The house/yard list, stalled at 250 species since late November of last year,
has had two new birds in the past few days: a singing male Northern Bobwhite
14 April (present all day) in the side yard and just now a Worm-eating Warbler
in the crape myrtle tree next to the house, a soaking wet bird but welcome
here any time (17 April), yard bird #252 (photographed). The bobwhite was
probably a bird wandering from the train yard, which has had a small covey for
some years; all the underbrush around this area has been recently cleared in
the
interests of "beautification" by the new manager of the property.
(Interestingly, the last bobwhites in the city of Norfolk held on through the
early
1980s around the Norfolk & Western railyards.) The bobwhite was still in the
town 16 April, albeit up in the northwestern corner.
Ned Brinkley
Cape Charles, VA
