[Bristol-Birds] Large flock of bluebirds in Washington Co., VA
- From: "Wallace Coffey" <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Bristol-birds" <bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 31 Dec 2009 00:28:38 -0500
During the Glade Spring Christmas Bird Count,
29 Dec 2009, our party in Area D saw an amazing
flock of 120 Eastern Bluebirds. The were discovered
in the habitat shown above which is a narrow dirt
lane and adjacent fields with many Eastern Red Cedar
trees. The trees were laden with the typical berry-like
cones, which turned dark blue and glaucous this fall.
The area seemed to have poor soil on limestone.
We also saw two or three Cedar Waxwings feeding with
the flock. The red X in the photo indicates our viewing
position along Rafferty Rd., just south of the South Fork
Holston River, near the Taylor community of Washington
Co, VA. Love's Mill Rd. is across the river to the
north of this site. Several Northern Mockingbirds
were attempting to protect the berries from the bluebirds.
We have not been able to determine how this compares
to the largest single flock seen in the region. Maximum
numbers for such flocks are usually buried in Christmas
Bird Count totals for particular counts and probably become
obscure in our record systems. This is the case for a number
of species. Party members were Ellen Parker, Chris O'Bryan,
Carolyn Coffey, Michele Sparks and Wallace Coffey.
Let's go birding . . . .
Wallace Coffey
Bristol, TN
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