Today at about 13:40 I spotted a large light brownish gray bird flying toward
me across a sod field southwest of the intersection of Rte. 7 and the Loudoun
County Parkway east of Ashburn in Loudoun County. My first thought was that I
was seeing a dark morph buteo because of the large size and uniform brownish
coloration. Then...the bird called, giving the distinct low, croaking call of
a common raven. I got the bird in my binoculars and observed the massive bill
and bulky crow-like shape. I watched the bird as it flew to the south across
the sod fields approximately 25 to 30 feet above the ground. I kept the bird
in my binoculars as it flew over the tops of the trees lining Russell Branch
and out of sight to the south. Because I observed the bird as it flew at a
relatively low altitude, almost directly toward me and then in profile, I
wasn't able to see the shape of the tail. However, the combination of the
large, heavy bill; bulky crow-like shape; shallow, powerful wi
ngbeats;
and repeated, distinctive croaking calls confirmed that this bird was a raven,
despite the absence of the typical jet-black plumage. The color of this bird
was absolutely striking - a uniform brownish gray coloration that looked almost
silvery in the bright sunlight.
Growing up, I saw common ravens regularly in the mountains east and west of
the Shenandoah Valley, and now I frequently see ravens in eastern Loudoun
County and occasionally in Fairfax County, particularly in the vicinity of the
quarries near South Riding and the former Lorton Prison. In over 25 years, I've
seen hundreds of ravens in VA, WV, New England, the western US and Mexico, but
never one anything like this one in color. While not a rare species, this
certainly is one of the most interesting birds I've seen in northern Virginia
in quite some time.
Good birding.
Craig Tumer
Adelphi, MD
---------------------------------
Relax. Yahoo! Mail virus scanning helps detect nasty viruses!