double-crested cormorant
great-blue heron
great egret
canada goose
wood duck
green-winged teal
mallard
lesser scaup
turkey vulture
osprey
bald eagle
red-shouldered hawk
american kestrel
wild turkey
king rail
killdeer
greater yellowlegs
ring-billed gull
great black-backed gull
herring gull
Bonaparte's gull
Forster's tern
rock dove
mourning dove
belted kingfisher
red-bellied woodpecker
downy woodpecker
hairy woodpecker
northern flicker
pileated woodpecker
eastern phoebe
purple martin
tree swallow
northern rough-winged swallow
ruby-crowned kinglet
carolina wren
winter wren
brown thrasher
eastern bluebird
american robin
blue-gray gnatcatcher
carolina chickadee
tufted titmouse
white-breasted nuthatch
blue jay
american crow
fish crow
starling
white-eyed vireo
northern parula
yellow-rumped warbler
black-throated green warbler
yellow-throated warbler
pine warbler
palm warbler
black-and-white warbler
Louisiana waterthrush
eastern towhee
chipping sparrow
field sparrow
song sparrow
swamp sparrow
white-throated sparrow
dark-eyed junco
northern cardinal
red-winged blackbird
rusty blackbird
common grackle
brown-headed cowbird
purple finch
house finch
american goldfinch
house sparrow
Marc Ribaudo
Woodbridge, VA
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