Birdingonthe.Net Recent Postings from Virginia Birding > Home > Mail > Alerts Updated on Saturday, November 7 at 12:58 AM ET The most recently received Mail is at the top.	Black-capped Chickadee,©Jennifer Brumfield

07 Nov HSR: Harvey's Knob (06 Nov 2009) 11 Raptors [] 6 Nov Red-breasted Nuthatch - Buchanan County ["Roger Mayhorn" ] 06 Nov HSR: Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch (05 Nov 2009) 33 Raptors [] 06 Nov HSR: Kiptopeke Hawkwatch (06 Nov 2009) 88 Raptors [] 06 Nov HSR: Snickers Gap (06 Nov 2009) 9 Raptors [] 6 Nov Report from the VSO Board of Director's fall meeting ["Andrew Dolby (adolby)" ] 06 Nov FOS BUFFLEHEADS, slightly late OSPREY in Powhatan County [Wendy Ealding ] 6 Nov Bald Eagle at Lake Accotink ["ALDEN HINCKLEY" ] 6 Nov clarification of Golden Eagle sighting [Patti Reum ] 05 Nov 2009 VSO Foray Report [Arun Bose ] 05 Nov HSR: Seaside Hawkwatch (05 Nov 2009) 195 Raptors [] 04 Nov [Arun Bose ] 05 Nov HSR: Harvey's Knob (05 Nov 2009) 20 Raptors [] 05 Nov HSR: Seaside Hawkwatch (04 Nov 2009) 31 Raptors [] 05 Nov HSR: Kiptopeke Hawkwatch (05 Nov 2009) 178 Raptors [] 5 Nov Re: Extralimital: Radio-tagged Golden Eagle ["Janice Frye" ] 5 Nov White- throated sparrow, Norfolk [Susan Hubbard ] 5 Nov Re: Extralimital: Radio-tagged Golden Eagle ["Marek Smith" ] 04 Nov HSR: Harvey's Knob (04 Nov 2009) 22 Raptors [] 04 Nov HSR: Kiptopeke Hawkwatch (04 Nov 2009) 298 Raptors [] 4 Nov 7-Woodpecker Day at Algonkian Park ["WILLIAM Brown" ] 4 Nov Ravens ["Roger Mayhorn" ] 4 Nov Great Dismal Swamp, 11/4/09 [nicholas flanders ] 4 Nov Re: Extralimital: Radio-tagged Golden Eagle [] 4 Nov PBGrebe Convention @Dyke Marsh [Richard Rieger ] 04 Nov Re: Extralimital: Radio-tagged Golden Eagle [Sandy Hevener ] 4 Nov Tundara swans ["Ribaudo, Marc" ] 03 Nov HSR: Harvey's Knob (03 Nov 2009) 65 Raptors [] 3 Nov Extralimital: Radio-tagged Golden Eagle [Donald Sweig ] 3 Nov Summer Tanager in Norfolk, 11/3/09 [nicholas flanders ] 3 Nov Ducks in Norfolk ["Robert Ake" ] 4 Nov Eurasian Wigeon- Kerr Reservoir 11/3 [Adam D'Onofrio ] 03 Nov HSR: Snickers Gap (03 Nov 2009) 52 Raptors [] 03 Nov HSR: Seaside Hawkwatch (03 Nov 2009) 144 Raptors [] 3 Nov RH Woodpecker [Linda Millington ] 3 Nov Voice: Greater Washington Area, Nov 3 ["Joe Coleman" ] 03 Nov HSR: Kiptopeke Hawkwatch (03 Nov 2009) 150 Raptors [] 03 Nov FW: RFI - Five Southbound Sandhill Cranes [] 3 Nov RH Woodpecker [Linda Millington ] 03 Nov Fox Sparrow at Pleasant Valley (Fairfax County) 03 November [Stephen Johnson ] 2 Nov Snow Geese at Chincoteague NWR ["David Crooks" ] 2 Nov Gunston Hall, Lorton / Mason Neck - red headed woodpeckers [Renee Grebe ] 2 Nov Nature Conservancy boardwalk off Blackwater Road (VA Beach) [Elisa Enders ] 02 Nov HSR: Snickers Gap (02 Nov 2009) 37 Raptors [] 2 Nov Huntley Meadows Monday Morning Birdwalk [Harry Glasgow ] 02 Nov HSR: Kiptopeke Hawkwatch (02 Nov 2009) 191 Raptors [] 02 Nov HSR: Harvey's Knob (02 Nov 2009) 19 Raptors [] 2 Nov late BTB W. again at Monticello park ["Albright, Tom \(USMS\)" ] 2 Nov American Bittern--Madison Heights [] 2 Nov Winter visitors in Shenandoah County [David Davis ] 02 Nov Re: AMERICAN BITTERN- still present in Amherst Co [] 02 Nov Blue-winged Teal, Dulles Wetland [Rob Young ] 2 Nov late male BTB Warbler at Monticello Park yesterday ["Albright, Tom \(USMS\)" ] 2 Nov Glo. Co. FOS Hooded Merganser [Eugene Burreson ] 1 Nov Sky Meadows SP, Fauquier Co.; Nov. 1 [Scott Baron ] 01 Nov Corvid vocalizations [John Fox ] 1 Nov Blue-headed Vireo - Halifax Co. [Paul Glass ] 01 Nov YH Blackbird?? [John Fox ] 01 Nov Raven, Leesburg Airport [Rob Young ] 01 Nov HSR: Snickers Gap (01 Nov 2009) 122 Raptors [] 01 Nov Winter Birds in Arlington [] 1 Nov Re: Pipits in Faquier Co. ["david.boltz" ] 1 Nov Pipits in Faquier Co. ["david.boltz" ] 02 Nov Waterfowl in n. Amherst County [] 2 Nov Re: shorebirds Rockingham County [William Leigh ] 1 Nov Water fowl fall out in Augusta County ["Allen & Pat" ] 01 Nov HSR: Kiptopeke Hawkwatch (01 Nov 2009) 108 Raptors [] 01 Nov HSR: Snickers Gap (01 Nov 2009) 122 Raptors [] 01 Nov HSR: Snickers Gap (01 Nov 2009) 122 Raptors [] 01 Nov HSR: Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch (31 Oct 2009) 22 Raptors [] 1 Nov Ash-throated Flycatcher at Kiptopeke [] 1 Nov Great Falls NP Sunday Bird Walk 11/01/09 [] 1 Nov Snow Buntings (2), Back Bay NWR area, 10/31/09 [Elisa Enders ] 1 Nov Upper Northern neck birding--two nice surprises [Frederick Atwood ] 31 Oct Sky Meadows SP, Oct. 31; Fauquier Co. [Scott Baron ] 31 Oct Great White Heron - Russell County, Virginia [Thomas Hunter ] Subject: HSR: Harvey's Knob (06 Nov 2009) 11 Raptors From: reports AT hawkcount.org Date: 07 Nov 2009 02:11:02 -0400 Harvey's Knob Roanoke, Virginia, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 06, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 0 0 188 Bald Eagle 0 3 77 Northern Harrier 0 0 16 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 8 535 Cooper's Hawk 0 3 100 Northern Goshawk 0 0 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 4 28 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 8195 Red-tailed Hawk 10 119 269 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 0 0 66 Merlin 0 0 12 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 16 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 3 Unknown Buteo 0 0 4 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 1 Unknown Raptor 0 0 2 Total: 11 137 9513 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 11:45:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 4.25 hours Official Counter: Mike Purdy Observers: Bill James, Jeremy McEntire, Katie James Visitors: One local gentleman hosting some friends from California who were enjoying the Appalachian Trail. Weather: Sunny day, no clouds. Light breeze out of the NW. Temp. in high 40's. Raptor Observations: Slow - a few Redtails migrating along with one Redshoulder. Non-raptor Observations: Several TVs loafing on the east side of the ridge in the sun and out of the wind. Some of them perch on the wooden guard rail while others lounge in the grass. Predictions: Forecast is for a little warmer tomorrow, otherwise similar to today. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Mike Purdy (MikeLPurdy AT aol.com) Harvey's Knob Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://bijame.googlepages.com/home _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Red-breasted Nuthatch - Buchanan County From: "Roger Mayhorn" <rmayhorn AT hughes.net> Date: Fri, 6 Nov 2009 22:54:48 -0500 A lone Red-breasted Nuthatch showed up in our yard today. It stayed around for a few minutes until a White-breasted chased it away. This is the second sighting for this species here this year. The first was back in September. Roger Mayhorn Compton Mt Buchanan County_______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: HSR: Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch (05 Nov 2009) 33 Raptors From: reports AT hawkcount.org Date: 06 Nov 2009 20:11:10 -0400 Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch Waynesboro, Virginia, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 05, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 0 0 211 Bald Eagle 0 0 72 Northern Harrier 1 1 13 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 1 812 Cooper's Hawk 2 2 129 Northern Goshawk 0 0 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 1 10 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 12069 Red-tailed Hawk 28 28 142 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 0 0 123 Merlin 0 0 11 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 16 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 1 Unknown Buteo 0 0 6 Unknown Falcon 0 0 4 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 7 Mississippi Kite 0 0 1 Total: 33 33 13628 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 12:00:00 Total observation time: 4 hours Official Counter: Vic Laubach Observers: Weather: Clear blue skies with winds from the west, increasing from 12-19km/h to 29-38km/hr. Temps 8.0-11.0*C. Raptor Observations: Northern Harrier and Red-Shouldered Hawks flew to the west side of the Gap. All 28 Red-Tailed Hawks flew between 10am-12pm. Non-raptor Observations: One lone Monarch Butterfly flew across the gap. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Vic Laubach (laubach AT virginia.edu) Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch, VA information may be found at: http://www.rockfishgaphawkwatch.org _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: HSR: Kiptopeke Hawkwatch (06 Nov 2009) 88 Raptors From: reports AT hawkcount.org Date: 06 Nov 2009 19:11:43 -0400 Kiptopeke Hawkwatch Tip of Virginia's Eastern Shore, Virginia, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 06, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 0 40 3385 Bald Eagle 6 33 403 Northern Harrier 9 130 654 Sharp-shinned Hawk 13 274 9315 Cooper's Hawk 18 183 3102 Northern Goshawk 0 0 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 5 48 106 Broad-winged Hawk 1 4 760 Red-tailed Hawk 33 242 534 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 7 7 American Kestrel 1 38 4466 Merlin 0 2 1652 Peregrine Falcon 2 12 1131 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 4 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1 Total: 88 1013 25521 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:45:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 8.25 hours Official Counter: Bob Anderson Observers: Calvin Brennan Weather: Today was another almost cloudless day. Winds were brisk northeast becoming variably northwest to north-northwest. Raptor Observations: The flight overall was much lighter than the last couple of days with lesser numbers recorded for most species. Non-raptor Observations: A small group of Pine Siskins were observed at the feeder early in the am. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Brian Taber (Taberzz AT aol.com) Kiptopeke State Park information may be found at: www.cvwo.org _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: HSR: Snickers Gap (06 Nov 2009) 9 Raptors From: reports AT hawkcount.org Date: 06 Nov 2009 19:11:02 -0400 Snickers Gap 20 Miles West of Leesburg, Virginia, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 06, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 0 0 159 Bald Eagle 1 18 168 Northern Harrier 0 7 52 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 15 961 Cooper's Hawk 0 6 137 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 12 49 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 9077 Red-tailed Hawk 3 152 400 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 4 6 7 American Kestrel 0 0 58 Merlin 0 0 26 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 21 Unknown Accipiter 0 1 16 Unknown Buteo 0 2 17 Unknown Falcon 0 0 2 Unknown Eagle 0 1 2 Unknown Raptor 0 0 23 Total: 9 220 11175 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:15:00 Observation end time: 16:15:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Larry Brindza Observers: Visitors: 4 hikers and 6 "Watcha doin?" people. Weather: Bright, sunny day with maximum visibility. Winds started from the West, then shifting to NW at 6-11km/hr all day long. Temperatures started at 3 C and went up to 8 C by 1:00 p.m. No clouds all day! Raptor Observations: The first eagle of the day was an adult Bald Eagle at 8:53 followed by Golden Eagles at 9:15 and 9:37. All three flew low through the gap from east to west. That was the excitement for the day. 5 Red-tailed Hawks and 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk made up the remaining 6 hours. Non-raptor Observations: Small birds of interest were 1 raven and two flocks of 9 and 12 Cedar Waxwings. The brisk winds did not favor the small guys today. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Larry Brindza (ljbrindza AT earthlink.net) Site Description: The Snickers Gap Hawkwatch was established in 1990. It is located in northern Virginia, on the Clarke and Loudoun County line. It is reached by taking VA Route 7 to the county line, which runs atop the ridge at Snickers Gap. On the south side of Route 7 is a commuter parking lot. The count is conducted from there. It is a volunteer site, and is counted in fall only, from late August until late November or early December. There are no facilities at the site, so bring a snack, drinks,and a chair. Many of the birds can be distant,and a scope is helpful. As a volunteer site, we are always looking to increase our pool of counters. We are eager to train those who have never counted, but are skilled with hawk identification. We are also willing to pair inexperienced observers with experienced counters. Please contact the compiler, Todd Day, at blkvulture AT aol.com with any questions or if you are interested in participating in the count. _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Report from the VSO Board of Director's fall meeting From: "Andrew Dolby (adolby)" <adolby AT umw.edu> Date: Fri, 6 Nov 2009 14:56:22 -0500 Highlights from the VSO Board The Virginia Society of Ornithology’s Board of Directors held its fall meeting on Saturday October, 31 at Ivy Creek Natural Area in Charlottesville. Chairs of several committees were also in attendance. During this meeting, the board received progress reports from committee chairs and approved several important actions. Here are some highlights! First, the board approved funding for modernization of the Virginia Records Committee’s (VARCOM) web site ($3,500) and continuation of the Center for Conservation Biology’s (CCB) aerial Bald Eagle nesting survey ($1,000). Amy Gilmer, Records Secretary, submitted a proposal from an independent contractor to upgrade VARCOM’s electronic interface with the public. The goals of this project are: 1) to allow observers to easily submit their reports on-line, 2) to allow observers to then follow the status of their submissions as they move through VARCOM’s acceptance process, and 3) to provide a user-friendly searchable database so that all users can more efficiently locate records for any of Virginia’s birds. In other developments, the Conservation Committee, headed by Stephen Eccles, approved two new grants from the Small Grants Conservation Fund: $1,000 to continue the Golden Eagle tracking project (returned to the VSO, as costs of the project were later reduced) and $670 for the Virginia Important Bird Areas (IBA) Program to print much-needed brochures for their upcoming fund-raising campaign. The committee has received few requests for funding, and as a consequence, still has resources at its disposal. It eagerly