November 8, 2005 8 AM to 4:30 PM
What a wonderful day!
The highlights of the day were an adult
winter-plumaged clay-colored sparrow and a
spectacular drake Eurasian wigeon. The
clay-colored sparrow was in central King William
Co along Powhatan Trail across the road from the
first tiny Nicatawan project sign. It was with
song and field sparrows in a weedy field that had
small pines less than 1 meter tall. It came out
when I pished. The Eurasian Wigeon was in The
Pocket on the Pamunkey River with ruddy ducks,
gadwalls, and american wigeons. Follow Powhatan
trail and Pamunkey reservation signs towards the
Pamunkey reservation. After the crossing the RR
tracks turn right onto Pocket Road and drive to
Powhatan's gravesite. Both birds were "firsts"
for me in the Middle Peninsula, and only the 3rd
and 2nd time I've seen them in the state.
As you can see from the list below, this area is
a really good area for birds. With the exception
of Beulahville, all the area I birded today is in
the Walkerton CBC circle. I would love to have
more skilled birders help out on this count on
January 2. Please let me know if you would like
to help.
Here are my totals for the day. All were in King
William County. P is the Pocket. EG is Elsing
Green, a private farm with restricted access
across from The Pocket.
7 Pied billed Grebe (5 P, EG 2)
4 dc cormorant (P)
2650 Canada geese (looked carefully for other
spp)
16 Gadwall (12 P, 4 EG)
10 Black Duck (2 P, 8 EG)
11 Mallard (2P, 9 EG)
480 Pintail (EG)
5 American Wigeon (P)
1 drake Eurasian Wigeon (P)
2 Wood Duck (Beulahville)
3 Blue-winged teal (P)
5 Green-winged Teal (1 P, 4 EG)
1 canvasback (first of season) female (EG)
6 Lesser Scaup (P)
455 Ring-necked Duck (5 P, 450 EG)
8 Bufflehead (first of season) females (P)
73 Ruddy Duck (1 EG, 72 P)
3 Hooded merganser (2 EG, 1 Beulahville)
98 Coot (3 P, 95 EG)
8 Ring-billed Gull (P) no forster's terns
2 great blue heron (P, EG)
23 great egret (P)
24 Killdeer (13 Green Pastures pond, 3 EG)
10 wilson's snipe (5 Green Pastures Pond in
Beulahville, 3 Pamunkey boat landing, 2 Pocket)
2 Greater yellowlegs (Pamunkey boat landing)
2 semipalmated sandpiper (Green Pastures Pond)
3 sharp-shinned hawk (2 EG)
1 Cooper's Hawk (EG)
2 Northern Harrier (P)
1 Red-tailed Hawk
1 Red-shouldered Hawk (EG)
4 Kestrel
Bald Eagle (5 adult, 11 immature)
30 Turkey Vulture,
85 Black Vulture (59 at EG)
35 Mourning Dove
10 Rock Pigeon
1 Belted Kingfisher
1 Pileated, 1 red-headed, 6 red-bellied, 2 downy,
9 flicker, 1 sapsucker
2 phoebe
3 tree swallow (P)
3 fish crow, 40 American crow, 10 crow sp
6 blue jay
6 Carolina chickadee
8 tufted titmouse
1 house wren
6 winter wren
6 Carolina wren
7 ruby-crowned kinglet
12 golden-crowned kinglet
7 mockingbird
5 American robin
24 bluebird
6 hermit thrush
1 yellow-rumped warbler
4 rusty blackbirds
50 red-winged blackbirds
2600 mixed icterids, mostly grackles
7 meadowlark
15 starling
30 slate-colored junco
23 cardinal
2 purple finch (EG)
3 pine siskin (on 2 road stops)
28 goldfinch
no towhees
sparrows: 55 white-throat, 55 song, 5 swamp,
12 savannah, 15 chipping, 4 field, 1 clay-colored
All the best
Fred
=====
Frederick D. Atwood fredatwood@xxxxxxxxx
Flint Hill School, 10409 Academic Dr, Oakton, VA 22124
703-242-1675
http://www.agpix.com/fredatwood
http://www.flinthill.org
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