Hello, birders.
Four other birders joined Steve Williams and I on the
No. Va. Bird Club sponsored trip to beautiful Sky
Meadows today. Sky to ground was decked out in autumn
finery - big clouds in every color from pure white to
dark gray stretched high above us, quickly moving
through so that sometimes the vivid blue sky was
largely showing, at other times it was mostly
blanketed. The trees wore colors from gold to red to
green. The weather totally cooperated early on, with
no rain. After mid-morning, the wind picked up
quickly and blew strong out of the NW the rest of the
time.
Birds were everywhere, even after the wind picked up.
We missed the shrikes but got lots of sparrows and
raptors. We birded from the Visitor Center area
through the Walnut Grove to the group campground and
then walked back to the V.C. mostly along the entrance
road. Afterwards, 4 of us drove to the E side of the
park to stroll along part of the Bridal and Meadow
Trails. I also visited the fishing pond area just
before the walk.
Highlights: 8 sparrow species, 7 raptor/vulture sp.,
Pied-billed Grebe, Red-headed Woodpecker, lots of
ravens, great looks at everything from kinglets to
kingfisher to kestrels.
And now, the full bird list:
Can. Goose, 39
Pied-billed Grebe, 1 - still on fishing pond, 3 weeks
Gr. Blue Heron, 3
Black Vulture, 6
Turkey Vulture, 15
B. Eagle, 7 (5 imm., 2 ad.)
No. Harrier, 2 F
Sharp-shinned Hawk, 1
accipiter sp., 1
Red-tailed Hawk, 8
Am. Kestrel, 3 - one eating a shrew, or perhaps a vole
Rock Pigeon, 10
Mourning Dove, 15
B. Kingfisher, 1
Red-headed Woodpecker, 13
Red-bellied Woodpecker, 2
Downy Woodpecker, 4
No. Flicker, 5
Pileated Woodpecker, 3
E. Phoebe, 3
Blue Jay, 8
Am. Crow, 5
Fish Crow, 1
crow sp., 3
Com. Raven, 14 - incl. group of 11 playing in strong
wind
Car. Chickadee, 4
T. Titmouse, 5
W.b. Nuthatch, 3
Car. Wren, 8
G.c. Kinglet, 5
R.c. Kinglet, 10
E. Bluebird, 20
Am. Robin, 23 - mostly flying high and southerly
direction
No. Mockingbird, 3
Eur. Starling, 33
Cedar Waxwing, 11+
Yel.-rumped Warbler, 25
Palm Warbler, 1 (yellow) - bright yellow, eating
caterpillar
Chipping Sparrow, 35+-
Field Sparrow, 22+-
Savannah Sparrow, 3
Song Sparrow, 35
Swamp Sparrow, 1
White-throated Sparrow, 35
White-crowned Sparrow, 6 imm. - some near parking area
of fishing pond, where they've been the last 3 weeks.
D.e. Junco, 14
No. Cardinal, 9
R.w. Blackbird, 50+-
E. Meadowlark, 12
B.h. Cowbird, 2
House Finch, 3
Am. Goldfinch, 4
House Sparrow, 10
I'll be leading another bird walk tomorrow at Sky
Meadows for Fairfax Audubon. I'd love to get a lot of
sparrow species again, maybe a rarity or the first
Fox? but the winds may keep many of the songbirds
down. However, the raptors should be moving again.
Scott Baron
Fairfax, Va.
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