awaits further proposals for conservation projects. Likewise, the Education Committee (Scott Jackson-Ricketts and Jenny Gaden) stands ready to receive proposals to fund educational programs for schools, youth groups, clubs, and other organizations. The 2010 Annual Foray will be held June 12-19 in the Culpeper area. The foray is being spearheaded by Susan Brown and Wendy Ealding and will focus on the Loggerhead Shrike. It is one of Virginia’s dramatically declining species, but the Culpeper Basin (an IBA) contains promising habitat to potentially find overlooked Shrike populations. Both Susan and Wendy have been working hard with the IBA Program and the Virginia Dept. of Game and Inland Fisheries to design forays which will best serve the interests of our state’s birds. The field trip committee (Clark White and Meredith Bell) have been busy planning the Virginia Beach (December 4-6) and Outer Banks (February 5-7) field trips. They also discussed with the board possible summer 2010 field trips to both Piney Grove and Highland County. These trips will be held in June, but their dates have not yet been finalized. For more information, please visit the “Field Trips” page on the VSO’s web site: (www.virginiabirds.net). Additionally, the Annual Meeting, chaired by Past President David Spears, is on schedule for April 23-35 in Farmville. Again, details can be found on the VSO’s web site and will be distributed shortly in the winter newsletter. Finally, the board scheduled its next meeting for March 27. It will be held at The Train Depot, 113 S. Commerce St., Culpeper, 11:00AM – 3:00PM. VSO members are invited to attend and provide their valuable input. This is your organization, and the board would like to hear from you. Please keep your eyes on this list-serve and the VSO’s web site for the time and location as the date nears. If you are a member, we (and Virginia’s birds) deeply appreciate your support. If you’re not, the VSO invites you to join our team to study and protect Virginia’s birds and to enjoy the company of others whose interests you share during our fieldtrips, meetings, and other engagements. Please feel free to contact me directly by email if you have any immediate questions or concerns regarding VSO business: adolby AT umw.edu Andrew Dolby, VSO Vice President ____________________________ Department of Biological Sciences University of Mary Washington 1301 College Avenue Fredericksburg, VA 22401 Phone: 540-654-1420 FAX: 540-654-1081_______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: FOS BUFFLEHEADS, slightly late OSPREY in Powhatan County From: Wendy Ealding <wealding AT aol.com> Date: Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:15:28 -0500 Five male BUFFLEHEADS of the season showed up on one of the private lakes in our neighborhood this morning, along with 5 PIED-BILLED GREBES. We also had an OPSREY yesterday (11/5), latest I've had in four fall seasons at this location. Wendy Ealding Powhatan County_______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Bald Eagle at Lake Accotink From: "ALDEN HINCKLEY" <ecologist123 AT msn.com> Date: Fri, 6 Nov 2009 07:24:12 -0500 After recycling at Wakefield, I paid a brief visit to Lake Accotink yesterday. My primary objective was to see how the dam repair is coming along. My conclusion - slowly. Birds seen included numerous Ring-billed Gulls, a few Canada Geese, and 2 Great Blue Herons. However, the real star was a Bald Eagle sitting on a root tangle in the middle of the lake. I had not seen a Bald Eagle at Accotink before. Dex Hinckley_______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: clarification of Golden Eagle sighting From: Patti Reum <pareum AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 6 Nov 2009 06:37:09 -0500 To clarify the posting given by Sandy Hevener about the Golden Eagle seen at Waggoner's Gap (Donald Sweig), this was NOT VIrgil Caine. I immediately checked her location and she was to the northeast of Waggoner's. Also Libby Mojica of CCB contacted all other researchers from U.S. or Canada who might have a bird with a telemetry unit, and at this point, this bird was not any of those birds. Patti Reum_______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: 2009 VSO Foray Report From: Arun Bose <arun1bose AT gmail.com> Date: Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:58:57 -0500 Hello Birders, The 2009 VSO Foray Report is now available. Visit the VSO website to read the summary and download the full report. http://www.virginiabirds.net/2009_foray_res.html http://www.virginiabirds.net/index.html Arun Bose Richmond _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: HSR: Seaside Hawkwatch (05 Nov 2009) 195 Raptors From: reports AT hawkcount.org Date: 05 Nov 2009 21:11:18 -0400 _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: From: Arun Bose <arun1bose AT gmail.com> Date: Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:36:29 -0500 http://www.virginiabirds.net/2009_foray_res.html _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: HSR: Harvey's Knob (05 Nov 2009) 20 Raptors From: reports AT hawkcount.org Date: 05 Nov 2009 21:11:53 -0400 Harvey's Knob Roanoke, Virginia, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 05, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 0 0 188 Bald Eagle 0 3 77 Northern Harrier 0 0 16 Sharp-shinned Hawk 3 8 535 Cooper's Hawk 1 3 100 Northern Goshawk 0 0 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 3 27 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 8195 Red-tailed Hawk 15 109 259 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 0 0 66 Merlin 0 0 12 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 16 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 3 Unknown Buteo 0 0 4 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 1 Unknown Raptor 0 0 2 Total: 20 126 9502 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:30:00 Observation end time: 17:00:00 Total observation time: 7.5 hours Official Counter: Joyce Holt Observers: Andy Biggs, Katie James Visitors: "Our" Park Ranger, Katherine. Very few others. Katie found another Ohio resident. Weather: Winds were not quite as hefty as predicted, and they became variable instead of mostly NW. The temps were cool, but we came prepared. Raptor Observations: Vultures must not be acclimated to the cold just yet as they seemed to prefer to stay on the East side and perch on the railing to warm their wings. They finally did venture out on the West side as temps warmed. Bill - thanks for your well wishes on the GE. We tried, but it did not happen. Non-raptor Observations: Very little vehicular traffic. No hikers. Small bird activity nearly non-existant. Gnats were gone! Report submitted by blueskyjoyce AT comcast.net Predictions: If there are any more to come it looks like it might be a pretty good day. Hope so! ======================================================================== Report submitted by Joyce Holt (blueskyjoyce AT adelphia.net) Harvey's Knob Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://bijame.googlepages.com/home _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: HSR: Seaside Hawkwatch (04 Nov 2009) 31 Raptors From: reports AT hawkcount.org Date: 05 Nov 2009 20:11:32 -0400 Seaside Hawkwatch Virginia, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 04, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 0 12 1235 Bald Eagle 4 15 291 Northern Harrier 5 23 378 Sharp-shinned Hawk 11 67 2045 Cooper's Hawk 6 24 967 Northern Goshawk 0 0 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 11 43 Broad-winged Hawk 0 13 771 Red-tailed Hawk 3 45 273 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 1 Golden Eagle 1 1 2 American Kestrel 0 4 406 Merlin 0 1 170 Peregrine Falcon 0 2 251 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 1 Unknown Buteo 0 2 4 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 31 220 6840 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Zak Poulton Observers: Weather: Raptor Observations: A Golden Eagle was spotted to my west a 9:58. Non-raptor Observations: ======================================================================== Report submitted by Brian Taber (Taberzz AT aol.com) _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: HSR: Kiptopeke Hawkwatch (05 Nov 2009) 178 Raptors From: reports AT hawkcount.org Date: 05 Nov 2009 18:11:16 -0400 Kiptopeke Hawkwatch Tip of Virginia's Eastern Shore, Virginia, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 05, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 2 40 3385 Bald Eagle 2 27 397 Northern Harrier 2 121 645 Sharp-shinned Hawk 45 261 9302 Cooper's Hawk 26 165 3084 Northern Goshawk 0 0 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 12 43 101 Broad-winged Hawk 0 3 759 Red-tailed Hawk 81 209 501 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 5 7 7 American Kestrel 3 37 4465 Merlin 0 2 1652 Peregrine Falcon 0 10 1129 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 4 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1 Total: 178 925 25433 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Calvin Brennan Observers: Weather: Today was a virtually cloudless day with light variable winds early becoming light to moderate northwest by midday. Raptor Observations: A decent flight was tallied today after a slow start with Buteos recorded in similar numbers as yesterday but other species in lesser numbers as the day previous. Golden Eagles, though, were the star of the day again, with five in total tallied. Non-raptor Observations: Along with another massive Robin flight and good migrating blackbird numbers, a single Baltimore Oriole was noted. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Brian Taber (Taberzz AT aol.com) Kiptopeke State Park information may be found at: www.cvwo.org _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Re: Extralimital: Radio-tagged Golden Eagle From: "Janice Frye" <jjfdc AT clearwire.net> Date: Thu, 5 Nov 2009 11:55:09 -0500 They are so hard to find. Do they have an unusually high mortality rate, I wonder? Jan Richmond -----Original Message----- From: va-bird-bounces AT listserve.com [mailto:va-bird-bounces AT listserve.com] On Behalf Of Marek Smith Sent: Thursday, November 05, 2009 8:42 AM To: va-bird AT listserve.com Subject: Re: [Va-bird] Extralimital: Radio-tagged Golden Eagle Ditto John's comments re: barn owl nesting. During my MS work in Charlotte, NC (obviously a little farther south), and records from the Carolina Raptor Center, barn owl young could be found in every month of the year and eggs found in all but January. It's not uncommon for a pair to have two, and even occasionally three, clutches based upon food resources. Marek Smith Director, Allegheny Highlands marek_smith AT tnc.org (540) 839-3599 (Phone) (540) 679-9796 (Cell) (540) 839-3598 (Fax) nature.org The Nature Conservancy Allegheny Highlands Program 12181-A Courthouse Hill Road Warm Springs, VA 24484 -----Original Message----- From: va-bird-bounces AT listserve.com [mailto:va-bird-bounces AT listserve.com] On Behalf Of Bazuin.John AT epamail.epa.gov Sent: Wednesday, November 04, 2009 1:13 PM To: Sandy Hevener Cc: va-bird-bounces AT listserve.com; va-bird AT listserve.com Subject: Re: [Va-bird] Extralimital: Radio-tagged Golden Eagle Sandy, Others (such as those who maintain Barn Owl box strings) will know more about the timing of Barn Owl nesting than I, but I know that Barn Owls do sometimes (regularly?) nest in the winter. I've been under the impression that food supply may be an important determinant in when they nest. That is, if they find a plentiful small mammal population at any time of year, this may be enough to trigger a breeding cycle in them. Something like this can also happen with Red Crossbills. Fascinating and incredible! John Bazuin From: Sandy Hevener To: Donald Sweig Cc: va-bird AT listserve.com Date: 11/04/2009 11:44 AM Subject: Re: [Va-bird] Extralimital: Radio-tagged Golden Eagle Wow! You may have spotted Virgil Caine, who was in that area 11/3/09. She (we didn't know gender when naming her) was trapped here in Highland County and outfitted with a telemetry unit by folks from The Conservation Biology Center (Wm. & Mary) March 2008. She turned four this spring and didn't start her winter migration until recently. Last year she was already on the VA-WV line by October 7th. The National Aviary has telemetry units on several golden eagles that migrate along the Allegheny front to WV and Kentucky. I checked their site to see if any of these were in he area, but it isn't yet showing winter migrations for 2009. We (Highland Eagle Survey & The Golden Chase) raised the money to pay for the unit on Virgil and some associated expenses, but will need more to continue monitoring her for the third year. Anyone interested in "adopting" her may do so here: http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/adopt/index.shtml?map=&species=Golden +Eagle&country= Okay, okay, she's not a turtle, but Seaturtle.org allowed us a place on their tracking site. INTERESTING- The animal control officer in Highland County rescued a recently hatched barn owl that fell from a silo. (November 2 or 3) He took it to The Wildlife Center in Waynesboro for rehab. He said it was so young it didn't have feathers yet, just down. A nest mate wasn't so lucky. Any one know anything about barn owls (or other birds) hatching this late in the season? It was 22 degrees in western Highland County this morning. Sandy Hevener Sandy Hevener/Patti Reum Highland Eagle Survey Blue Grass, VA 24413 http://highlandeaglewatch.blogspot.com/ Donald Sweig wrote: > I decided to drive the 130 miles up to Waggoner's Gap, Pa. today as > the weather looked promising for a good day at the hawk watch. It > turned out to be partly good and partly not. I arrived about 11:30 and > for the first 3 hours, except for an adult golden eagle, it was very > slow. Then about 2:30 the winds shifted and picked up and we had a > great flight. In the 40 minutes from about 3:40 until 4:20 we had good > looks at SEVEN GOLDEN EAGLES (adults,sub-adults, and juveniles), and > an immature Bald Eagle as well. Lots of Red Tails then as well. One > of the Goldens appeared to have a RADIO TRACKING PACK on its back. It > was also flying somewhat oddly. The total Golden Eagle count for the > day was13, with five Bald Eagles as well. It was well worth the drive > up and back. If the predicted winds for Friday materialize, I may go > back again. > -- > Donald Sweig > Falls Church, Va. > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > va-bird mailing list > http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird > > Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. > http://www.virginiabirds.net/ > _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: White- throated sparrow, Norfolk From: Susan Hubbard <sushub AT earthlink.net> Date: Thu, 5 Nov 2009 09:08:08 -0500 Spotted in my back yard this morning... first of the season. Susan Hubbard _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Re: Extralimital: Radio-tagged Golden Eagle From: "Marek Smith" <marek_smith AT tnc.org> Date: Thu, 5 Nov 2009 08:41:35 -0500 Ditto John's comments re: barn owl nesting. During my MS work in Charlotte, NC (obviously a little farther south), and records from the Carolina Raptor Center, barn owl young could be found in every month of the year and eggs found in all but January. It's not uncommon for a pair to have two, and even occasionally three, clutches based upon food resources. Marek Smith Director, Allegheny Highlands marek_smith AT tnc.org (540) 839-3599 (Phone) (540) 679-9796 (Cell) (540) 839-3598 (Fax) nature.org The Nature Conservancy Allegheny Highlands Program 12181-A Courthouse Hill Road Warm Springs, VA 24484 -----Original Message----- From: va-bird-bounces AT listserve.com [mailto:va-bird-bounces AT listserve.com] On Behalf Of Bazuin.John AT epamail.epa.gov Sent: Wednesday, November 04, 2009 1:13 PM To: Sandy Hevener Cc: va-bird-bounces AT listserve.com; va-bird AT listserve.com Subject: Re: [Va-bird] Extralimital: Radio-tagged Golden Eagle Sandy, Others (such as those who maintain Barn Owl box strings) will know more about the timing of Barn Owl nesting than I, but I know that Barn Owls do sometimes (regularly?) nest in the winter. I've been under the impression that food supply may be an important determinant in when they nest. That is, if they find a plentiful small mammal population at any time of year, this may be enough to trigger a breeding cycle in them. Something like this can also happen with Red Crossbills. Fascinating and incredible! John Bazuin From: Sandy Hevener To: Donald Sweig Cc: va-bird AT listserve.com Date: 11/04/2009 11:44 AM Subject: Re: [Va-bird] Extralimital: Radio-tagged Golden Eagle Wow! You may have spotted Virgil Caine, who was in that area 11/3/09. She (we didn't know gender when naming her) was trapped here in Highland County and outfitted with a telemetry unit by folks from The Conservation Biology Center (Wm. & Mary) March 2008. She turned four this spring and didn't start her winter migration until recently. Last year she was already on the VA-WV line by October 7th. The National Aviary has telemetry units on several golden eagles that migrate along the Allegheny front to WV and Kentucky. I checked their site to see if any of these were in he area, but it isn't yet showing winter migrations for 2009. We (Highland Eagle Survey & The Golden Chase) raised the money to pay for the unit on Virgil and some associated expenses, but will need more to continue monitoring her for the third year. Anyone interested in "adopting" her may do so here: http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/adopt/index.shtml?map=&species=Golden +Eagle&country= Okay, okay, she's not a turtle, but Seaturtle.org allowed us a place on their tracking site. INTERESTING- The animal control officer in Highland County rescued a recently hatched barn owl that fell from a silo. (November 2 or 3) He took it to The Wildlife Center in Waynesboro for rehab. He said it was so young it didn't have feathers yet, just down. A nest mate wasn't so lucky. Any one know anything about barn owls (or other birds) hatching this late in the season? It was 22 degrees in western Highland County this morning. Sandy Hevener Sandy Hevener/Patti Reum Highland Eagle Survey Blue Grass, VA 24413 http://highlandeaglewatch.blogspot.com/ Donald Sweig wrote: > I decided to drive the 130 miles up to Waggoner's Gap, Pa. today as > the weather looked promising for a good day at the hawk watch. It > turned out to be partly good and partly not. I arrived about 11:30 and > for the first 3 hours, except for an adult golden eagle, it was very > slow. Then about 2:30 the winds shifted and picked up and we had a > great flight. In the 40 minutes from about 3:40 until 4:20 we had good > looks at SEVEN GOLDEN EAGLES (adults,sub-adults, and juveniles), and > an immature Bald Eagle as well. Lots of Red Tails then as well. One > of the Goldens appeared to have a RADIO TRACKING PACK on its back. It > was also flying somewhat oddly. The total Golden Eagle count for the > day was13, with five Bald Eagles as well. It was well worth the drive > up and back. If the predicted winds for Friday materialize, I may go > back again. > -- > Donald Sweig > Falls Church, Va. > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > va-bird mailing list > http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird > > Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. > http://www.virginiabirds.net/ > _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: HSR: Harvey's Knob (04 Nov 2009) 22 Raptors From: reports AT hawkcount.org Date: 04 Nov 2009 19:11:11 -0400 Harvey's Knob Roanoke, Virginia, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 04, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 0 0 188 Bald Eagle 1 3 77 Northern Harrier 0 0 16 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 5 532 Cooper's Hawk 0 2 99 Northern Goshawk 0 0 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 2 26 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 8195 Red-tailed Hawk 20 94 244 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 0 0 66 Merlin 0 0 12 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 16 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 3 Unknown Buteo 0 0 4 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 1 Unknown Raptor 0 0 2 Total: 22 106 9482 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Bill Grant Observers: Jim Elder Visitors: Traffic was considerably lighter on the parkway today. Cars and RV's from Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, Missouri, North Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont and Washington along with a car from Ontario, Canada all came into the knob to observe the great view today. Jim Elder from Lynchburg also stopped by with his new Canon camera with a 100-400 mm stablized lens to try and get some photos of hawks. Unfortunately he arrived just as the eagle was leaving and although he saw the bird he could not get his camera out in time to photograph it - BUT- he did get some pics of several redtails, some of the small birds and a helicopter that came down the parkway on the east side heading north flying just a few feet above the tree line right next to the road. He also helped observe until the end of the watch. Weather: Moderate winds from the SSE for most of the day brought all the birds down the east side of the Knob. Temps started out at 3.9C, rose to a high of 11.7C at 12:00 and then retreated back to 8.9 by the time the watch ended. Fairly sunny most of the day with cloud cover from 15-80%. Great visibility. Upper clouds moved from west to east at a pretty good clip all day long. Raptor Observations: Birds became coming finally at 10:33 and when the wind quit at 3:00 so did the birds. Beautiful adult Bald Eagle at 1:50 came in about 25 ft. above the last tree on the left of the knob next to the Parkway, dipped down to show off it's full white head and tail and then rose up again to about 25 ft above the trees on the east side of the Parkway and continued on south. The lone sharpie rose from the valley on the east side and then did it's typical flap-flap-flap guide as it headed south and out of site. Non-raptor Observations: When I arrived at 7:45 there was a lot of small bird activity beginning with a flock of 12 ravens that played around the knob for several hours. A group of a dozen chickadees, a group of approximately 50 goldfinches, 10 white-breasted nuthatches, 3 mature and 1 immature flickers, 7 tufted-titmouse, 50-60 junco, 2 hairy and 2 downy woodpeckers and 3 pileated woodpeckers were also observed in the first two hours. On the way down from the knob I observed at least 150, maybe more, juncos. Predictions: Temps forecast to be in the mid to upper 50's with moderate winds out of the west, along with sun. Birds will miss a good chance if they don't take advantage of that. Hey ladies, you just might get our first golden eagle. Good luck. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Bill Grant (clarinetman AT earthlink.net) Harvey's Knob Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://bijame.googlepages.com/home _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: HSR: Kiptopeke Hawkwatch (04 Nov 2009) 298 Raptors From: reports AT hawkcount.org Date: 04 Nov 2009 19:11:40 -0400 Kiptopeke Hawkwatch Tip of Virginia's Eastern Shore, Virginia, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 04, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 4 38 3383 Bald Eagle 12 25 395 Northern Harrier 22 119 643 Sharp-shinned Hawk 87 216 9257 Cooper's Hawk 50 139 3058 Northern Goshawk 0 0 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 18 31 89 Broad-winged Hawk 3 3 759 Red-tailed Hawk 84 128 420 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 2 2 2 American Kestrel 14 34 4462 Merlin 0 2 1652 Peregrine Falcon 2 10 1129 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 4 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1 Total: 298 747 25255 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Calvin Brennan Observers: Weather: Today was again bright and sunny with a bit of cirrus during the morning and some cumulus build up in the afternoon. Winds were light and quite variable, varying from north to east-northeast and then east-southeast in the early afternoon. Raptor Observations: After a bit of a slow start, there was steady movement until about 2pm when activity dropped off sharply. Highlighting the day were two juvenile Golden Eagles, markedly different in the amount of white at the base of the flight feathers. The first individual gave a spectacular view at tree top level just east of the platform. Red-tails were tallied in their highest numbers of the season and Red-shoulders were also seen in good numbers. Non-raptor Observations: The early morning hours were dominated by another large robin movement numbering in the tens of thousands. Hard to figure an accurate number as much of the flight to the east was northbound while that over the platform was southbound. Significant numbers of blackbirds were also noted, mostly Red-wings and grackles but with fair numbers of Rusties as well. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Brian Taber (Taberzz AT aol.com) Kiptopeke State Park information may be found at: www.cvwo.org _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: 7-Woodpecker Day at Algonkian Park From: "WILLIAM Brown" <billbr50 AT msn.com> Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 18:24:52 -0500 I birded Algonkian Park in Loudoun County this afternoon and found all seven local woodpecker species, including at least five Red-headed Woodpeckers near the park entrance and east from there along the sewer line, and three Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers near picnic shelter 2. Other interesting birds included a Rusty Blackbird, Hermit Thrush, and Winter Wren. The complete list: Double-crested Cormorant 1 Bald Eagle 1 Red-headed Woodpecker 5 Red-bellied Woodpecker 5 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 3 Downy Woodpecker 4 Hairy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 10 Pileated Woodpecker 1 Blue Jay 3 American Crow 2 Fish Crow 1 Carolina Chickadee 7 Tufted Titmouse 7 White-breasted Nuthatch 4 Carolina Wren 2 Winter Wren 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet 3 Eastern Bluebird 2 Hermit Thrush 1 American Robin 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler 2 Eastern Towhee 1 Chipping Sparrow 1 Song Sparrow 3 White-throated Sparrow 10 Dark-eyed Junco 50 Northern Cardinal 2 Red-winged Blackbird 1 Rusty Blackbird 1 Bill Brown Herndon_______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Ravens From: "Roger Mayhorn" <rmayhorn AT hughes.net> Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 17:54:28 -0500 A flock of seven Common Ravens flew over our backyard today. I wouldn't have noticed them, but a couple of them were calling as they flew. I have seen 3 at once here before but never more than that. I also had a Purple Finch at the feeder today. Roger Mayhorn Compton Mt Buchanan County_______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Great Dismal Swamp, 11/4/09 From: nicholas flanders <flicknanders AT hotmail.com> Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 13:13:53 -0500 I made a quick run to Lake Drummond this morning via the Railroad Ditch entrance. The Lake did not hold alot of waterfowl, and I may have missed some as I did not arrive until 9:30am or so, but I did find a couple Pied-billed Grebes, Wood Ducks, Ring-necked Ducks, Mallards, Am. Black Ducks, and a group of 32 Tundra Swans flying South overhead (sweet to hear that call again). The marsh at the corner of Railroad Ditch and West Ditch held a good number of sparrows, but I was unable to find anything unusual. However, 2 RUSTY BLACKBIRDS (male and female) flew from the marsh and perched in a bare tree before flying out to the SE. The male was singing. Other notable birds in the area included a singing White-eyed Vireo and a Common Yellowthroat. There were atleast 4 Otters working the Lake around the Interior Ditch boat ramp; fun to watch and one brought up what appeared to be a large White Perch and took his/her time finishing the fish off. Take care, Nick Flanders. Newport News. Location: Great Dismal Swamp NWR--Railroad Ditch Observation date: 11/4/09 Number of species: 38 Tundra Swan 32 Wood Duck 3 American Black Duck 2 Mallard 12 Ring-necked Duck 4 Pied-billed Grebe 2 Double-crested Cormorant 8 Black Vulture 2 Turkey Vulture 8 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 Ring-billed Gull 200 Herring Gull (American) 1 Mourning Dove 3 Red-bellied Woodpecker 3 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1 Hairy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 5 Pileated Woodpecker 2 White-eyed Vireo 1 Blue Jay 2 Tree Swallow 18 Carolina Chickadee 6 Tufted Titmouse 1 Carolina Wren 5 Winter Wren 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet 3 Hermit Thrush 2 American Robin 150 Gray Catbird 4 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 10 Common Yellowthroat 