VA Birders,
About 1:00 pm today, while it was still overcast, I went to Fort C. F.
Smith Park (which I guess could be called my "local patch") to get a little
exercise and see if any birds were about. Happily, during the 1.5 hours I was
there, I saw 25 species, including my first FOX SPARROW of the year. It was
scratching along the edge of the gravel road/path, on the west side of the
park,
downhill from the holly tree, with some WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS and DARK-EYED
JUNCOS. My sightings also included 2 BLACK VULTURES, an adult BALD EAGLE, and
a PILEATED WOODPECKER, as well as a lovely RED FOX.
I mentioned the Black Vultures because of a couple of recent reports in
which the reporters seemed surprised to see these birds in Arlington. Fort
Smith Park is near Spout Run and Lorcom Lane, which is not far from Rosslyn
(the
site of at least one report) as the vulture flies, and I see Black as well as
Turkey Vultures pretty regularly at the park. In fact, I have seen Black
Vultures 4 out of the 5 times I have been at Fort Smith since Jan. 1 this year.
Good birding,
Val Kitchens
Arlington, VA
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