VA BIRDers,
It's worse now. The heat and humidity yesterday and today easily surpasses
any day to-date in July. Yet, I gave it another try. Thursday early evening
I went Huntley Meadows and found no Hooded Merganser (most migrate north in
July, you know, so it can be hard to find one) and nothing else new
(although you would be surprised at the number of birds still singing,
albeit with very low volume. Highlight were dueling hummingbirds.
I then went to the Stone Bridge of Hunting Creek and finally saw the Am.
Black Duck recently reported. Also, Herring Gull has arrived and there were
2 Great Black-backeds mixed in with the 400 or more Ring-billed Gulls and
handful of Laughing Gulls. 10 Least Sandpipers flew over the bridge as the
sun was setting. I then went to the beginning of Haul Road of Dyke Marsh
and saw a unleashed dog on the trail.
But, it was not a dog - it was a fox, and it trotted out to the picnic area
via the bike trail. As I turned down Haul Rd from Ramp Rd I see another fox
- it melts into the trees where I was hoping to find the target species.
Within 10 seconds, not one but 2 Eastern Screech Owls react to my call and
perch a few feet from where I stood, trilling. Successful and drenched, I
return home.
This morning I head to Dyke again, this time taking the Haul Road all the
way to the marsh. The morning temperature is only 80F at 7 am. As I walk
down the dog leg I hear what at first I thought was a Green Heron. But, the
call was shorter in duration and lacked the "hollow" sound. When I saw the
female Least Bittern fly past I now connected that the call was similar to a
single element of the Least Bittern "song". Another Least flies past, more
distantly so I cannot nail down the sex. Soon, a Marsh Wren goes off and
that finishes off the morning Dyke targets!
I only have limited time this Furlough Friday morning and my next stop
required a long haul - Remington. The Nokesville Dickcissel is silent or
gone this month and the next closest one is near Grassdale Road. I arrive
and view the sod farms seeing Grasshopper Sparrows and Eastern Meadowlarks
and Blue Grosbeaks. I hear a single Savannah Sparrow sing - a keeper for
the month. I continue down to Grassdale and find 3 singing Dickcissels plus
female and fledged young in a stunted corn field. Having finished the
targets, I motored to Woodbridge hoping to find a Mississippi Kite. But my
luck had run out and multiple locations (school sites) held just swifts
and/or martins. The clock now struck 12 and I needed to move on to another
priority.
The two trips netted 8 more July species putting me at 120.
Kurt Gaskill