1 Eastern Towhee 3 Song Sparrow 14 Swamp Sparrow 28 White-throated Sparrow 30 Northern Cardinal 7 Red-winged Blackbird 31 Rusty Blackbird 2 This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org) _________________________________________________________________ Find the right PC with Windows 7 and Windows Live. http://www.microsoft.com/Windows/pc-scout/laptop-set-criteria.aspx?cbid=wl&filt=200,2400,10,19,1,3,1,7,50,650,2,12,0,1000&cat=1,2,3,4,5,6&brands=5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16&addf=4,5,9&ocid=PID24727::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WWL_WIN_evergreen2:112009 _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Re: Extralimital: Radio-tagged Golden Eagle From: Bazuin.John AT epamail.epa.gov Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 13:12:45 -0500 Sandy, Others (such as those who maintain Barn Owl box strings) will know more about the timing of Barn Owl nesting than I, but I know that Barn Owls do sometimes (regularly?) nest in the winter. I've been under the impression that food supply may be an important determinant in when they nest. That is, if they find a plentiful small mammal population at any time of year, this may be enough to trigger a breeding cycle in them. Something like this can also happen with Red Crossbills. Fascinating and incredible! John Bazuin From: Sandy Hevener To: Donald Sweig Cc: va-bird AT listserve.com Date: 11/04/2009 11:44 AM Subject: Re: [Va-bird] Extralimital: Radio-tagged Golden Eagle Wow! You may have spotted Virgil Caine, who was in that area 11/3/09. She (we didn't know gender when naming her) was trapped here in Highland County and outfitted with a telemetry unit by folks from The Conservation Biology Center (Wm. & Mary) March 2008. She turned four this spring and didn't start her winter migration until recently. Last year she was already on the VA-WV line by October 7th. The National Aviary has telemetry units on several golden eagles that migrate along the Allegheny front to WV and Kentucky. I checked their site to see if any of these were in he area, but it isn't yet showing winter migrations for 2009. We (Highland Eagle Survey & The Golden Chase) raised the money to pay for the unit on Virgil and some associated expenses, but will need more to continue monitoring her for the third year. Anyone interested in "adopting" her may do so here: http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/adopt/index.shtml?map=&species=Golden +Eagle&country= Okay, okay, she's not a turtle, but Seaturtle.org allowed us a place on their tracking site. INTERESTING- The animal control officer in Highland County rescued a recently hatched barn owl that fell from a silo. (November 2 or 3) He took it to The Wildlife Center in Waynesboro for rehab. He said it was so young it didn't have feathers yet, just down. A nest mate wasn't so lucky. Any one know anything about barn owls (or other birds) hatching this late in the season? It was 22 degrees in western Highland County this morning. Sandy Hevener Sandy Hevener/Patti Reum Highland Eagle Survey Blue Grass, VA 24413 http://highlandeaglewatch.blogspot.com/ Donald Sweig wrote: > I decided to drive the 130 miles up to Waggoner's Gap, Pa. today as > the weather looked promising for a good day at the hawk watch. It > turned out to be partly good and partly not. I arrived about 11:30 and > for the first 3 hours, except for an adult golden eagle, it was very > slow. Then about 2:30 the winds shifted and picked up and we had a > great flight. In the 40 minutes from about 3:40 until 4:20 we had good > looks at SEVEN GOLDEN EAGLES (adults,sub-adults, and juveniles), and > an immature Bald Eagle as well. Lots of Red Tails then as well. One > of the Goldens appeared to have a RADIO TRACKING PACK on its back. It > was also flying somewhat oddly. The total Golden Eagle count for the > day was13, with five Bald Eagles as well. It was well worth the drive > up and back. If the predicted winds for Friday materialize, I may go > back again. > -- > Donald Sweig > Falls Church, Va. > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > va-bird mailing list > http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird > > Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. > http://www.virginiabirds.net/ > _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: PBGrebe Convention @Dyke Marsh From: Richard Rieger <appleadayonsite AT aol.com> Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 12:34:54 -0500 Beautiful morning to take a stroll thru the Dyke Marsh environs. Started at the picnic area and just kept racking up the PB GREBES - ended w. ~ 48 visible from the picnic area and picked up a few more singles further along - this is the most I've seen at one time at the Marsh. It looks like we may start counting COOTS by the square foot again (2/ sq. ft) One large raft had 350 and a few smaller groups pushed the number to 550. Also had 30 GADWALL, 200 or so RUDDY DUCKS, a few MALLARDS, and one lone DC CORM. Two adult BALD EAGLES were perched atop the crane on the derelict barge anchored in the bay. One RS HAWK was screeching overhead. Lots or WT SPARROWS along Haul Rd. w. a good number of SONG SPARROWS mixed in (20) a few SWAMPS (3) as well. GCKINGLET in the picnic area and an RC KING at the dogleg. Three GRACKLES punctuated the t200 or so REDWINGS. Had a few YR WARBLERS and found 5 not quite late &GREAT EGRETS foraging near the wood bridge. Finally tracked down the CEDAR WAXWINGS (8) as well on Haul Rd. and added 2 NO FLICKERS to the woodpeckers along w. RB WP and DOWNY WP. (and the usual suspects) Rich Rieger Alexandria _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Re: Extralimital: Radio-tagged Golden Eagle From: Sandy Hevener <hevener AT htcnet.org> Date: Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:43:52 -0500 Wow! You may have spotted Virgil Caine, who was in that area 11/3/09. She (we didn't know gender when naming her) was trapped here in Highland County and outfitted with a telemetry unit by folks from The Conservation Biology Center (Wm. & Mary) March 2008. She turned four this spring and didn't start her winter migration until recently. Last year she was already on the VA-WV line by October 7th. The National Aviary has telemetry units on several golden eagles that migrate along the Allegheny front to WV and Kentucky. I checked their site to see if any of these were in he area, but it isn't yet showing winter migrations for 2009. We (Highland Eagle Survey & The Golden Chase) raised the money to pay for the unit on Virgil and some associated expenses, but will need more to continue monitoring her for the third year. Anyone interested in "adopting" her may do so here: http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/adopt/index.shtml?map=&species=Golden+Eagle&country= Okay, okay, she's not a turtle, but Seaturtle.org allowed us a place on their tracking site. INTERESTING- The animal control officer in Highland County rescued a recently hatched barn owl that fell from a silo. (November 2 or 3) He took it to The Wildlife Center in Waynesboro for rehab. He said it was so young it didn't have feathers yet, just down. A nest mate wasn't so lucky. Any one know anything about barn owls (or other birds) hatching this late in the season? It was 22 degrees in western Highland County this morning. Sandy Hevener Sandy Hevener/Patti Reum Highland Eagle Survey Blue Grass, VA 24413 http://highlandeaglewatch.blogspot.com/ Donald Sweig wrote: > I decided to drive the 130 miles up to Waggoner's Gap, Pa. today as > the weather looked promising for a good day at the hawk watch. It > turned out to be partly good and partly not. I arrived about 11:30 and > for the first 3 hours, except for an adult golden eagle, it was very > slow. Then about 2:30 the winds shifted and picked up and we had a > great flight. In the 40 minutes from about 3:40 until 4:20 we had good > looks at SEVEN GOLDEN EAGLES (adults,sub-adults, and juveniles), and > an immature Bald Eagle as well. Lots of Red Tails then as well. One > of the Goldens appeared to have a RADIO TRACKING PACK on its back. It > was also flying somewhat oddly. The total Golden Eagle count for the > day was13, with five Bald Eagles as well. It was well worth the drive > up and back. If the predicted winds for Friday materialize, I may go > back again. > -- > Donald Sweig > Falls Church, Va. > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > va-bird mailing list > http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird > > Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. > http://www.virginiabirds.net/ > _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Tundara swans From: "Ribaudo, Marc" <MRIBAUDO AT ers.usda.gov> Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 06:54:38 -0500 While I was lying in bed waiting for the alarm to go off this morning (before 5am), I heard a flock of tundra swans fly over the house. Marc Ribaudo Woodbridge Marc Ribaudo Economic Research Service 1800 M St. NW, Room S4194 Washington, DC 20036-5831 (202)694-5488 - office (202)694-5774 - fax mribaudo AT ers.usda.gov _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: HSR: Harvey's Knob (03 Nov 2009) 65 Raptors From: reports AT hawkcount.org Date: 03 Nov 2009 23:11:47 -0400 Harvey's Knob Roanoke, Virginia, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 03, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 0 0 188 Bald Eagle 2 2 76 Northern Harrier 0 0 16 Sharp-shinned Hawk 4 4 531 Cooper's Hawk 1 2 99 Northern Goshawk 0 0 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 2 26 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 8195 Red-tailed Hawk 57 74 224 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 0 0 66 Merlin 0 0 12 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 16 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 3 Unknown Buteo 0 0 4 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 1 Unknown Raptor 0 0 2 Total: 65 84 9460 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 10:00:00 Observation end time: 16:30:00 Total observation time: 6.5 hours Official Counter: Baron Gibson Observers: Bill James, Mike Purdy, Norris Ford Visitors: Not many. Leaves are gone so thankfully so are most of the leaf peepers Weather: Chilly temps all watch with winds from the NW at a 3 early & turning to a 4 the last few hours of the watch. It became really chilly by the end of the watch. No clouds early turning to lots of clouds midway through the watch and then no clouds again. Raptor Observations: RT's were the hawk of the day. We got great looks and a show from an adult RS. At 14:25 an adult BE and an Imm EA were seen off in the distance to our NE. They interacted for a few minutes and then flew off to the NE so they were not counted. Interesting to see them together and interacting the way they did. Wonder why they did not come over and continue to migrate??? BEAE AT 11:57 BEAE AT 12:36 First hawk RT AT 10:17 Last hawk RT AT 16:13 two of them together Non-raptor Observations: Lots of Junco, gold finch, crow and TV activity on the knob today Predictions: Southerly winds, mostly cloudy with a high temp of 50???? ======================================================================== Report submitted by Baron Gibson (Hawkwatcher AT netscape.com) Harvey's Knob Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://bijame.googlepages.com/home _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Extralimital: Radio-tagged Golden Eagle From: Donald Sweig <skybirds.d AT gmail.com> Date: Tue, 3 Nov 2009 22:53:29 -0500 I decided to drive the 130 miles up to Waggoner's Gap, Pa. today as the weather looked promising for a good day at the hawk watch. It turned out to be partly good and partly not. I arrived about 11:30 and for the first 3 hours, except for an adult golden eagle, it was very slow. Then about 2:30 the winds shifted and picked up and we had a great flight. In the 40 minutes from about 3:40 until 4:20 we had good looks at SEVEN GOLDEN EAGLES (adults,sub-adults, and juveniles), and an immature Bald Eagle as well. Lots of Red Tails then as well. One of the Goldens appeared to have a RADIO TRACKING PACK on its back. It was also flying somewhat oddly. The total Golden Eagle count for the day was13, with five Bald Eagles as well. It was well worth the drive up and back. If the predicted winds for Friday materialize, I may go back again. -- Donald Sweig Falls Church, Va._______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Summer Tanager in Norfolk, 11/3/09 From: nicholas flanders <flicknanders AT hotmail.com> Date: Tue, 3 Nov 2009 21:04:57 -0500 I spent about an hour and a half in the Weyanoke Sanctuary this afternoon, and found it to be pretty birdy. Highlights included a Blue-headed Vireo and a late Summer Tanager (female-type plumage, do males also have such a plumage in 1st fall?). Some wintering birds like Hermit Thrush, Winter Wren, and both Kinglets were also present. Take care, Nick Flanders. Newport News. Location: Weyanoke Sanctuary Observation date: 11/3/09 Number of species: 26 Mourning Dove 12 Red-bellied Woodpecker 1 Downy Woodpecker 3 Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 6 Blue-headed Vireo 1 Blue Jay 8 American Crow 2 Carolina Chickadee 4 Carolina Wren 5 Winter Wren 2 Golden-crowned Kinglet 3 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3 Hermit Thrush 2 American Robin 28 Gray Catbird 1 Northern Mockingbird 3 European Starling 7 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 19 Summer Tanager 1 Eastern Towhee 2 Song Sparrow 2 White-throated Sparrow 12 Northern Cardinal 12 Red-winged Blackbird 3 House Finch 1 American Goldfinch 1 This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org) _________________________________________________________________ Windows 7: Unclutter your desktop. http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9690331&ocid=PID24727::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WWL_WIN_evergreen:112009 _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Ducks in Norfolk From: "Robert Ake" <rake AT cox.net> Date: Tue, 3 Nov 2009 20:38:14 -0500 This morning I had the first Buffleheads of the season in the Lafayette River back of our house. In addition to the usual 50 Mallards and 20 American Black Ducks, there was a male Hooded Merganser and three American Wigeons. At nightfall last evening two male Wood Ducks dropped into our cove, where two days earlier there was a female Blue-winged Teal and a Ring-billed Duck. An extralimital report that may be of interest: At noon today I had a Clay-colored Sparrow at the Charles Kuralt overlook on the Knotts Island causeway in NC just below the Virginia line. There were also numbers of Tundra Swan, Canada Geese, a couple of Snow Geese, and many ducks on MacKay Island refuge. Robert L. Ake 6603 Catherine Street Norfolk VA 23505 I'm doing an ABA Big Year in 2010 - it seemed like a good idea at the time._______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Eurasian Wigeon- Kerr Reservoir 11/3 From: Adam D'Onofrio <bigadfromlb AT comcast.net> Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 00:50:43 +0000 (UTC) There was a load of waterfowl on Kerr Reservoir (Mecklenburg Co.) today.  