Jim, There were marsh lilies blooming all along the boardwalk and at other locations in the marsh, plus some wild mint-type plants with blue and red blooms. Yes the Barred Owl says that, but in this case she was probably very worried about her offspring and tried to get rid of us by growling and clacking. I was kidding about the cat-chicken comment. Have a good walk! Al Warfield ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jim Blowers" <jimvb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: <va-richmond-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Sunday, May 01, 2005 9:42 PM Subject: [va-richmond-general] Re: Dutch Gap today Thanks for the information, Al and Linda. We are going on a wildflower hike at Dutch Gap this Wednesday, sponsored by the Chesterfield Parks and Recreation department. It will be interesting to see if we see what you saw. I mentioned on an earlier post some fights out in your back yard, but they are nothing compared to what I imagine a cat-chicken fight would be like. Isn't the Barred Owl the "who cooks for you" owl? Jim Blowers -----Original Message----- From: va-richmond-general-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:va-richmond-general-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Al & Linda Warfield Sent: Sunday, 2005 May 01 21:29 To: Audubon Listserve Subject: [va-richmond-general] Dutch Gap today Late this afternoon we walked on the boardwalk trail at Dutch Gap. There were several Prothonotary Warblers on the part of the trail after the end of the boardwalk. One was observed gathering nesting material right on the trail. Several others were in the trees along the trail and in the marsh that crosses the trail. We also saw a Barred Owl there very late - about 6 PM. We heard it first - it made a kind of growling sound and then a loud clack. Then we looked up and saw it fly from one branch to the other, and continued making that sound. While the sound was being made it would puff up its body and the feathers under its bill, and then make the clack by closing its mouth very quickly. It stayed there doing that, moving occasionally to another branch, the whole time we were there. I got several images, including the puffing behavior. We looked around for a fledging but didn't see one, or a nest either. Nevertheless, this owl didn't like our presence. Nor the presence of lots of people walking their dogs, etc. Other birds we saw included Yellow-throated Warblers, Killdeer, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Downy and Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Chipping Sparrows, cardinals, chickadees, Great Blue Heron, a big flock of female Red-winged Blackbirds moving through the tree tops eating everything in sight, and Laughing Gulls - a big flock flew over as we left. We heard some Common Yellowthroats. We noticed the chickens are not in the Henricus area. Did something happen to them? Maybe they put them somewhere when the Citie is not open for business. There are several feral cats there - we have seen them around the bird feeders. Not sure they would tackle a chicken. Sorry, we didn't see any Ivory-billed Woodpeckers - at least not this time. Anyway, it was a nice way to end the weekend. A neat sundog guided us part of the way home. It was very pink. Al & Linda Warfield You are subscribed to VA-Richmond-General. To unsubscribe, send email to va-richmond-general-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. To adjust other settings (vacation, digest, etc.) please visit, //www.freelists.org/list/va-richmond-general. You are subscribed to VA-Richmond-General. To unsubscribe, send email to va-richmond-general-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. To adjust other settings (vacation, digest, etc.) please visit, //www.freelists.org/list/va-richmond-general. You are subscribed to VA-Richmond-General. To unsubscribe, send email to va-richmond-general-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. To adjust other settings (vacation, digest, etc.) please visit, //www.freelists.org/list/va-richmond-general.