Hola,
Wednesday morning my father and I met the fog at the sod farms in Remington
at six-forty-five AM, and hung out with it until it lifted around
eight-thirty. Most of that time was spent on Grassdale Road looking at a
Loggerhead
Shrike that was present at the first pair of gates (on opposite sides of the
road), about a half-mile or so from Sumerduck Road. This bird has no feathers
on the lower part of the back of its head and the back of its neck. It looks
perfectly absurd when it bends to preen its chest or rip apart a grasshopper
at its feet.
Overall highlights were, aside from the shrike, a young Red-headed
Woodpecker that was working a telephone pole, several fence posts, and picking
bugs
off the road. A few flocks of calling Canada Geese in the fog, only a few
times
letting us count them. At least eight singing Blue Grosbeaks. Lots of
Horned Larks at the Woodward Turf Farms, and a slew of Meadowlarks. No Upland
Sandpipers, but they're probably still around, or there are more to come.
Checked the Culpeper County side, and the sod has been peeled up in a few
places. If we get some heavy rain in August, it could be good for shorebirds.
Unless they plant something soon, I'm hoping the first Buff-breasteds are
less than a month away. I'm also hopeful that they'll peel the sod from the
fields at Grassdale Road, and offer some more habitat.
eBird list is below. Additional stuff from the Culpeper side included
scores of swallows over the recently-peeled sod, and about 100 Killdeer.
Cheers,
Todd
Location: Remington (Fauquier)
Observation date: 7/26/06
Canada Goose 55
Great Egret 3
Black Vulture 3
Turkey Vulture 4
Red-tailed Hawk 1
American Kestrel 6
Rock Pigeon 4
Mourning Dove 100
Chimney Swift 3
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-headed Woodpecker 3
Eastern Kingbird 2
Loggerhead Shrike 1
American Crow 12
Horned Lark 40
Tree Swallow 4
Barn Swallow 21
Tufted Titmouse 1
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Carolina Wren 2
Eastern Bluebird 24
American Robin 1
Gray Catbird 1
Northern Mockingbird 7
European Starling 100
Cedar Waxwing 12
Common Yellowthroat 3
Chipping Sparrow 4
Grasshopper Sparrow 6
Song Sparrow 4
Northern Cardinal 2
Blue Grosbeak 8
Indigo Bunting 13
Red-winged Blackbird 2
Eastern Meadowlark 30
Brown-headed Cowbird 12
Orchard Oriole 1
American Goldfinch 5
House Sparrow 20
---------------------------------
Todd Michael Day
Jeffersonton, VA, USA
blkvulture@xxxxxxx
---------------------------------
