VA BIRDers,
John Drummond and I were joined by two other hardy souls for a Northern
Virginia Bird Club Field Trip on the piedmont of Prince William Co. today.
Originally scheduled for the Manassas Battlefield, we slightly changed the
scheduled after spending a frosty hour+ (I think John said the temperature was
14 F) on the western edge of the park at the big power line cut near I-66.
Here we had fine views of American Tree Sparrows, Field Sparrows, and a couple
of Swamp Sparrows.
We jumped into our cars to warm up as we drove to the Nokesville area. We
stopped near the dairy farm that had the Brewer's Blackbirds previously
reported, but found none. The nearby field held 30 or so Horned Lark and near
the barn we could make out a few White-crowned Sparrows.
We then headed to Jim's Emu ranch, passing a No. Harrier hunting a field. At
the ranch we learned from Jim Rowlette that egg-laying had started and he was
warming up the incubators (56-day incubation period). We also noted a Barn Owl
leaving one of the silos.
We noted a Sharp-shinned Hawk chasing a bunch of E. Starlings as we climbed
into our car and ended the day. Driving past the high school, several Savannah
Sparrows flushed from the road edge.
On the way home, I also stopped by Occ. Bay NWR to view the female Rough-legged
Hawk. It was eating a mouse, caught in about 5 minutes of hunting. Lots of
roadside sparrows (9 species). No Common Ravens, though.
Today's Field Trip's Frozen List is included below.
Kurt Gaskill
Black Vulture 4
Turkey Vulture 1
Canada Goose 25
No. Harrier 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 2
Emu jerky - several
Ring-billed Gull 2
Rock Pigeon 20
Mourning Dove 2
Barn Owl 1
Red-bellied WP 2
Downy WP 2
No. Flicker 1
Horned Lark 30
Blue Jay 16
Am. Crow 8
T. Titmouse 1
C. Wren 3
W. Wren 1
Am. Robin 20
E.Starling 250
Yellow-rumped Warbler 6
Am. Tree Sp 6
Field Sp. 20
Savannah Sp 7
Song Sp. 16
Swamp Sp. 2
White-thr Sp. 11
White-crn Sp. 5
Junco 50
No. Cardinal 8
E. Meadowlark 2
Am.Goldfinch 1
House Sparrow 10
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