All,
I spent a few hours at Thompson WMA this morning. I started at the
lower Ted Lake Trail which leads out from the first parking lot on the
left along Leeds Manor Road. It was pretty quiet and I came across only
three singing species of warbler - Common Yellowthroat, Prairie, and
Black & White. There were a few towhees and blue-gray gnatcatchers as
well. I spooked a Broad-winged Hawk off it's perch as well. I took the
trail to the left of the fork which heads up the mountain and discovered
that Game & Inland Fisheries has done a lot of work clearing out the
trail. There is a 15 to 20 foot wide grassy strip up the mountain side
now. That may be good for horseback riders or hunters or even birders
hiking up the trail, but it can't be good for the birds that need the
habitat.
I headed to the upper part of Thompson after that and stopped at parking
lot 6 or as the sign now says, The Trillium Trail. It was VERY quiet.
It was a bit cold and a touch windy but I didn't think it was enough to
keep the birds so quiet. Even the towhees weren't singing. Clearly I
have not quite figured out all the nuisances of being a bird. Anyway, I
found 4 seperate non-singing Wood Thrushes and finally a vocal adult
male Redstart. After a while a few towhees piped up but not as many as
I would have expected. That place is usually overloaded with towhees!
There were a few trillium blooming and some gorgeous violets but another
week I guess until the real show begins (for the birds and the flowers).
Sue
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.
