Desiree:
Thanks for your note on yb flycatchers. For the past four years, I've been
putting out emails on VA-BIRDS about what I certainly thought were
yellow-bellied flycatchers seen and heard both near my home in western Loudoun
County as well as within the Colvin Mill Run watershed both above and below
Lake Fairfax during the entire month of June. There hasn't been much follow-up.
As odd and as unlikely as it seems, I too wonder if these birds aren't nesting.
There are two old records of nesting on Mt. Rogers from 1977 and 1978.
I hear them daily when I run the roads and trails in these two areas throughout
June. Supposedly the dates for ybfl migration, according to the old "Virginia's
Birdlife: An Annotated Checklist" state that migration for the species -- never
really noticeable and listed as rare for all three state regions in the 1979
version of this document --occurs from May 10-30. In my four years of observing
what I thought to be ybfls in northern Virginia, they seem not to appear until
the end of the first week of June and I continue to hear them singing
territorially through the end of the month. Last year I had them singing from
across the Potomac in Maryland in the Potomac Gorge area on June 24, 2006.
This evening at my home in western Loudoun, west of Middleburg, I had two males
singing. One was in the same area as where I heard it at 6:30 PM yesterday,June
14. The other was approx one-half mile away in similar habitat. Acadian
flycatchers are singing nearby in both areas. Eastern wood-pewees are also
present.
Last Sunday morning, June 10, at about 6:45 AM, I heard a yellow-bellied
flycatcher singing from the oak pine woodlands at the south end of Kiptopeake
State Park, Northhampton County. This was my first of the year and I knew that
when I returned home to northern Virginia, I would likely find them where I've
been watching them for the past four years. Thursday was the first chance I had
to get out and look. I found one just above the Hunter Mill Rd bridge over
Colvin Mil Run, below Lake Fairfax. There is a northern parula on territory in
this area as well. Usually there are two to three territories downstream of
Hunter Mill before you reach Rt 7. I have also found 2 other males upstream
from this point along trails skirting the border of Lake Fairfax Park.
It would be good to hear from others who are encountering this species at a
time and in places that seem so different than what we expect in Virginia.
Craig Tufts
St. Louis, VA
----- Original Message -----
From: Desiree
To: va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: 6/13/07 9:49:57 PM
Subject: [Va-bird] Yellow-bellied Flycatchers and advice needed
In the past week I was surprised to hear multiple yellow-bellied flycatchers at
Prince William Park near Quantico. In addition today at Great Falls, VA, I
heard two individuals and saw two swooping together. I haven't seen anyone else
mention Y-B flycatchers in their reports so I was wondering if anyone else has
seen any recently? I'm new to this area, is this an unusual late migrant
sighting? I read that this species has bred in west virginia
(http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Yellow-bellied_Flycatcher_dtl.html)
but have they ever been reported to breed in VA? Thanks for your help!
Also, having mentioned that I am new to the area, I should also mention that I
am desperately in need of some shorebird and waterfowl sightings. I was
thinking about heading to huntley meadows or mason neck sometime soon but I was
wondering if anyone felt like being a saint and sharing some hot sights for
some waterbirds in the area. Of course I need to head out to the eastern coast
but I'm hoping to find some nice areas to frequent within an hour or two from
manassas, va. Thanks!
Plus some nice recent bird sightings....
Great Falls -- Black crowned night-heron, louisiana waterthrush fledglings
Prince william -- Prothonotary warb, pine warb (everywhere), worm-eating warb,
broad-winged hawk, sandhill cranes (flyover)
Catoctin -- Ceruleans
C & O canal -- Prothonotary, warbling vireo
Thanks for any help!
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