Hello VA-Birders,
Yesterday I made a trip to the Winchester area in search of Rough-legs and
other seasonal birds. I started early at Manassas Battlefield, then drove to
the Middletown area, then on to Winchester and points to the north, then to
Blandy Experimental Farm, Sky Meadows, Rectortown Road, then south to the
Germantown Reservoir near Meetze, and finally over to Nokesville.
At the Battlefield, I had a single RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, 2 BROWN CREEPERs, and
a SHARPIE chasing the Bluebirds and Juncos at twilight.
On to Belle Grove Road near Middletown (at the intersection of I-66 and I-81),
and there wasn't much bird activity, however there was one light phase adult
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK perched commandingly on a snag above the nearby treeline. It
only remained for about 15 minutes, and a scope is necessary to observe the
bird's details.
There are many back roads north of Winchester that look promising, but were
slow yesterday, yielding only RED-TAILS but 2 RAVENS off highway 11.
At Blandy, there were at least 2 more RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES (probably more)
as well as CEDAR WAXWINGS and more BLUEBIRDS (are they more common this
winter?).
Sky Meadows was slow, as the morning bird activity was basically over for the
day.
At a pond east of Upperville at the intersection of Pokeby Road and Rte 50,
there were 3 REDHEADS, 2 MUTE SWANS (no collars), and a possible RICHARDSON'S
CACKLING GOOSE. I took photos that I'll examine later to be sure, but it
looked good with a shorter neck and a squarish head and beak.
Rectortown was unusually slow, not even seeing a single Harrier despite two
trips up and down the road. Where did they all go? So, I left and visited the
Germantown Reservoir south of Meetze which had 3 RUDDY DUCKS, 3 BUFFLEHEAD, and
RING-NECKED DUCKS, but not much else.
Heading over to Nokesville area, Park Gate Road had one adult SNOW GOOSE among
the Canadas, but be careful because the nearby farm has several white barnyard
geese nearby. The Brewer's Blackbirds on Fleetwood have once again eluded me.
I have no luck with them!
In all, there were 51 species observed for the day. 10 or so "can't miss"
birds were missed somehow, and I was hoping for a better waterfowl show but
I'll take the Rough-leg and be happy. A consolidated list follows:
Jay Keller
Snow Goose
Canada Goose
Cackling Goose (possible)
Mute Swan
Mallard
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Bufflehead
Ruddy Duck
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Killdeer
Ring-billed Gull
Rock Dove
Mourning Dove
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
Common Raven
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Carolina Wren
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
Cedar Waxwing
European Starling
Northern Cardinal
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
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