Greg Beck and I started the morning bright and early at the edge of
Prince William Forest Park. We were in place at about 5:15am to hear a
WHIP-POOR-WILL and a GREAT HORNED OWL. We lingered listening for a
Chuck's Will Widow but never heard one. Though we about jumped out of
our shoes laughing when a Rooster broke the pre-dawn silence. From here
we moved on to Possum Point.
Possum Point was great but not the diversity that was reported
yesterday. The best moment was when a single tree held: Black-throated
Blue, Black-throated Green, Black and White, Scarlet Tanager, Red-eyed
Vireo, and a Yellow-rumped! There were gobs and gobs of Palm Warblers,
including a few Westerns. We also saw 100s, if not many more, of Blue
Jays moving north in their favored loose flocks. There was also a
YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT here, one of my personal favorites. HOODED WARBLER
and several WORM-EATING WARBLERs (one of which gave the best views I
have ever had of this species). Both ROSE-BREASTED and BLUE GROSBEAKs We
made a brief side trip to Leesylvania where we added PROTHONOTARY
WARBLER and some Swallows. We then moved on to Nokesville.
In Nokesville we were rewarded with two AMERICAN KESTRELs, a lone
BROAD-WINGED HAWK, several SAVANNAH SPARROWS, lots of Eastern
Meadowlarks, and an Eastern Phoebe, which until then we were lacking
from our day's list.
Greg had to get home so I dropped him off and then picked up my wife and
son and headed to Burke Lake to try and spot the Scoter that Kurt
Gaskill had altered me to. The place was mobbed with people it was
crazy. Too crazy for us. We turned around and left not seeing anything
but a super abundance of Homo sapiens. Foiled in this endeavor we headed
to Huntley Meadows.
At Huntley I passed a milestone, my first 100 species day. The bird was
a Semipalmated Plover. I would like to say that it was the LITTLE BLUE
HERON that I also saw, but alas that story is not to be. There was a
good selection of shorebirds strutting about: Least, Semipalmated, and
Solitary Sandpipers; Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs; and Killdeer. I also
saw the largest flock of RUSTY BLACKBIRDs that I have ever seen. There
may have been a 100 or more. They were down the informal Barnyard Run
trail and were a bit scattered. There were also some other Iceterids
mixed in so an accurate count was very hard. Also both Blue-winged and
Green-winged Teal are still around, in far fewer numbers.
Big misses were Pileated Woodpecker (I did not know it possible to visit
Huntley and not at least hear one!) and Green Heron. The Green Herons
were probably spooked from their usual haunt at Huntley (down Barnyard
Run) by the Homo sapiens that was letting his two Canis lupis
familiaris* ***swim in the pond around the Beaver lodge. He was on the
other side of Barnyard Run, the side accessible from the back of the
Woodcock Meadow so I was not able to express my dismay directly to him.
This was my first attempt at a 100 species day and happily I succeeded,
though Greg bailed at 96 so his century is still to come. ;-) Thanks to
Jay Keller for the info!!!
Final total for the day was 105 species. List follows:
(key: CP = Cockpit/Possum Point; Lee=Leesylvania;
Noke=Nokeville;HM=Huntley Meadows - first sightings only)
Double-crested Cormorant - Lee
Great Blue Heron - CP
Little Blue Heron - HM
Canada Goose
Wood Duck - HM
Green-winged Teal - HM
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal - HM
Lesser Scaup - CP
Black Vulture - Noke
Turkey Vulture - CP
Osprey - CP
Bald Eagle - CP
Red-shouldered Hawk - CP
Broad-winged Hawk - Noke
Red-tailed Hawk - CP
American Kestrel - Noke
Wild Turkey - CP
Semipalmated Plover - HM
Killdeer - CP
Wilson's Snipe - HM
Greater Yellowlegs - CP
Lesser Yellowlegs- CP
Solitary Sandpiper - CP
Spotted Sandpiper- CP
Semipalmated Sandpiper -HM
Least Sandpiper - HM
Ring-billed Gull
Forster's Tern - CP
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove - CP
Yellow-billed Cuckoo - Lee
Great Horned Owl - Prince William Forest
Whip-poor-will - Prince William Forest
Chimney Swift - CP
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - CP
Red-bellied Woodpecker - CP
Downy Woodpecker - CP
Hairy Woodpecker - Lee
Northern Flicker - CP
Eastern Phoebe - Noke
Great Crested Flycatcher - Lee
Eastern Kingbird - CP
Purple Martin - CP
Tree Swallow - Lee
Northern Rough-winged Swallow - Lee
Barn Swallow - CP
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - CP
Cedar Waxwing - My House
Carolina Wren - CP
House Wren - Lee
Gray Catbird - CP
Northern Mockingbird - CP
Brown Thrasher - CP
Eastern Bluebird - CP
Wood Thrush - CP
American Robin - CP
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - CP
Carolina Chickadee - CP
Tufted Titmouse - CP
White-breasted Nuthatch- CP
Blue Jay- CP
American Crow- CP
Fish Crow- CP
European Starling
White-eyed Vireo- CP
Blue-headed Vireo- CP
Red-eyed Vireo- CP
Northern Parula- CP
Yellow Warbler- CP
Black-throated Blue Warbler- CP
Yellow-rumped Warbler- CP
Black-throated Green Warbler- CP
Yellow-throated Warbler- CP
Prairie Warbler- CP
Palm Warbler- CP
Black-and-white Warbler- CP
Prothonotary Warbler - Lee
Worm-eating Warbler- CP
Ovenbird- CP
Louisiana Waterthrush- CP
Common Yellowthroat- CP
Hooded Warbler- CP
Yellow-breasted Chat- CP
Scarlet Tanager- CP
Eastern Towhee- CP
Chipping Sparrow- Noke
Field Sparrow- CP
Savannah Sparrow - Noke
Song Sparrow- CP
Swamp Sparrow - Lee
White-throated Sparrow- CP
Northern Cardinal- CP
Rose-breasted Grosbeak- CP
Blue Grosbeak- CP
Indigo Bunting- CP
Red-winged Blackbird- CP
Eastern Meadowlark - Noke
Rusty Blackbird - HM
Common Grackle- CP
Brown-headed Cowbird- CP
Orchard Oriole- CP
House Finch- CP
American Goldfinch- CP
House Sparrow
--
Jeff Clark
Fairfax City, VA
http://www.fairfaxbirding.com
http://www.nothoo.com
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