VA Birders,
Sorry this report is a bit late, but I thought it might be of interest to
anyone who is planning a trip to the Northern Neck this weekend or any time
soon.
The 18 Northern Virginia Bird Club members who took part in the weekend
saw over 70 species of birds. Perhaps due to the milder weather we have had
this fall, waterfowl numbers seemed to be down from last year, but nevertheless
we had a good variety of birds. We met Friday afternoon, Nov. 19, at
Washington's Birthplace National Monument in Westmoreland Co., where highlights
included Common Loons, Mute and Tundra Swans, both scaup, Bufflehead, Common
Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser, Ruddy Duck, 6 Bald Eagles and Forster's Tern.
On Saturday morning, Nov. 20, we birded at Belle Isle State Park in
Lancaster Co., where we found a few lingering Laughing Gulls and Eastern
Phoebe,
Am. Pipits, Savannah and Swamp Sparrows, and Eastern Meadowlarks, in addition
to
more Common Loons, ducks, and Bald Eagles.
Saturday afternoon we headed for Vir-Mar Beach in Northumberland Co.,
where highlights included both Common and Red-throated Loons, Brown Pelicans,
all
3 Scoters (but mostly Surfs), at least 10 Long-tailed Ducks, and a flock of
about 20 Wild Turkeys in a field just before we reached the beach.
On Sunday morning, Nov. 21, we visited the Manokin Tract in Richmond Co.
with a naturalist from the Rappahannock River Valley NWR. Our best bird there
was a Rusty Blackbird.
For the record, we stayed at the Best Western Motel in Warsaw, and we
arranged group dinners both Friday and Saturday nights at Lowery's Restaurant
in
Tappahannock, which is just across the Rappahannock River from Warsaw. We
also had good luck with the weather, missing most of the weekend's rain while
we
were birding!
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.