Much of it was distant but viewing conditions were excellent due to little or no wind.  The highlight was a EURASIAN WIGEON that was in the company of AMERICAN WIGEONS.  I viewed the bird from Palmer Point Day Use Area.  The bird was distant but when it moved away from the big flock, I was able to isolate it and view it clearly through my zoomed up spotting scope.  The waterfowl flock was large and was dominated by scaup which I assume were mostly, if not all, LESSER SCAUP.  There was also good  numbers of the previously mentioned American Wigeons as well as numbers of GADWALL, BUFFLEHEAD and RUDDY DUCKS.  A few MALLARDS and NORTHERN SHOVELERS were sprinkled in and there was a single AMERICAN COOT.  Saw my first 3 HORNED GREBES of the fall and an adult RED-THROATED LOON was hanging around nearby.  COMMON LOONS were scattered throughout.  Near the end of my day, 8 TUNDRA SWANS flew over and landed on the lake.  They hung around for 30 minutes or so before taking flight and moving on.  It was a fitting ending to a really nice day. Elsewhere, noteworthy birds included a SPOTTED SANDPIPER on the rocks below the dam.  Dick Cross had an immature WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW and 2 yellow PALM WARBLERS as well as 13 GADWALL, WOOD DUCKS and 4 GREEN-WINGED TEAL, all in the wetland area north of the dog kennels.  Good birding. Adam D'Onofrio Dinwiddie Co.    _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: HSR: Snickers Gap (03 Nov 2009) 52 Raptors From: reports AT hawkcount.org Date: 03 Nov 2009 19:11:39 -0400 Snickers Gap 20 Miles West of Leesburg, Virginia, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 03, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 0 0 159 Bald Eagle 1 17 167 Northern Harrier 1 7 52 Sharp-shinned Hawk 4 14 960 Cooper's Hawk 1 6 137 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 12 49 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 9077 Red-tailed Hawk 45 149 397 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 2 3 American Kestrel 0 0 58 Merlin 0 0 26 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 21 Unknown Accipiter 0 1 16 Unknown Buteo 0 2 17 Unknown Falcon 0 0 2 Unknown Eagle 0 1 2 Unknown Raptor 0 0 23 Total: 52 211 11166 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 6 hours Official Counter: BJ Little Observers: Bev Leeuwenburg, Jen Folts, Linda Millington Visitors: Don Wiseman, Doug and Mark Graham Weather: Temps 11-15. Winds from the west. When the winds picked up at 1pm, so did the birds. Raptor Observations: Finally, one of those afternoons with a train of Redtails coming down the ridge. Non-raptor Observations: ======================================================================== Report submitted by BJ Little (bluejay88 AT adelphia.net) _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: HSR: Seaside Hawkwatch (03 Nov 2009) 144 Raptors From: reports AT hawkcount.org Date: 03 Nov 2009 19:11:06 -0400 Seaside Hawkwatch Virginia, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 03, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 8 12 1235 Bald Eagle 9 11 287 Northern Harrier 10 18 373 Sharp-shinned Hawk 42 56 2034 Cooper's Hawk 11 18 961 Northern Goshawk 0 0 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 9 10 42 Broad-winged Hawk 13 13 771 Red-tailed Hawk 35 42 270 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 1 Golden Eagle 0 0 1 American Kestrel 3 4 406 Merlin 0 1 170 Peregrine Falcon 2 2 251 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 1 Unknown Buteo 2 2 4 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 144 189 6809 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Zak Poulton Observers: Weather: A few clouds in the morning but by afternoon it was clear. Winds were coming out of the west all day. Raptor Observations: Great numbers of Buteos today. A lot of them were spotted flying overhead. Non-raptor Observations: New bird for seaside today was a group of four Common Mergansers seen today. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Brian Taber (Taberzz AT aol.com) _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: RH Woodpecker From: Linda Millington <millington.linda AT gmail.com> Date: Tue, 3 Nov 2009 18:14:51 -0500 Birders, On the way to Snickers, I found a Red-headed Woodpecker sitting in the middle of Greengarden Road close to where it intersects with Millville Road in what I guess would be the greater Upperville area. Linda Millington Upperville, VA._______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Voice: Greater Washington Area, Nov 3 From: "Joe Coleman" <joecoleman AT rstarmail.com> Date: Tue, 3 Nov 2009 18:01:14 -0500 FYI - this report is for sightings from Oct 27 through Nov 2 and was compiled by Joe Coleman & transcribed by Steve Cordle Joe Coleman Hotline: Voice of the Naturalist Date: 11/3/09 Coverage: MD/DC/VA/DE Telephone: 301-652-1088 option 1 Reports (voice): 301-652-1088 option 2 (email): voice AT AudubonNaturalist.org Compiler: Joe Coleman Sponsor: Audubon Naturalist Society of the Central Atlantic States (independent of NAS!) Transcriber: Steve Cordle (scordle AT capaccess.org) Please consider joining ANS, especially if you are a regular user of the Voice (Individual $40; Family $50; Nature Steward $75; Audubon Advocate $150). The membership number is 301-652-9188, option 12; the address is 8940 Jones Mill Road, Chevy Chase, MD 20815; and the web site is http://www.AudubonNaturalist.org. This is the Voice of the Naturalist, a service of the Audubon Naturalist Society. This report was completed Tuesday, Nov. 3, at 11:00 am. Top birds this week are grebe sp.* in VA, GREAT WHITE HERON* in VA and DE, and ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER* in VA. Other birds of interest include waterfowl, AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN, AMERICAN BITTERN, ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, GOLDEN EAGLE, COMMON MOORHEN, shorebirds including HUDSONIAN GODWIT, PARASITIC JAEGER, gulls, WESTERN KINGBIRD, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE, PHILADELPHIA VIREO, COMMON RAVEN, sparrows, YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD, and RUSTY BLACKBIRD. A GREBE, either a CLARK'S*, virtually unheard of in our area, or a WESTERN*, also very rare, was reported at a small pond at Atlantic Shores, Virginia Beach, VA Nov 2. A GREAT WHITE HERON*, a white morph of the GREAT BLUE HERON, was seen and photographed Oct 31 in a field along Clifton Farms Rd near the confluence of the Clinch and Little Rivers, Russell Co, VA. A GREAT WHITE HERON* was also reported from Bethany Beach, DE on Nov 1. It was found at a pond on the north side of the road close to where Fred Hudson Rd intersects with Cedar Neck Rd just before the entrance to the Bethany Lakes development. An ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER* was seen and heard for about an hour from the Kiptopeke SP Hawkwatch, Northampton Co, VA on Nov 1. A CACKLING GOOSE (RICHARDSON'S) was seen Oct 28 at the Boy Scout Camp near Swoope, Augusta Co, VA. One was found Oct 29 at Cranberry Reservoir, Carroll Co, MD and three were there on Oct 30. A BRANT was found at Piney Run Park, Carroll Co, MD on Oct 28 and seen through the first of Nov. Several BRANT were also found at Sandy Point SP, Anne Arundel Co, MD throughout the week. Waterfowl numbers swelled this past week and included seven COMMON EIDERS on Oct 30 and a HARLEQUIN DUCK flying over Cape Henlopen on Oct 29. Five COMMON EIDERS and one juvenile HARLEQUIN DUCK were seen at the Ocean City, MD inlet on Nov 1. Scoters showed up at a number of locations including seven SURF SCOTERS reported Oct 30 from Lake Royal in the Kings Park west area of Fairfax Co, VA. On Nov 1 there were two BLACK SCOTERS on the Potomac River between the 14th St. Bridge and Memorial Bridge in SW DC. Six BLACK SCOTERS were seen Nov 1 on ponds in Augusta Co, VA. Four SURF SCOTERS and two BLACK SCOTERS were found Nov 1 at Lapidum, Harford Co, MD. There was a single female SURF SCOTER at Greenbelt Lake, PG Co, MD Nov 2. A LONG-TAILED DUCK was seen at Cranberry Reservoir on Oct 30. There was a LONG-TAILED DUCK at the Georgetown Reservoir, NW DC on Nov 1. An AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN was seen at Blackwater NWR, Dorchester Co, MD on Oct 28. An AMERICAN BITTERN was seen Oct 28 in the newly constructed wetlands along the east side of Egypt Road, Dorchester Co, MD. The AMERICAN BITTERN reported last week at the pond behind the Walmart on Rte 29 in Madison Heights, Amherst Co, VA, was seen again on Oct 29 and Nov 2. An AMERICAN BITTERN was seen flying over Little Island City Park, Virginia Beach, VA on Oct 31. A light-phase ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK flew over the Gardenville section of Baltimore, MD Nov 2. GOLDEN EAGLES were seen at a couple of different locations including one on Oct 31 flying over Sky Meadows State Park, Fauquier Co, VA. Two GOLDEN EAGLES as well as two SNOW GEESE and over 60 TUNDRA SWANS flew over the Snickers Gap Hawkwatch, Clarke Co, VA on Nov 1. A COMMON MOORHEN was found Nov 1 in the large pond along Elliott Island Rd, Dorchester Co, MD. A flock of SANDHILL CRANES flew over Calf's Mtn, Waynesboro, VA, Nov 1. A SANDHILL CRANE flew over Bombay Hook NWR, DE on Nov 2. On Oct 28 six AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVERS flew over the Kiptopeke St Pk Hawkwatch, Northampton Co, VA. There was an AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER at Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary, Prince George's Co, MD on both Nov 1 and Nov 2. The two HUDSONIAN GODWITS spotted in pool 5a of Blackwater NWR, Dorchester Co, MD last week continued to be reported with reports from every day of the week. Also present there on occasion were two LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS. A LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER was also found at the ponds along Rte 3 in King George, King George Co, VA on Oct 31. A WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER was seen at Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary the 28th through the 31st of Oct. A WESTERN SANDPIPER and two LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS were seen during the trip to Hart-Miller Island, Baltimore Co, MD on Oct 31. There was a STILT SANDPIPER at Leonard's Pond in Rockingham Co, VA on Nov 1. A juvenile PARASITIC JAEGER was seen Oct 31 at the Ocean City Inlet, Worcester Co, MD, and three were seen there on Nov 1. An adult FRANKLIN'S GULL was found Oct 31 on Hydes Rd off of Long Green Pike in Baltimore Co, MD. Other gull sightings included LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS from several locations. A WESTERN KINGBIRD was found Nov 2 at Cape Henlopen SP, DE. Two LOGGERHEAD SHRIKES were reported Nov 2 at 4407 Ballenger Creek Pike Frederick County, MD, which is between Cap Stine Rd and New Design Rd just south of Elmer Derr Rd. There was a late PHILADELPHIA VIREO in Lynchburg, VA on Oct 28. COMMON RAVENS were seen near Tyson's Corners, Fairfax Co, VA on Oct 29. RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES continued to be reported from a variety of locations. A VESPER SPARROW was found Oct 27 at Loch Raven Reservoir, Baltimore Co, MD. There was also a VESPER SPARROW at Sky Meadows SP on Nov 1. A NELSON'S SPARROW was found in the marsh along Rumbly Point Rd, Somerset Co, MD on Oct 29. A NELSON'S SPARROW was also seen along George Island Landing Rd, east of Stockton, Worcester Co, MD on Oct 31. A LINCOLN'S SPARROW was seen Oct 30 along the C&O Canal west of MD-61 where it crosses the Potomac River in South Cumberland, Allegany Co, MD. Two SNOW BUNTINGS were seen at Little Island City Park, Virginia Beach, VA on Oct 31. On Oct 31 a male YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD, in full breeding plumage, was found mixed in with flock of over 4,000 blackbirds in a field of waste corn across Rte 3 from a pond to the right of the Aggregate driveway in King George, King George Co, VA. A flock of RUSTY BLACKBIRDS were seen nearby earlier in the morning. Some of this week's reports have been gleaned from the MDOsprey, VA-Bird, and DE-Birds list servers. The Audubon Sanctuary Shop (301-652-3606, http://www.audubonnaturalist.org/default.asp?page=511) is an excellent source for guidebooks and many other nature-related titles. To report bird sightings, e-mail your report to voice AT AudubonNaturalist.org or call 301-652-1088 and select menu option 2. Please post reports before midnight Monday, identify the county as well as state, and include your name and a Tuesday morning contact, either e-mail or phone. Thank you for calling, and GOOD BIRDING. *Of interest to the records committee_______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: HSR: Kiptopeke Hawkwatch (03 Nov 2009) 150 Raptors From: reports AT hawkcount.org Date: 03 Nov 2009 18:11:58 -0400 Kiptopeke Hawkwatch Tip of Virginia's Eastern Shore, Virginia, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 03, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 9 34 3379 Bald Eagle 5 13 383 Northern Harrier 15 97 621 Sharp-shinned Hawk 45 129 9170 Cooper's Hawk 33 89 3008 Northern Goshawk 0 0 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 7 13 71 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 756 Red-tailed Hawk 25 44 336 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 7 20 4448 Merlin 0 2 1652 Peregrine Falcon 4 8 1127 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 4 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1 Total: 150 449 24957 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Calvin Brennan Observers: Weather: Mostly sunny conditions prevailed today with just a bit of cumulus build up during the middle of the day. Winds were light northwest gradually coming around to the west in the afternoon. Raptor Observations: The flight was perhaps lighter than anticipated and much of it was spread out over the entire sky, a typical pattern on light west winds at this site. Accipiters were tallied in similar numbers as yesterday but most other species were in lesser numbers, with much more effort going into finding each bird as much of the day was cloudless or nearly so. Non-raptor Observations: Overall migration was lighter than yesterday although a couple of nice skeins of Tundra Swans were seen, the largest numbering about 70 birds. