I went back to 42nd Street on Sunday morning, and this morning hit the Wetlands for an hour and then went down to the Heron Rookery. The heat, wind, and overcast seem to be keeping activity down. Yesterday at 42nd Street, I did find a Northern Waterthrush just across from the stairs. Also heard two Ovenbirds. Northern Parula, Black and White Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler and American Redstart continue in good numbers. Both orioles were present, and the Reedy Creek area is a good bet for Orchard Orioles - I've seen a pair there both days, so perhaps they are nesting nearby as they have in the past. I heard one White-eyed Vireo, which was missing from Saturday's list. There were also a couple of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks. If anything, Sunday was quieter than Saturday.
Today is another kind of grungy day - muggy, overcast and windy. I stopped at the Wetlands for about an hour starting around 8:15, and found things rather quiet. I did find one emphatically singing Prothonotary Warbler over near Pleasants Creek. There was also a Northern Waterthrush singing along the edge of the river, and I had good looks at two male Common Yellowthroats in the meadow. Redstart and Parula were also present. There were several singing Acadian Flycatchers (and that was the reason I decided to stop there today).
In spite of the weather, things were hopping down at the Pipeline heron rookery. Leaves on the trees screen out a lot of the nests, but several are in full view, and the chicks are sometimes standing up in the nests, so it's easy to see the differences between the immature birds and their parents. There were as many as ten adults fishing along the stretch of river between the Pipeline "beach" and the rookery island. I saw two successful hunting incidents while there. There appear to be at least one pair of Great Egrets nesting in the rookery. I don't usually think of this area as a big one for songbirds, but was a single Prothonotary Warbler singing away in the brush under the railroad tracks, and one Northern Waterthrush singing over on the bank. There was one Merganser - not sure whether Common or Red-breasted - flying around the island. Red-breasted winter along the coast and are seen here occasionally during migration. Common are expected to have moved north by this time of year, but there is some suspicion that there are some Commons nesting along the river.
The rookery remains a good show, so check it out if you haven't already.At home (Bon Air - Stony Point area), I'm hearing Great Crested Flycatchers, Parulas, Black and White Warblers and Blackpoll Warblers.
Lewis -- Lewis Barnett -- http://www.mathcs.richmond.edu/~lbarnett/ You are subscribed to VA-Richmond-General. To unsubscribe, send email to va-richmond-general-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. To adjust other settings (vacation, digest, etc.) please visit, //www.freelists.org/list/va-richmond-general.
