I just returned from spending a little over a week at my place in the
mountains of Shenandoah County. My main goal while there was deer hunting, but
I of
course watched (and reported to PFW and eBird) a lot of birds as well. The
highlight was a one-day wonder American Tree Sparrow, the first for quite a few
years. It visited our feeders off an on for just one day then disappeared. I
fear that the sharpie working our area may have had something to do with it.
We also had our first Fox Sparrow, but it too was just a one-day visitor. We
had a couple of Purple Finches, but so far they have been sparse this year.
We had variably-sized flocks of Winter Thrushes (most of you probably call them
robins) and their smaller friends the Cedar Waxwings. Otherwise, not much to
get excited about. Perhaps warm weather and the absence of strong northern
storms is keeping the irruptives and even the more typical winter visitors
below
par this year.
Enroute I swung by Fisher's Hill to check for the Great White Heron, but
failed to find it. My wife and son did likewise earlier in the week with the
same
result. Mr. Rittenour at the store/post office told them that the bird
hadn't been seen for something like several days. Too bad.
Dave Davis
Arlington and Cedar Creek