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Brian Taber (Taberzz AT aol.com) Kiptopeke State Park information may be found at: www.cvwo.org _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: FW: RFI - Five Southbound Sandhill Cranes From: mboater AT att.net Date: Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:20:16 +0000 -- Amherst, VA -------------- Forwarded Message: -------------- From: Fred To: carolinabirds AT duke.edu Subject: RFI - Five Southbound Sandhill Cranes Date: Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:44:47 +0000 Hello. This may be an unusual request, but here goes... I am hoping that someone might see (and maybe even photograph) a particular group of five sandhill cranes that might be heading southbound "down" the coast, from Wareham Massachusetts to Florida (or thereabouts). Here's the story: There is a group of five sandhill cranes that has recently left Wareham Massachusetts (just across Buzzards Bay from Cape Cod) and may possibly be on their way to Florida (my guess). It appears that a single group of up to a half dozen sandhill cranes has been spending part of each year for the last several years on the cranberry bogs and ponds of Wareham MA, and they have been actively watched by some MA birders (especially since sandhill cranes are very uncommon birds "up here" in Massachusetts). On October 29th, the last day the cranes were seen in Wareham, a group of five cranes were spotted flying from MA into RI. Then there was a report the same day from a hawk watch in Greenwich CT that noted a tight formation of five cranes heading further "down" the coat. Then, on October 30th, there were reports of a group of five cranes seen both lifting off the ground at Merrill Creek NJ and then in the air at a hawk watch at Scott's Mountain NJ. So, it would seem that they've been on their way southward. Of course, the big question is, ARE THEY THE SAME FIVE CRANES? While certainly not completely definitive, a comparison of a photo taken of the birds in flight at the Scott's Mountain NJ hawk watch ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/jrd_photos/4063137832/sizes/l/ ) and my photos from Wareham MA of "our" cranes flying at sunset on Oct 26th ( http://fredw.smugmug.com/Animals/WarehamCraneberryCranes-102609/10104828_2y3Tr/1 /693923477_HJvqD/Large http://fredw.smugmug.com/Animals/WarehamCraneberryCranes-102609/10104828_2y3Tr/1 /693925004_AH4v3/Large ), shows one of the five cranes in each case having what might seem to be the same "notch" in its left wing. So, for those on the flyway to Florida, where the cranes ~might~ possibly be heading for the winter season -- if you do happen to see (or have just seen) a group of five sandhill cranes going over, and spot(ted) or photograph(ed) one of them having such a "notch" in its left wing, please let do me know - there would be a number of MA birders that would be delighted to hear of such news. Yes, I know that it sounds like a "wild crane chase", but who knows... Thanks for listening. Fred (Frederick Wasti) Mostly in Marshfield in Massachusetts ("craneberry country") _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: RH Woodpecker From: Linda Millington <millington.linda AT gmail.com> Date: Tue, 3 Nov 2009 16:47:38 -0500 Birders, On the way to Snickers, I found a Red-headed Woodpecker sitting in the middle of Greengarden Road close to where it intersects with Millville Road in what I guess would be the greater Upperville area. Linda Millington Upperville, VA._______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Fox Sparrow at Pleasant Valley (Fairfax County) 03 November From: Stephen Johnson <stevejohnson2 AT verizon.net> Date: Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:49:53 -0500 This morning I visited the woods along the south border of Pleasant Valley Golf Course in western Fairfax County. It was a typical one- hour outing for me – a few goodies and a lot of missed common birds. The highlight was a Fox Sparrow, perched atop a bush next to a pair of Song Sparrows. - Steve Johnson Fairfax, VA Canada Goose Turkey Vulture Cooper’s Hawk – 1 American Kestrel – 1 Downy Woodpecker - 2 Red-Bellied Woodpecker - 1 Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker – 2 immature birds, close together Northern Flicker – 2 Blue Jay American Crow Carolina Chickadee Tufted Titmouse Carolina Wren American Robin Eastern Bluebird – 2, male singing non-stop Northern Mockingbird Cedar Waxwing – big flock European Starling Yellow-Rumped Warbler Northern Cardinal Fox Sparrow – 1 Song Sparrow - 10 Swamp Sparrow - 1 White-Throated Sparrow – 2 _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Snow Geese at Chincoteague NWR From: "David Crooks" <davidandcynthia AT email.com> Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 20:58:42 -0500 Saw the Snow Geese at Swan Cove (not Snow Geese Pool!). Had great light Saturday morning when they took off around 8 AM and come back around 4-5 PM. The water levels in Snow Geese Pool and the area is pretty high compare to last year. http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcrooks/sets/72157622716787876/ David L. Crooks -- Be Yourself AT mail.com! Choose From 200+ Email Addresses Get a Free Account at www.mail.com! _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Gunston Hall, Lorton / Mason Neck - red headed woodpeckers From: Renee Grebe <grebebird AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 17:05:17 -0800 (PST) Took a sick day from work today and when the sun peaked out, my husband and I decided that nothing makes a person feel better than getting out into nature.  We headed to Gunton Hall - the ~mile long walk along the creek to the Potomac is always magical - worth the price of admission (or annual membership).  It's not free like many of the other refuges/parks on Mason Neck, but we visit the free ones so often that Gunston Hall is a special treat. What a lovely day!  The main highlight was the presence of RED HEADED WOODPECKERS which I haven't seen there in several years (saw several today, including adults and juveniles, many calling - very interesting to hear their call compared to the kingfishers, who were also calling).  I hoped that since they had been seen at Huntley, Gunston might be good this year as well - it didn't disappoint.  Other highlights were:     - golden crowned kinglet     - 3 adult bald eagles (high in the sky, circling)     - hermit thrush     - countless yellow rump warblers     - 2 male belted kingfishers (jockeying for position at the top of the tallest tree along the creek)     - small flock of wood ducks (~12)     - lots of flickers, red-bellieds, and white-breasted nuthatches     - robins, in places, simply everywhere     - probable cedar waxwings (Gunston is known for them, and I'm fairly certain I caught glimpses of them to separate times - they're not unusual, so I think I trust my intuition)     - coopers hawk flying low over the fields -Renee Grebe  Alexandria, VA_______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Nature Conservancy boardwalk off Blackwater Road (VA Beach) From: Elisa Enders <elisaenders AT hotmail.com> Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 19:58:30 -0500 I forgot to mention in the post from yesterday that the Nature Conservancy boardwalk that provides some views of the North Landing River marshes on the east side of Blackwater Road, south of Pungo Ferry Road, in Virginia Beach appears to be closed. Barriers are blocking access to the parking lot for the boardwalk. Unfortunately, there is is little space, with no significant roadside shoulder, to park nearby either. Has anyone heard any recent news about this property? Elisa Enders Portsmouth, VA _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Trusted email with Microsoft's powerful SPAM protection. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/177141664/direct/01/ http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/177141664/direct/01/_______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: HSR: Snickers Gap (02 Nov 2009) 37 Raptors From: reports AT hawkcount.org Date: 02 Nov 2009 20:11:28 -0400 Snickers Gap 20 Miles West of Leesburg, Virginia, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 02, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 0 0 159 Bald Eagle 7 16 166 Northern Harrier 1 6 51 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 10 956 Cooper's Hawk 0 5 136 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 12 49 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 9077 Red-tailed Hawk 24 104 352 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 2 3 American Kestrel 0 0 58 Merlin 0 0 26 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 21 Unknown Accipiter 0 1 16 Unknown Buteo 2 2 17 Unknown Falcon 0 0 2 Unknown Eagle 1 1 2 Unknown Raptor 0 0 23 Total: 37 159 11114 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 17:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Wes Hetrick Observers: Weather: Clear sky ... except for the smog from the valley. Raptor Observations: Non-raptor Observations: ======================================================================== Report submitted by Wes Hetrick (weshetrick AT live.com) _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Huntley Meadows Monday Morning Birdwalk From: Harry Glasgow <harry.glasgow AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 16:49:48 -0800 (PST) This morning's Huntley Meadows Monday Morning Birdwalk attracted 10 birders who spotted 39 species.  Highlights were the Red-headed Woodpeckers and King Rails that we have been seeing for more than a month.  Huge flocks of Common Grackles and Red-winged Blackbirds filled the sky, while a shortage of ducks mystified the group.b Canada Goose    48 Mallard    4 Green-winged Teal    4 Double-crested Cormorant    14 Great Blue Heron    2 Great Egret    1 Red-shouldered Hawk    2 Red-tailed Hawk    1 King Rail    1 Ring-billed Gull    3 Mourning Dove    12 Belted Kingfisher    1 Red-headed Woodpecker    4 Red-bellied Woodpecker    5 Downy Woodpecker    7 Northern Flicker    8 Eastern Phoebe    1 Blue Jay    6 American Crow    45 Carolina Chickadee    8 Tufted Titmouse    4 White-breasted Nuthatch    3 Brown Creeper    1 Carolina Wren    6 Ruby-crowned Kinglet    1 Eastern Bluebird    18 American Robin    7 Cedar Waxwing    12 Yellow-rumped Warbler    3 Eastern Towhee    2 Field Sparrow    1 Song Sparrow    15 Swamp Sparrow    5 White-throated Sparrow    50 Dark-eyed Junco    2 Northern Cardinal    5 Red-winged Blackbird    150 Common Grackle    250 American Goldfinch    7 The Monday Morning birdwalk has been a weekly event at Huntley Meadows since 1985.  It takes place every week, rain or shine, at 7AM, is free of charge, requires no reservation, and is open to all.  Birders meet in the parking lot at the Park's entrance at 3701 Lockheed Blvd, Alexandria, VA.  Those with questions should call the Park during normal business hours at (703) 768-2525.   Harry Glasgow Friends of Huntley Meadows Park  _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: HSR: Kiptopeke Hawkwatch (02 Nov 2009) 191 Raptors From: reports AT hawkcount.org Date: 02 Nov 2009 19:11:58 -0400 Kiptopeke Hawkwatch Tip of Virginia's Eastern Shore, Virginia, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 02, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 16 25 3370 Bald Eagle 7 8 378 Northern Harrier 65 82 606 Sharp-shinned Hawk 42 84 9125 Cooper's Hawk 29 56 2975 Northern Goshawk 0 0 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 5 6 64 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 756 Red-tailed Hawk 15 19 311 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 9 13 4441 Merlin 0 2 1652 Peregrine Falcon 3 4 1123 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 4 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1 Total: 191 299 24807 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Calvin Brennan Observers: Brian Taber Weather: Cloudy skies were the order of the day today with a bit of drizzle during the late morning. Winds were moderate north-northeast becoming north-northwest in the early afternoon. Raptor Observations: Harriers dominated the flight overall and saw their best movement of the entire season. A large percentage of those tallied were adult males, probably more than half. Non-raptor Observations: Migration in general today was very good with continuous movement of robins, bluebirds and blackbirds. The blackbirds included several decent sized groups of Rusties. Several tens of thousands would probably be a good estimate of the robin flight. Shorebirds included hundreds of migrating Killdeers and a single Golden Plover. There were again several small groups of Tundra Swans and a single group of about 150 Snow Geese. Odd balls included several Barn Swallows among the many Trees, a single Baltimore Oriole and a Northern Parula. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Brian Taber (Taberzz AT aol.com) Kiptopeke State Park information may be found at: www.cvwo.org _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: HSR: Harvey's Knob (02 Nov 2009) 19 Raptors From: reports AT hawkcount.org Date: 02 Nov 2009 18:11:43 -0400 Harvey's Knob Roanoke, Virginia, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 02, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 0 0 188 Bald Eagle 0 0 74 Northern Harrier 0 0 16 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 2 529 Cooper's Hawk 1 2 99 Northern Goshawk 0 0 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 1 25 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 8195 Red-tailed Hawk 17 18 168 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 0 0 66 Merlin 0 0 12 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 16 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 3 Unknown Buteo 0 0 4 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 1 Unknown Raptor 0 0 2 Total: 19 23 9399 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 10:00:00 Observation end time: 16:30:00 Total observation time: 6.5 hours Official Counter: Dillard Childress Observers: Bill James, David Kirk Visitors: Dave came when I was alone and about to leave and the Red Tails started. I tried to addict him. Weather: Light westerly winds in a blue, blue sky with a film over the valley. Beautiful fall day with hardly any traffic. Raptor Observations: RTs arrived late from Snickers. Non-raptor Observations: Leaves gone - the Red Tails can come now - the squirrels are visible. Predictions: Increased NW winds will continue the late flight well into tomorrow. