Forgot to mention YELLOW WARBLER, that would make 13.
How could I forget, as they are gorgeous.
Surprisingly, there is one other record for
Clay-colored Sparrow at Sky Meadows in the spring, of
which I am aware. Birders on a No. Va. Bird Club trip
reportedly had one several years ago during the month
of April.
One other thing I forgot to mention about the
Clay-colored was the size, same apparent size as the
Chippings.
Scott
--- Scott Baron <brnpelican@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Date: Sat, 6 May 2006 15:25:12 -0700 (PDT)
From: Scott Baron <brnpelican@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [va-bird] CLAY-COLORED SPARROW, LOGGERHEAD
SHRIKE at Sky Meadows SP, Fauquier Co., May 6
To: va-bird <va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Hello birders.
I had some good birding on the E side of Sky Meadows
SP today. The best bird wasn't even the Shrikes
which I hoped to refind after an absence from the
park
for 3 weeks. Top bird was a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW
which I closely observed for at least 10 minutes!
Other neat birds were LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE, BOBOLINK
and
13 warbler species.
While in the Bridle Trail parking lot I heard a
Chipping Sparrow-like call. I turned my head toward
the sound and saw a sparrow fly into a nearby shade
tree. Got my binoculars on it for a few seconds
before it flew again, the bird looked odd to me.
When
I saw the bird again, it was feeding on the ground
in
the park ranger's driveway with a pair of Chipping
Sparrows. I have little experience with this bird,
as
I finally got my lifer Clay-colored in Michigan last
spring. But this bird was clearly a Clay-colored.
Call sounded similar to Chipping Sparrow to me.
Crown
striped dark and off-white with a light brown (?)
cheek and otherwise gray head and nape. Pale,
unstreaked underparts. Pinkish bill. Streaked
back.
The Clay-colored peaceably fed in the driveway with
the Chipping Sparrows, sometimes picking seeds off
the
(short) grassheads at the edge of the driveway.
After
10 minutes or more of watching this bird and
consulting Sibley the birds flew up into a tree.
They
slipped away a few minutes after that. I did not
find
any of these birds later in the day. 100% confident
of ID.
Refound 1, maybe 2, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKES and nest.
This
is on E side of park, secret location. Shhhhhh.
Couldn't tell if nest had eggs or young. If young
are
present, they were perfectly quiet.
Heard the beautiful, unmistakable song of the
BOBOLINK
once in early morning near the fishing pond.
Scanned
in the direction of the song but unfortunately
couldn't locate the bird.
Good warbler list but low numbers and mostly heard
only: NO. PARULA, CHESTNUT-SIDED, B.T. BLUE, YEL.
RUMPED, B.T. GREEN, BLACKBURNIAN, BLACK & WHITE, AM.
REDSTART, WORM-EATING, OVENBIRD, COM. YELLOWTHROAT,
Y.B. CHAT. Also maybe Hooded.
Lots of GRAY CATBIRDS migrating through, 4 in one
tree, even. High number of HOUSE WRENS (5), are
they
still passing through? Found a WOOD THRUSH carrying
food to nest, this species was very common in woods
of
Bridle Trail today. 1 OSPREY calling overhead as it
soared east over the forest. 1 pair of very vocal
RED-TAILED HAWKS soaring over the fields, one of the
pair screamed for at least half an hour. 7 sparrow
sp. total. WARBLING VIREO singing just before
Bridle
Trail lot. Didn't go to or through the Walnut Grove
(Red-headed Woodpecker hangout) but I did hear a
RED-HEADED calling from the S end of the Shearman's
Mill Trail.
Also, lots of other new spring arrivals, a lot of
butterflies, pretty wildflowers, great weather.
I'll
be back again tomorrow for one more bird survey this
spring.
Scott Baron
Fairfax, Va.
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