VA-Birders,
Yesterday five of us spent the day tallying species as part of the spring bird
count for the Hampton Roads Bird Club. We had a very productive day with 95
species (13 species of warblers).
We were very glad to have the amazing eyes and ears of Dave Hewitt with us for
the first six hours. We spent a lot of time in the Newport News watershed areas
off Oriana Road and Darby Road. These are VERY productive spots in the spring.
Highlights from each area below:
Oriana Road - A male HOODED WARBLER and SUMMER TANAGER gave us a nice show when
we arrived. Walking along the road, we had excellent looks at YELLOW-BREASTED
CHAT, PRAIRIE WARBLER and INDIGO BUNTING. We've birded this area many times and
had our first SWAMP SPARROW - perhaps due to the enormous rainfall the night
before, which left water standing in places that are normally dry. And for the
first time, we did NOT have a FIELD SPARROW.
Darby Road - We spotted three species of Thrush in a matter of minutes -
SWAINSON, WOOD and HERMIT. We also had wonderful views of the elusive
WORM-EATING WARBLER in two locations. Other warbler species we saw well: BLACK
& WHITE, BLACK-THROATED BLUE, PALM and OVENBIRD.
Other areas:
- Two GREEN HERON sitting out in the open on a mudflat, giving us lots of time
for scoping and photos
- A mix of FORSTER's, LEAST and SANDWICH TERNS off a pier on the Poquoson River
- A COMMON LOON in breeding plumage off the same pier
- Several pairs of EASTERN BLUEBIRDS
- OSPREY abundant in all locations, with active nests seen at almost every stop
- Several species of shorebirds due to low tide at key saltwater creeks
Complete list follows.
Meredith Bell
Hayes, VA
Location: Grafton, York County, VA, US
Observation date: 4/28/07
Notes: Hampton Roads Bird Club Spring Bird Count, Harwood Mill Reservoir
Sector. Birders: Dave Hewitt (until 1 pm), Tom and Gail Claydon, Lee and
Meredith Bell
Number of species: 95
Canada Goose 35
Mallard 10
Northern Bobwhite 2
Common Loon 1
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Double-crested Cormorant 9
Great Blue Heron 8
Great Egret 4
Green Heron 4
Black Vulture 3
Turkey Vulture 6
Osprey 29
Bald Eagle 5
Northern Harrier 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 3
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Greater Yellowlegs 1
Lesser Yellowlegs 1
Semipalmated Sandpiper 6
Dunlin 8
Short-billed Dowitcher 55
Laughing Gull 51
Ring-billed Gull 7
Herring Gull 1
Great Black-backed Gull 1
Sandwich Tern 2
Forster's Tern 6
Least Tern 6
Rock Pigeon 3
Mourning Dove 24
Great Horned Owl 1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Belted Kingfisher 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 3
Downy Woodpecker 3
Northern Flicker 2
Great Crested Flycatcher 2
Eastern Kingbird 2
White-eyed Vireo 3
Red-eyed Vireo 8
Blue Jay 19
American Crow 11
Purple Martin 5
Tree Swallow 2
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1
Barn Swallow 14
Carolina Chickadee 13
Tufted Titmouse 19
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Carolina Wren 11
House Wren 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 6
Eastern Bluebird 13
Swainson's Thrush 1
Hermit Thrush 4
Wood Thrush 4
American Robin 42
Gray Catbird 7
Northern Mockingbird 14
Brown Thrasher 12
European Starling 26
Northern Parula 8
Black-throated Blue Warbler 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler 43
Pine Warbler 4
Prairie Warbler 6
Palm Warbler 3
Black-and-white Warbler 6
Prothonotary Warbler 1
Worm-eating Warbler 2
Ovenbird 15
Common Yellowthroat 14
Hooded Warbler 3
Yellow-breasted Chat 2
Summer Tanager 3
Scarlet Tanager 1
Eastern Towhee 6
Chipping Sparrow 2
Savannah Sparrow 3
Song Sparrow 4
Swamp Sparrow 3
White-throated Sparrow 24
Northern Cardinal 22
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1
Blue Grosbeak 1
Indigo Bunting 7
Red-winged Blackbird 26
Common Grackle 68
Brown-headed Cowbird 16
Orchard Oriole 2
Baltimore Oriole 1
House Finch 16
American Goldfinch 32
House Sparrow 5
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