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Bill James (bijam AT aol.com) Harvey's Knob Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://bijame.googlepages.com/home _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: late BTB W. again at Monticello park From: "Albright, Tom \(USMS\)" <Tom.Albright2 AT usdoj.gov> Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 16:01:11 -0500 Very active at stream (1) BTB W. - at honeysuckel again (10-12) GC Kinglets -- upper and mid to lower midstream in understory (2) RC Kinglet -- midstream and upper stream (14-17) WT SP --Knoll and upper stream and a few scattered about elsewhere (4) W. Wren -- upper, lower and midstream _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: American Bittern--Madison Heights From: SPWeigand AT aol.com Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 15:47:02 EST The bittern continues to like the pond behind WalMart on Route 29 in Madison Heights. I was there at 2:30 this afternoon. I looked all around the pond and the islands in the pond and could not find him. I called Mark Johnson and found out he has been hanging out on the grassy bank at the left end of the pond away from the water. Evidently, he is finding lots of bugs in all the grass. And that is where I found him. He was walking all over that bank , but he surely sticks out like a sore thumb when he is there in all that short green. Only other things at the pond were a pair of Mallards, a Kingfisher and some Crows._______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Winter visitors in Shenandoah County From: David Davis <birdconsv AT aol.com> Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 13:11:29 -0500 This past weekend we had our first of season Purple Finches (Oct 31), Golden-crowned Kinglet (Nov 1) and Red-breasted Nuthatch (Nov 1). The first two are regular winter visitors, but the nuthatch can't be counted on every year, so was a nice surprise. For those of you interested in phenology, here are the FOS sightings for our other winter visitors: Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Oct 11), Brown Creeper (Oct 12), White-throated Sparrow (Oct 8), Dark-eyed Junco (Oct 11), and Pine Siskin (Oct 11). The siskin was a one-day wonder, traveling in the company of his goldfinch cousins. We also had 3 White-crowned Sparrows (2 Eastern type adults and one immature); this species does not overwinter in our area and is not a common or predictable migrant. A few Swamp Sparrows were still around on Nov 1, but will not likely overwinter. Finally, so far berry-chasing flocks of neither Cedar Waxwings nor robins have appeared, despite fairly good wild grape crops. Perhaps they are better elsewhere. Dave Davis Upper Cedar Creek Valley, Shenandoah County _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Re: AMERICAN BITTERN- still present in Amherst Co From: mboater AT att.net Date: Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:10:01 +0000 The American Bittern was still present today (11/2) between 11:40 and 12:45. I first spotted it in the grass in the far back left corner (as you face the pond with Wal-mart behind you). I called Mark Johnson to let him know it was still there. While I was waiting for Mark to arrive, I watch te bittern as it walked slowly towards the Wal-mart feeding on insects in the grass as it worked it's way towards me. When Mark arrived the bird was walking and feeding in the grass on the hillside bordering the left most side of the pond. When I left around 12:45, the bittern was still there and Mark stayed to continue studying it. This was a great opportunity to really study this bird and was one of the best observation I have ever had of this species. Cheers, Mike Michael R. Boatwright -- Amherst, VA -------------- Original message from Michael Boatwright : -------------- The AMERICAN BITTERN first found by Mark Johnson on Oct 23 was still present around 2:30 PM today (10/29) behind the Wal-mart in Madison Heights (Amherst Co). I spotted the bittern standing motionless well up into the grass on the north side ( left side of the pond as you are facing the pond with the Wal-mart behind you). Cheers, Mike Michael R. Boatwright Amherst, VA_______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Blue-winged Teal, Dulles Wetland From: Rob Young <robnoblestar AT aim.com> Date: Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:22:45 -0500 There was a female Blue-winged Teal at the wetland on Sunday morning. It appeared to have moulted primaries so is unlikely to go anywhere soon. Rob Young Alexandria, VA _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: late male BTB Warbler at Monticello Park yesterday From: "Albright, Tom \(USMS\)" <Tom.Albright2 AT usdoj.gov> Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 09:17:55 -0500 Nice male BTB Warbler seen eating bush honeysuckel berries at mid-stream...this is more evidence of how valuable this "so-called" invasive plant is for both cover and as a late migration food source for Thrushes and late Vireos and Warblers. A little research from our fellow birder and all round Renaissance woman Paula Sullivan is quoted below about this much maligned plant which is under assault by misguided "fanatics" who see the only good honeysuckel is a dead honeysuckel. "....I learned from the Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council Invasive Plant Manual online that there are four species of bush honeysuckle that cause most invasive problems (Amur, Morrow's, Tartarian, and Belle). Belle is a hybrid cross between Tartarian and Morrow's. I don't know yet which is at Monticello. Bush honeysuckles are native to Asia and western Europe. Tartarian honeysuckle was first cultivated in North America in 1752. Morrow's and Amur honeysuckles were introduced into the U.S. in 1875 and 1855 respectively. Bush honeysuckle has been promoted by state and federal agencies to improve wildlife habitat and as a popular ornamental. So, honeysuckle has been around for a long, long time in this country. Many, many generations of birds and other wildlife don't know it's not native. Here's another great example of a good idea gone bad, apparently. First the fed and state officials promote it, and now, after the birds have learned to eat it, nest in it, and use it for cover, we're supposed to get rid of it at all costs. What is wrong with this picture? Tell me what the berry-eating birds are supposed to eat in October in Monticello Park now that the poke berries are gone? Liriope berries? Birds adore poison ivy berries but they produce berries only when allowed to vine up a tree and the vines have been pulled off the trees in the park along with the English ivy. There are hollies up on the knoll, but that would be about it. We have spicebush and viburnum, but I'm not seeing berries. Are they not mature enough? Hermit thrushes were devouring the honeysuckle berries today. _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Glo. Co. FOS Hooded Merganser From: Eugene Burreson <gene AT vims.edu> Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 08:44:52 -0500 Some highlights around Jones Creek, Gloucester Co. over the weekend. Sat. Oct 31: 3 lesser yellowlegs near the mouth of the Creek ; a pair of yellow-bellied sapsuckers in the yard eating black tupelo berries. Sun. Nov. 1: FOS hooded merganser on the creek at high tide; a single male. Gene Eugene Burreson Chancellor Professor of Marine Science Virginia Institute of Marine Science PO Box 1346 (for mail) Route 1208, Greate Road (for courier) Gloucester Point, Virginia 23062 USA Phone: 804-684-7015, FAX: 804-684-7796 gene AT vims.edu _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Sky Meadows SP, Fauquier Co.; Nov. 1 From: Scott Baron <brnpelican AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 1 Nov 2009 21:00:59 -0800 (PST) Hello, birders. I had another good day at Sky Meadows SP. The intermittent light precip. ended around 10am and then it slowly cleared. My survey took me from the contact station to the entrance road pond through the woods and fields to the fishing pond. Also the Visitor Center. Top bird was a very late GRASSHOPPER SPARROW. I found it perched in a shrub with a few other species of sparrows. Then it flew into the edge of the tall native grass. I had an 11 sparrow species day. Surely there was a Towhee somewhere in the park and Lincoln's may be present but it's getting late but I didn't have the time or energy to look in other areas of the park after my survey was complete. Some species of interest (mostly migrants or possible migrants): Can. Goose, flock heard only Osprey, 1 Bald Eagle, 2 imm. R.t. Hawk, 1 Am. Kestrel, 3 (prob. locals) Killdeer, 1 Red-headed Woodpecker, 8 (7 ad., 1 imm.) Y.b. Sapsucker, 5 No. Flicker, 8 (are they still migrating?) E. Phoebe, 1 Blue Jay, 6 (low number, no migrants?) Com. Raven, 3 Brown Creeper, 2 G.c. Kinglet, 2 R.c. Kinglet, 3 Hermit Thrush, 1 Gray Catbird, 1 (beginning of Edmonds Road) Yellow-rumped Warbler, 20 Chipping Sparrow, 8 Field Spa., 61+/- VESPER SPARROW, 1 (near barn/silo/dry west farm pond) Savannah Spa., 12+/1 GRASSHOPPER SPARROW, 1 Fox Spa., 1 Song Spa., 174+/- Swamp Spa., 59+/- White-throated Spa., 69+/- White-crowned Spa., 8 imm. D.e. Junco, 13 4 species of butterflies were present including one very late migrating MONARCH. Good birding to you. Scott Baron Fairfax, Va. _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Corvid vocalizations From: John Fox <jjfoxfox AT comcast.net> Date: Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:30:26 -0500 Hi all Steve Young's post reminded me of something I've long wondered about. Years ago there was a Common Raven at the Pygmy Forrest in Mendocino Co, CA, that was giving a series of single tones or notes with a bell like/ringing quality. It did it repeatedly while I watched it for a half hour or more. It was very strange and obviously not at all like their regular vocalizations. Some time afterwards I was watching a Cooper's Hawk harass an American Crow here in Arlington and the Crow gave the same weird call. It did not strike me as bill clicking but was almost certainly produced by their syringes*. I've never read anything about such a vocalization, and was wondering if any one had any information or has heard the same thing. *A bird's "voice box" is called a syrinx, the plural is syringes. Surely one of the oddest plural constructions in the English language. But it's not unique. A meninx is a sheathing around a nerve, the plural is meninges. Hence, spinal meningitis is an inflammation of at least one meninx of the spinal cord. You can look it up! Cheers, John Fox Arlington _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Blue-headed Vireo - Halifax Co. From: Paul Glass <Pag AT GCRCompany.com> Date: Sun, 1 Nov 2009 22:26:30 -0500 I had several nice flocks of birds move through the yard today. The best bird was a Blue-headed Vireo with a flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers. Also had FOS Brown Creeper, FOS Junco, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Brown-headed Nuthatch, and Ruby-crowned Kinglet. The birds were mainly feeding on Poison Ivy berries. Paul Glass South Boston, VA _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: YH Blackbird?? From: John Fox <jjfoxfox AT comcast.net> Date: Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:40:20 -0500 Did anyone try for Atwood's Yellow-headed Blackbird today? I am going to try tomorrow morning (if everything goes right). John Fox Arlington _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Raven, Leesburg Airport From: Rob Young <robnoblestar AT aim.com> Date: Sun, 01 Nov 2009 13:33:18 -0500 There was a Raven at Leesburg Airport, Saturday lunch time Rob Young Alexandria, VA _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: HSR: Snickers Gap (01 Nov 2009) 122 Raptors From: reports AT hawkcount.org Date: 01 Nov 2009 21:11:33 -0400 Snickers Gap 20 Miles West of Leesburg, Virginia, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 01, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 0 0 159 Bald Eagle 9 9 159 Northern Harrier 5 5 50 Sharp-shinned Hawk 9 9 955 Cooper's Hawk 5 5 136 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 11 11 48 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 9077 Red-tailed Hawk 80 80 328 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 2 2 3 American Kestrel 0 0 58 Merlin 0 0 26 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 21 Unknown Accipiter 1 1 16 Unknown Buteo 0 0 15 Unknown Falcon 0 0 2 Unknown Eagle 0 0 1 Unknown Raptor 0 0 23 Total: 122 122 11077 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 11:00:00 Observation end time: 17:00:00 Total observation time: 6 hours Official Counter: Joan Boudreau and Bob Abrams Observers: Doug Graham, The Littles, Todd Day Visitors: 2 Welsh Terriers and a beautiful English Bulldog named Rosie. Weather: Started late because of the pouring rain. Raptor Observations: Our first Golden Eagle was at 3:06 and the second was 90 minutes after that. Non-raptor Observations: 117 Common Loons, 2 Snow Geese, 62 Tundra Swans and 10 Herring Gulls. