Below is the report of what we found this morning at Belle Isle State Park
in Lancaster County as part of the VSO Foray.
Good numbers of birds, but nothing really out of the ordinary for the
Northern Neck, and a number of confusing absences. The only birds we found
that are not listed as Common on the Northern Neck Audubon list were
GRASSHOPPER SPARROW, BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCH, YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER, and
CEDAR WAXWING, but all are listed as Occasional and are confirmed breeders
in the recent past. You simply cannot get out of earshot of an Indigo
Bunting at this place.
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Location: Belle Isle State Park
Observers: Paula Boundy, Gene Burreson, Fawn Palmer, Charlene Talcott, Dave
Hewitt
Time: 5:40 AM to Noon
Number of species: 59
Canada Goose 15
Mallard 4
Northern Bobwhite 1
Double-crested Cormorant 1
Great Blue Heron 13 (there's a rookery across the creek from the
observation blind along Porpoise Creek Trail: 6 total nests, 5 occupied by
standing birds)
Turkey Vulture 11
Osprey 21
Bald Eagle 5
Red-shouldered Hawk 2
Red-tailed Hawk 2
Laughing Gull 1
Mourning Dove 8
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 7
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 3
Red-bellied Woodpecker 6
Downy Woodpecker 2
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee 2
Acadian Flycatcher 3
Eastern Phoebe 2
Great Crested Flycatcher 5
White-eyed Vireo 13
Red-eyed Vireo 12
Blue Jay 6
American Crow 13
Barn Swallow 7
Carolina Chickadee 7
Tufted Titmouse 6
White-breasted Nuthatch 2
Brown-headed Nuthatch 2 (mated pair)
Carolina Wren 10
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 11
Eastern Bluebird 20
American Robin 1
Gray Catbird 2
Northern Mockingbird 2
Brown Thrasher 2
Cedar Waxwing 25
Yellow-throated Warbler 6
Pine Warbler 7
Prairie Warbler 11
Black-and-white Warbler 1
Ovenbird 1
Common Yellowthroat 7
Summer Tanager 4
Eastern Towhee 1
Chipping Sparrow 18
Field Sparrow 1
Grasshopper Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 20
Blue Grosbeak 8
Indigo Bunting 28 (seriously)
Red-winged Blackbird 1
Common Grackle 38
Brown-headed Cowbird 4
Baltimore Oriole 1 (singing male)
American Goldfinch 7
House Sparrow 1
Dave Hewitt,
Gloucester, VA
