I had great looks at two Short-eared Owls at 5:15 PM on Saturday in the field
along Rte 710 just north of Rectortown where they have been found in past
years. Several Northern Harriers were also hunting just before the owls
appeared.
The traffic seems to have increased on this road, so caution should be used
by parking your vehicle off the road. (There is a wide apron to a driveway on
the other side of the road where I parked without blocking access. Since the
field is at a sharp right curve in the road, it is best to stand on the
shoulders--the road's that is--to view the birds.) I could not relocate the
owl I
had posted on 1/11 further north on Rte 710, a bird I did not see well, and
possibly misidentified.
Other sightings on a day of birding which started at Julie Metz and
Leesylvania, then to Nokesville, Harrison Rd, and finally Rectortown included
40 Tundra
Swan near the railroad bridge at Leesylvania, a sole Snow Goose among a large
flock of Canada Geese in Nokesville, three Mute Swan (two in a pond adjacent
to the Great Plains entrance off Rte 17, the other at the pond off Harrison
Rd.) and several Red-headed Woodpeckers along Rte 710 north of the intersection
with Rte 623.
Now for the misses: no Tree Sparrows at Julie Metz, no Brewer Blackbirds (or
other blackbirds except Starlings) in Nokesville, no Greater White-fronted
Goose at Harrison Rd., and not a single Bald Eagle after having seen 18
primarily
in the Fauquier County area on 1/11--that's what keeps birding challenging.
Ralph Wall
Great Falls, VA
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