My husband Lee and I had a great experience this morning birding at Dick Cross
Wildlife Management Area - 12 miles west of South Hill off Rt. 4, just before
Kerr Dam.
We had 6 species of warbler: Pine, Prairie, Northern Parula, Common
Yellowthroat, Ovenbird and Yellow-rumped. We got great looks at all (they sat
in the open on low branches) except the Ovenbird.
Eastern Towhees, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, White-throated Sparrows and Chipping
Sparrows were abundant. An Eastern Phoebe sat on top of the silo by the
overlook, then flew down and sang close to us. A White-eyed Vireo and Brown
Thrasher alternated singing along the road. Other birds of note included Field
Sparrow, Eastern Meadowlark, Red-tailed Hawk (3), immature Bald Eagle and
Cooper's Hawk. Woodpeckers seen were Downy, Red-bellied and Northern Flicker.
Dick Cross WMA has varied habitats and is a fabulous birding spot in the
spring. We plan to go again in May - during May last year we saw many Indigo
Buntings along with 3 Yellow-breasted Chats, one of which followed us around
for about 100 yards.
Meredith Bell
Hayes, VA (Gloucester County)
merandlee@xxxxxxx
