On Sunday, Jan 5, seven of us, in three teams in the morning and two in the
afternoon, covered sector 10 of the Calmes Neck CBC. This sector stretches from
Bluemont to Bloomfield and southeast to Unison in western Loudoun County. While
the day started out clear, cold, and still, the freezing drizzle and later,
freezing rain, made for some tough birding. By mid-morning some of the country
roads were covered by a sheet of ice and by lunch all but the major roads were
ice-covered and remained that way as the temperature never got out of the low
30's during the afternoon.
Those of us owling began about 5:30 am and while it was cold, ranging from 15
to 20, the skies were crystal clear with absolutely no wind. Although diversity
was low there were four Great Horned Owls and three Barred Owls, most of whom
were calling without being prompted by the use of audio lures. Unfortunately,
we didn't hear any Screech Owls in spite of stopping at a number of locations
where they have been heard before.
The real highlights of the day's 49 species were the three Cackling Geese and
eight Wilson's Snipe (both well-photographed) which were found on the same farm
we had gotten special permission to bird on for the count. The Cackling Geese
were Loudoun County firsts for most of us, and though Snipe are common in this
area, we got dynamite views of them, some even displaying, in a ditch and
wetlands within feet of the private driveway we were on. While there are
multiple Red-headed Woodpecker colonies in this sector, we didn't find a single
bird, probably because of the non-existent acorn crop this winter. However, we
did find good numbers of all six other woodpeckers that winter in this area.
Other highlights included 15 Red-shouldered Hawks, two American Kestrels, and 8
sparrow species including American Tree.
And while 49 species is somewhat low for this sector we were thrilled to find
that many on such a icy & chilly day.
Good birding, Joe Coleman
near Bluemont, Loudoun Co.
