VA BIRDers,
A bunch of us "up hear in the north" have gotten together in an attempt to
carefully cover likely sparrow locations and maybe find a rarity or two.
Today, Joe Coleman, Laura Catterton and I did Sky Meadows in the morning,
then met up with John Drummond, Fred Atwood, Sonia Santa Ana and Mark Fagin
in the afternoon at North Forks Wetlands (access kindly granted by the Boy
Scouts of America). A good mix of sparrows were found at these locations.
Sky Meadows was dominated by Song Sparrows and No. Fork by Savannah Sparrows.
Birding times was 3 hrs at Sky Meadows and 3.5 hrs at No. Fork. I estimate
that 2 teams of 3 would be ideal for both locations, esp. Sky Meadows. We
probably covered about 50% of the important areas at Sky Meadows and 75% of
No. Fork.
Let me first note that the Bridle Loop at Sky Meadows has TWO good spots, the
last being on the east end of the loop. This is a large (1/2 x 1/8 mile)
weedy field with a stream running through it and 2 ponds. Very good for
sparrows. The Grasshoppers were back there along with a few Lincoln's. And
I may add, Exellent looks at both! Beautiful creatures!
The sparrow numbers are below in two separate columns, Sky Meadows/No. Fork.
Other highlights are included afterward.
E. Towhee 5/0
Field Sparrow 25/15
Vesper Sparrow 1/1
Savannah Sparrow 36/105
Grasshopper Sparrow 6/3
Song Sparrow 120/75
Lincoln's Sparrow 7/2
Swamp Sparrow 20/35
White-throated Sparrow 50/15
White-crowned Sparrow 4/5
DE Junco 3/2
Its interesting to note that Grasshopper Sparrow and Lincoln's Sparrow have
nearly the same abundance at these two locations. Something I did not expect
- I thought Grasshopper would be harder to find during the 3rd week of
October.
Other highlights:
Sky Meadows: Osprey 1, Bald Eagle 2, Red-headed WP 1, Yellow-bellied
Sapsucker 3, E. Phoebe 2, Loggerhead Shrike 1, Blue-headed Vireo 1, Common
Raven 3, Brown Creeper 1, House Wren 1, Brown Thrasher 1, Yellow-rumped
Warbler 70, E. Meadowlark 24
No. Fork Wetlands: No. Harrier 1, Merlin 1, Greater Yellowlegs 5, Wilson's
Snipe 1, E. Phoebe 6, Blue-headed Vireo 2, Tree Swallow 10, Orange-crowned
Warbler 1, Palm Warbler 3, Rusty Blackbird 50
Kurt Gaskill
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