I have a pair of mature BALD EAGLES hanging around. One had a 5lb+ rockfish
which it flew off with. Not sure if it scavenged or caught it. I don't know
of a local nest either. A friend of mine who lives in Isle of Wight County
had one in his back yard on 4/17. It is not far from me as the eagle flies -
may be one of "my" pair.
I had my first RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD (a male) of the year on 4/16 while
we were having strong winds.
On 4/14 I found a BONAPARTE'S GULL over the Nansemond River. I remember that
boneys were much more common here about 15-20 years ago.
ROYAL TERNS are present now in the dozens over the river. Yesterday a pair
of LESSER YELLOWLEGS passed over.
I think the most memorable sight this past week was the show put on by
hundreds of TREE SWALLOWS on 4/15. I was working out in the yard and noticed
a few skimming my front yard. The Tree Swallow is a beautiful bird - I love
the blue-green sheen to the backs of these birds. Anyway, the "storm" had
abated somewhat and turned quite warm (70 deg) and I eagerly took advantage
of this moment to goldbrick and watched the swallows. I noticed that there
were hundreds of swallows (both Tree and Barn) extending many 100's of feet
into the air. They seemed to be pushed by a storm front which was bearing
down upon our point in the river. The strong wind quickly passed and took
the swallows (plus the warmth) with it. The temperature dropped about 15
degrees as I reluctantly returned to work.
www.birdingva.blogspot.com
Les Willis
Suffolk, VA
leswillis@xxxxxxxxxxxx
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