[va-bird] OK, I made an offering to the AOL gods...

Yes, once again AOL has shown me the value of their remote logging system.  
Please accept my apologies.  So, after making the appropriate offerings, I 
attempt to send the message once again but using a different log-on.  My 
fingers are crossed!

Kurt


VA BIRDers,

Despite fog, rain, sleet, winds, and generally overcast conditions, Sunday 
(2/24/03) was a fine day to go birding!  I encountered several interesting 
species and noted a good migratory push of a few other species.  I started 
off early in the morning at Neabsco Creek (Prince William Co) where 
pea-soup-like fog blocked my view of gulls.  So, I drove a few miles north to 
Woodbridgeâ??s Veteranâ??s Park where I was rewarded with a female Northern 
Shoveler â?? a tough species to find in Northern Virginia during February.  The 
big-billed duck was in a pond near the entrance hanging out with about a 
dozen Hooded Mergansers.

I then made my way further north to the Occoquan Bay NWR.  A group of us are 
working with USFW Biologist Joe Witt censusing field birds in two plots of 
about 15 acres each at the refuge.  As I drove down the entrance road I 
immediately noted a Merlin crossing the road chasing a group of blackbirds.  
I got out to watch the excitement and soon became aware of several groups of 
blackbirds flying overhead, heading northbound.  Whilst observing the various 
groups, Marc Ribaudo arrived and joined in.  We scanned the sky and canvassed 
the bird life in the area near the parking lot.  The northbound blackbird 
groups were the biggest spectacle yesterday morning, with about 1400 
Red-winged Blackbirds and 275 Common Grackles tallied.

Ben Jesup and Larry Cartwright soon arrived and the four of us began our 
field bird census.  The typical field birds were noted with American Tree 
(double digits all told), Field, Savannah, Song, Swamp and Junco being the 
predominate birds in the plots.  We noted 2 Northern Harriers foraging over 
one plot and the other yielded up a female Cooperâ??s Hawk flying 3- 4 feet 
above the ground, perhaps looking for a Northern Flicker as there were 18 
foraging in that plot.

Other birds noted at the refuge that morning were several bunches of American 
Robins (ca. 500), 8 Wood Ducks all flying north, a Bald Eagle, a dozen or so 
American Pipits, 4 Common Snipe that flew through a blackbird flock, Winter 
Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglets, scattered groups of finches, a few Eastern 
Meadowlarks, and a couple of Yellow-rumped Warblers.  We finished up the 
counts and each headed our own way.  I decided to try Neabsco Creek again.  
Upon arriving I saw Marc Ribaudo leaving.  He indicated there was a gull that 
looked like a California hanging out on the ice but he was unable to get a 
good look at the bird as he had to return home.  I drove on and soon re-found 
the gull on an ice floe moving towards the Potomac.  It was an adult 
California standing alone on its own bit of floating paradise.  I must admit 
I thought it a bit unusual, as there were probably only a couple dozen gulls 
on the creek at the time.

Leaving Neabsco (and feeling a bit lucky I might add) I drove to the Prince 
William Co. dump (on Rt 234, about 10 miles west of I-95).  Due to the heavy 
rains the day before, the dump personnel would not let me drive to the work 
face but instead allowed me to stop at a nearby location that afforded some 
visibility for the birds.  Upon arriving at that spot, I quickly spotted a 
white-winged larid languidly loafing in the air above the garbage â?? a first 
winter Glaucous!  I got out and scoped the lumbering bird several times as I 
looked for other gulls but I was unable to find any other gull species save 
for the typical 3 partaking of the citizensâ?? largesse!  Not much else 
happened at that location save for the 5 American Pipits that flew over and 
the usual Starlings and Fish Crows.

I left the dump and headed for the dairy farm near the intersection of 
Fleetwood and Aden Roads in the Nokesville area, easily fording the few 
inches of Cedar Run that flowed over Aden Road.  I viewed the farm from a 
nearby church parking lot and quickly spotted 3 dozen Horned Lark in the snow 
covered farm field.  Nearer the cattle I spied 4 Brewerâ??s Blackbirds and 4 or 
5 Brown-headed Cowbirds â?? neither species having been noted this month at the 
farm.   I visited a few other roadside locations in the Nokesville area, 
finding good showings of Savannah and White-crowned Sparrows.  There were a 
few groups of Red-winged Blackbirds in this area and a few Common Grackles, 
too.  Along Parkgate Road I saw a field with a couple hundred Ring-billed 
Gulls.  As I got closer it appeared a portion of the field was covered with 
manure and this attracted the gulls as well as other species.  Of these 
others, I found 3 Lapland Longspurs mixed in with nearly 100 Horned Lark.

I then made my way to Sky Meadows SP, hoping to find a few raptors.  Several 
locations along the way held mixed sparrow groups.  At one spot along the 
road edge, I found dozens of Field, Song, and White-throated Sparrows with a 
few American Tree and one Fox Sparrow mixed in.  Just as I settled down to 
study this group, a male American Kestrel strafed the group, causing them all 
to flush to nearby cedar trees. I waited in hopes of viewing the sparrows 
again, but since the kestrel continued to sit on a nearby wire, the sparrows 
chose not to resume their activities.  So, I drove past, hearing the 
complaints of the Fox Sparrow as it called out hard â??checkâ?? notes from a 
cedar.

I arrived at Sky Meadows but found nothing but the typical hawks and strong 
gusting winds.  I saw these same winds also pushed a Common Snipe, sailing 
above the valley floor.  Fortunately, the resident specialties of this area, 
Common Raven and Red-headed Woodpecker, were easily visible.  I finished my 
day of birding soaking in the bright red-white-and-black colors of the 
woodpecker as it flew from post to tree to post in the parking lot.

Kurt Gaskill


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