VA Birders,
I drove down to the Fairlington Community Center, Arlington Co., late
yesterday afternoon. I arrived there about 5:15 pm, and as I drove into the
parking lot behind behind the center, I could see the MERLIN in a large tree at
the back edge of the lot. This bird appeared to me to be a large female
Merlin--as large as any I have seen. The bird was dark brown, with a heavily
streaked
dark-brown breast, a faint whisker mark, and a dark brown eye. Last winter
at Chincoteague, we had a blue-gray adult male Merlin, which seemed very small
to me--certainly much smaller than the bird I saw yesterday.
Fairlington Community Center, a former school, is in the section of
Fairlington Village which is south of I-395. Perhaps the best way to reach it
is
to go south on Quaker Lane from the Shirlington Exit (# 6) to South 33rd
Street. Turn right and go 1 block to South Stafford Street. The center will
be
straight ahead of you across the street. I think the entrance to the parking
lot
will be on your right, just past the building. Once you enter the lot, with
your back to the building, look across to the large tree at the center back,
just behind the lot, for the bird. Incidentally, I think it usually arrives
there about 5:00 pm. Good luck.
Good birding,
Val Kitchens
Arlington, VA
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