VA Birders,
The 14 members of the Northern Virginia Bird Club who took part in our
2006 Highland Co. Winter Weekend found 59 species of birds in the Staunton area
(Friday afternoon) and Highland Co. (Saturday and Sunday), Feb. 24-26. Three
members of the Highland-Bath Bird Club (HBBC) joined us on Saturday. On
Friday afternoon, Allen Larner joined us and took us birding on Bells Lane in
Staunton, where the highlights were 4 SHORT-EARED OWLS, which appeared about
5:00
pm (in spite of the fact that it was a bright, sunny afternoon) and put on a
great show for us, SAVANNAH & WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS, a couple of EASTERN
MEADOWLARKS, and a pair of HORNED LARKS. We spent the night at the Best
Western
Staunton Inn, and enjoyed a group dinner at our favorite country-dining
restaurant, Mrs. Rowe's, conveniently located across the parking lot.
On Saturday morning, we drove to Highland Co. Our first stop was at the
feeders in McDowell, where we found at least 30 PURPLE FINCHES and 3-4
BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES. Then we drove to Monterey, where we checked into the
Highland Inn and formed carpools. The HBBC members joined us there. After a
quick
stop at the Frosty Bun Shoppe to pick up the sandwiches we had ordered in
advance, we headed north to Blue Grass and Snowy Mountain. We arrived there
about
11:30 am, and after about a 15-minute wait, we were rewarded with good views
of 3 GOLDEN EAGLES. All appeared to be immature birds. While waiting for the
eagles, we were entertained by several COMMON RAVENS.
The other highlight on the country roads around Blue Grass was a
light-morph ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, which we found across from the cattle feed lot
and pond
on Rt. 642. We also saw a flock of at least 14 COMMON RAVENS there, as well
as 2 EASTERN MEADOWLARKS and 4 HORNED LARKS.
After lunch, we explored Rts. 637 and 640 around Hightown. Our best
birds in that area were 5 RUSTY BLACKBIRDS in a muddy field on Rt. 640 north of
Rt. 250.
On Sunday morning, we awoke to a snow shower, and much colder weather.
After breakfast, we drove south on Rt. 220 as far as Bolar. Fortunately,
traffic was very light, and we pulled off to scan fields and trees wherever we
could. At a stop just a few miles north of Bolar, someone spotted a bird in a
small tree across the road. When I looked at the bird, I saw that it was brick
red with black wings, and slightly larger than a Purple Finch. Fortunately, we
had 2-way radios in all 3 cars, and I quickly alerted everyone that I thought
this bird was a RED CROSSBILL! Happily, all 10 people who had braved the
weather saw the bird before it left, and Pat Blyer and I heard the crossbill's
"kip, kip, kip" call as it flew off, confirming its identification. In
addition, one car saw a RUFFED GROUSE, which the driver flushed when he got out
while
making a brief stop on a side road. Incidentally, the snow stopped when we
got a few miles south of Monterey, and we had no more snow the rest of the day.
Good birding,
Val Kitchens
Arlington, VA
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