Hey birders,
My husband and I just ended a delightful week in a cabin at Cheatham Annex
(near Williamsburg/Yorktown). The first part of the week (4-12 through 4-18)
was
cold and rainy but the birds didn't seem to mind. While on the base we birded
the cabin areas, Youth Fishing Pond, Penniman Lake and a few areas around the
campgrounds. In all we were able to see 71 species of birds that included 7
warblers (Parula, Pine, Yellow-rumped, Yellow-throated, Ovenbird, Worm-eating
and Prairie), one vireo (White-eyed), a Baltimore Oriole, 2 Spotted Sandpipers,
many (perhaps 12) resident Mute Swan, Mallards, Wood Ducks, Bufflehead,
Lesser Scaup, Swallows (Barn, Rough-winged, Purple Martin & Tree), raptors
(Bald
Eagle, Osprey, Sharp-shinned Hawk & Red-tailed Hawks, Black & Turkey Vultures)
and countless Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. The Osprey appeared to be nesting
EVERYWHERE! I have never seen so many in such a small area. What was really
cool was
watching the Osprey fly into the cabin area, break off a twig from a tree and
fly back to build the nest. Great Blue Herons were also abundant and on the
nests in the trees. One challenged an Osprey that must have gotten too close.
We
also enjoyed watching the Mute Swan. One pair decided to build a nest by the
York River in a "not so great" location. The evening of the strong winds
(sorry vacation brain can't remember the exact day...are you supposed to know
what
day it is while vacationing?)....anyway the following morning the nest was
GONE. They set it up again in a few days. Saturday evening we saw about a dozen
fly in and the sound their wings made was just incredible.
On Saturday our bird club (BBBC out of Virginia Beach) got together with
Clark White and went to York River State Park and later birded the Colonial
Parkway.We were able to identify 60 birds in both locations. We saw the same
warblers that Tom and I had been seeing all week at CAX but added Common
Yellowthroat
& Palm to the list. We also saw an Eastern Kingbird at the Park.
Karen Beatty
Virginia Beach, VA
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