VA Birders,
Betty Kilgore and I arrived at Fort C.F. Smith Park, Arlington Co., about
10:00 am this morning. After noting an almost complete lack of bird
activity, I scanned the trees in the area and spotted a small hawk perched at
the top
of a bare tree beyond the east end of the parking lot. The bird, which was
sitting upright, seemed to be all brown with barring or streaking on its
breast,
and its head was a very dark brown. It didn't seem quite right for a
Sharpie, and after checking the head again and noting that the bird appeared to
have
a dark eye, I began to suspect it might be a Merlin. We watched it for
several minutes, until a few crows came and began to harass it. It chased one
of
the crows, and then it flew off, showing its pointed wings and steady wingbeat
which confirmed for me that it was indeed a Merlin. A little later, after Pat
Blyer arrived, we relocated the Merlin in a tree further down the road, and
watched it again until it flew again, as it was a Life Bird for Pat.
Val Kitchens
Arlington, VA
You are subscribed to VA-BIRD. To post to this mailing list, simply send email
to va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx. To unsubscribe, send email to
va-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