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Joan and Bob (icepeep AT aol.com) _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Winter Birds in Arlington From: steveyoung AT aol.com Date: Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:51:10 -0500 The local flock of 20-30 White-throated Sparrows is hanging out near Long Branch Nature Center once again, mostly uphill on the north side near my Glencarlyn neighborhood. Today I heard lots of calling and a few song fragments. Also, as the light began to dim, I heard but did not see the Winter Wren up the bank south of Long Branch stream. Yesterday a large and lively American Robin flock was hanging out, foraging on late berries by the nature center building. Also, scattered Tree Frogs were calling in yesterday's almost-70F degree temperatures, and the racket of a low-flying helicopter only seemed to stimulate them to intensify their calling. The Blue Jays seem to have quieted, but the American Crows are back in numbers and making quite a racket. Yesterday a group of 3 flew into our Cherry tree and proceeded to make strange calls and bill-clacking sounds. It seemed like there was a crow couple and an annoying offspring or interloper that triggered some reactions. Cheers, Steve Young, Glencarlyn/Long Branch Nature Center, Arlington_______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Re: Pipits in Faquier Co. From: "david.boltz" <david.boltz AT cox.net> Date: Sun, 1 Nov 2009 20:33:51 -0500 Bowman's Pond is off the eastern end of Harrison Rd.. My apologies for the misinformation. Dave Boltz ----- Original Message ----- From: david.boltz To: va-bird AT listserve.com Sent: Sunday, November 01, 2009 8:29 PM Subject: [Va-bird] Pipits in Faquier Co. Dave Engelen & I headed out of the suburban No. VA rain and into Faquier Co. shortly before noon today. Many thanks to Kurt Gaskill for pointing us to Harrison Rd. (Rt. 750) just off Old Tavern Rd. (Rt. 245), just a bit south of I-66 off Exit 31 (Marshall & Old Tavern exit). We pulled over right after turning onto Harrison and we were treated to 3 American Pipits, mixed with some starlings. We even heard them call several times. At the same spot we saw a Savannah Sparrow and a Common Raven (it croaked at us, too). There was a nice mix of 7 ducks (Ruddy, Ring-necked, Lesser Scaup, No. Shoveler, Bufflehead, Black & Mallard) in Bowman's Pond on Belvoir Rd., off the eastern end of Old Tavern. Rd. A Red-headed Woodpecker was seen at the pond, also. We then drove down to Remington to the Woodward Turf Farm. This was not nearly as productive as hoped (we saw a huge flock of Horned Larks and Killdeer there in August and were hoping for Pipits there, too). The sod fields were pretty much devoid of any bird activity, even the unsodded areas. There was not any freshly turned soil, but there were some adjacent cut corn fields. Notables there were 7 Eastern Meadowlarks (one was still singing), 2 Bald Eagles, and 1 American Tree Sparrow, and a Red-shouldered Hawk. Dave Boltz Alexandria/Fairfax Co. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/_______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Pipits in Faquier Co. From: "david.boltz" <david.boltz AT cox.net> Date: Sun, 1 Nov 2009 20:29:44 -0500 Dave Engelen & I headed out of the suburban No. VA rain and into Faquier Co. shortly before noon today. Many thanks to Kurt Gaskill for pointing us to Harrison Rd. (Rt. 750) just off Old Tavern Rd. (Rt. 245), just a bit south of I-66 off Exit 31 (Marshall & Old Tavern exit). We pulled over right after turning onto Harrison and we were treated to 3 American Pipits, mixed with some starlings. We even heard them call several times. At the same spot we saw a Savannah Sparrow and a Common Raven (it croaked at us, too). There was a nice mix of 7 ducks (Ruddy, Ring-necked, Lesser Scaup, No. Shoveler, Bufflehead, Black & Mallard) in Bowman's Pond on Belvoir Rd., off the eastern end of Old Tavern. Rd. A Red-headed Woodpecker was seen at the pond, also. We then drove down to Remington to the Woodward Turf Farm. This was not nearly as productive as hoped (we saw a huge flock of Horned Larks and Killdeer there in August and were hoping for Pipits there, too). The sod fields were pretty much devoid of any bird activity, even the unsodded areas. There was not any freshly turned soil, but there were some adjacent cut corn fields. Notables there were 7 Eastern Meadowlarks (one was still singing), 2 Bald Eagles, and 1 American Tree Sparrow, and a Red-shouldered Hawk. Dave Boltz Alexandria/Fairfax Co._______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Waterfowl in n. Amherst County From: mboater AT att.net Date: Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:44:35 +0000 This morning(11/1) I decided to check out the lakes in northern Amherst County to see what waterfowl had fallen out from the passing storm front. Mark Johnson had the same thought and he and I meet in the parking lot at Mill Creek Lake. Although we didn't see anything really unusual, there was a nice assortment of waterfowl on the lake including 60 Lesser Scaup, 15 Ring-necked Duck, 30 Ruddy Duck, 4 American Wigeon, 6 Bufflehead, 2 Blue-winged Teal, 12 Gadwall, 7 Wood Duck, 2 Black Duck, 12 Green-winged Teal, 20 Mallard, 2 Common Loon, 12 Pied-billed Grebe, 15 American Coot, and 30 Canada Geese. We also had a Great Egret and a Bald Eagle fly over. At the bridge over Mill Creek on Rt 778, we saw 35 Mallard, 8 Black Duck, 16 Green-winged Teal, 2 American Wigeon, 1 Northern Pintail, 6 Wood Duck, and 15 Canada Geese. Thrashers Lake held 6 Lesser Scaup, 5 Ring-necked Duck, 10 Green-winged Teal, 6 Ruddy Duck, 5 Wood Duck, 8 Mallard, and 3 Pied-billed Grebe. We were surprised to see a late Spotted Sandpiper and a latish Greater Yellowlegs there also. Nothing was on Stonehouse Lake. Cheers, Mike Michael R. Boatwright -- Amherst, VA_______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Re: shorebirds Rockingham County From: William Leigh <leightern AT msn.com> Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 00:02:25 +0000 All, Today and yesterday at Leonard's pond in Rockingham county there were a nice assortment of shorebirds. Yesterday's Stilt Sandpiper unfortunately has left but today there was still one Dunlin left and several Pectoral Sandpipers along with a single Greater Yellowlegs and 3 Lesser Yellowlegs. 55 Killdeer, 13 Green-winged Teal, and 126 Canada Geese were also present. At the bridge on Faughts road en route to pond several sparrows were found: Swamp, Chipping, Song, White-throated. William Leigh leightern AT msn.com _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Water fowl fall out in Augusta County From: "Allen & Pat" <larnersky AT mindspring.com> Date: Sun, 1 Nov 2009 18:53:29 -0500 Hello all This morning I went out in the rain to see what dropped in on us here in Augusta County . This was just to be a morning thing that usually ends up around 1 pm , but not today it turned out to be an all day thingy . I met up with Elanie Carwile & we birded the second half of the County . We ended the day with 26 species of water fowl & shorebirds combined . Listed below is what we found . All count totals are from all the ponds in Augusta County . Also this morning an alert went out on Shen - val Birds that there was a sighting of 25 to 30 Sandhill Cranes that flew over Calf's Mt. near Waynesboro . Canada Goose -- 367 No Cackling **Tundra Swan -- 417 + The major group were out near Quillen's as a fly over . Several groups made up 400+ birds & 17 were at Smith's in Swoope area --- FALL PEAK COUNT Wood Duck - 76 + PC Gadwall -- 25 Am. Wigeon -- 11 PC Black Duck -- 1 Mallard -- 257 + PC No. Shoveler -- 10 Pintail -- 1 Green - winged Teal -- 109 Ring - necked Duck -- 108 -- PC Greater Scaup -- 4 Lesser Scaup -- 29 ** Black Scoter -- 6 First fall record -- 2nd County record & Fall Peak Count Bufflehead --10 Ruddy Duck -- 247 ** Pied - billed Grebe -- 110 PC Great Blue Heron -- 9 B C N Heron -- 2 Bald Eagle -- 2 at Smith's Swoope area Am . Coot -- 63 Killdeer-- 55 Greater Yellowlegs -- 14 Lesser Yellowlegs -- 3 Fall Peak Count Short - billed Dowitcher -- 1 at McCune's Late fall date Bonaparte's Gull -- 1 Allen Larner Staunton _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: HSR: Kiptopeke Hawkwatch (01 Nov 2009) 108 Raptors From: reports AT hawkcount.org Date: 01 Nov 2009 19:11:06 -0400 Kiptopeke Hawkwatch Tip of Virginia's Eastern Shore, Virginia, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 01, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 9 9 3354 Bald Eagle 1 1 371 Northern Harrier 17 17 541 Sharp-shinned Hawk 42 42 9083 Cooper's Hawk 27 27 2946 Northern Goshawk 0 0 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 1 59 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 756 Red-tailed Hawk 4 4 296 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 4 4 4432 Merlin 2 2 1652 Peregrine Falcon 1 1 1120 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 4 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1 Total: 108 108 24616 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:30:00 Observation end time: 13:30:00 Total observation time: 6 hours Official Counter: Calvin Brennan Observers: Weather: Overcast conditions were seen at the watch today with rain developing in the afternoon. Winds were moderate and gusty from the northeast. Raptor Observations: An improvement in the flight was noted today over yesterday's trickle on south winds, with a decent number of birds recorded particularly given the conditions. Non-raptor Observations: The most significant sighting today was of an Ash-throated Flycatcher seen during the noon hour. It was seen and heard over a period of about an hour before the rain set in. A small group of Tundra Swans was also noted. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Brian Taber (Taberzz AT aol.com) Kiptopeke State Park information may be found at: www.cvwo.org _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: HSR: Snickers Gap (01 Nov 2009) 122 Raptors From: reports AT hawkcount.org Date: 01 Nov 2009 19:11:48 -0400 Snickers Gap 20 Miles West of Leesburg, Virginia, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 01, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 0 0 159 Bald Eagle 9 9 159 Northern Harrier 5 5 50 Sharp-shinned Hawk 9 9 955 Cooper's Hawk 5 5 136 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 11 11 48 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 9077 Red-tailed Hawk 80 80 328 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 2 2 3 American Kestrel 0 0 58 Merlin 0 0 26 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 21 Unknown Accipiter 1 1 16 Unknown Buteo 0 0 15 Unknown Falcon 0 0 2 Unknown Eagle 0 0 1 Unknown Raptor 0 0 23 Total: 122 122 11077 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 11:00:00 Observation end time: 17:00:00 Total observation time: 6 hours Official Counter: Joan Boudreau and Bob Abrams Observers: Doug Graham, The Littles, Todd Day Visitors: 2 Welsh Terriers and a beautiful English Bulldog named Rosie. Weather: Started late because of the pouring rain. Raptor Observations: Our first Golden Eagle was at 3:06 and the second was 90 minutes after that. Non-raptor Observations: 117 Common Loons, 2 Snow Geese, 62 Tundra Swans and 10 Herring Gulls. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Joan and Bob (icepeep AT aol.com) _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: HSR: Snickers Gap (01 Nov 2009) 122 Raptors From: reports AT hawkcount.org Date: 01 Nov 2009 19:11:30 -0400 Snickers Gap 20 Miles West of Leesburg, Virginia, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 01, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 0 0 159 Bald Eagle 9 9 159 Northern Harrier 5 5 50 Sharp-shinned Hawk 9 9 955 Cooper's Hawk 5 5 136 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 11 11 48 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 9077 Red-tailed Hawk 80 80 328 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 2 2 3 American Kestrel 0 0 58 Merlin 0 0 26 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 21 Unknown Accipiter 1 1 16 Unknown Buteo 0 0 15 Unknown Falcon 0 0 2 Unknown Eagle 0 0 1 Unknown Raptor 0 0 23 Total: 122 122 11077 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 11:00:00 Observation end time: 17:00:00 Total observation time: 6 hours Official Counter: Joan Boudreau and Bob Abrams Observers: Doug Graham, The Littles, Todd Day Visitors: 2 Welsh Terriers and a beautiful English Bulldog named Rosie. Weather: Started late because of the pouring rain. Raptor Observations: Our first Golden Eagle was at 3:06 and the second was 90 minutes after that. Non-raptor Observations: 117 Common Loons, 2 Snow Geese, 62 Tundra Swans and 10 Herring Gulls. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Joan and Bob (icepeep AT aol.com) _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: HSR: Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch (31 Oct 2009) 22 Raptors From: reports AT hawkcount.org Date: 01 Nov 2009 18:11:57 -0400 Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch Waynesboro, Virginia, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 31, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 0 10 211 Bald Eagle 1 8 72 Northern Harrier 0 4 12 Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 260 811 Cooper's Hawk 0 48 127 Northern Goshawk 0 1 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 3 7 9 Broad-winged Hawk 0 78 12069 Red-tailed Hawk 15 62 114 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 0 19 123 Merlin 0 0 11 Peregrine Falcon 0 2 16 Unknown Accipiter 0 1 1 Unknown Buteo 1 1 6 Unknown Falcon 0 0 4 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 7 Mississippi Kite 0 0 1 Total: 22 501 13595 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 11:30:00 Total observation time: 2.5 hours Official Counter: Brenda Tekin Observers: Vic Laubach Weather: Low thick clouds and fog over the higher elevations with clearing skies in the valley and piedmont. Fog and lower clouds moved out by 9 a.m. EST. There were at least two levels of wind with lower winds out of the SE to E bringing in low clouds that hung over Bear Dean Mountain throughout the morning completely blocking out the towers. Not too high up we could see the second level of clouds moving at a good pace out of the west to south west. Above those clouds we could see a somewhat stationery layer of thin white wisps and bright blue sky. Temp remained constant at 17c. Very humid, 79% increasing to 87% with approaching front from the E/SE bringing with it another round of low level clouds by 11:30 a.m. EST. Heavy rains moved in by midnight producing over an inch of rain in some areas by 7 a.m. Raptor Observations: Not too many treats today. Red-tails not in any hurry to move through with one group, upwards of 8 milling around to the north. Highlight was the immature Bald Eagle picked up by Vic Laubach at 10:05 a.m. Non-raptor Observations: Common Raven -2 Predictions: RAIN ======================================================================== Report submitted by Brenda Tekin (bt8x AT virginia.edu) Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch, VA information may be found at: http://www.rockfishgaphawkwatch.org _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Ash-throated Flycatcher at Kiptopeke From: Taberzz AT aol.com Date: Sun, 1 Nov 2009 17:29:11 EST I'm posting this for Calvin Brennan, who found an Ash-throated Flycatcher today at the Kiptopeke Hawkwatch. Brian Taber Coastal VA Wildlife Observatory_______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Great Falls NP Sunday Bird Walk 11/01/09 From: Dendroica AT aol.com Date: Sun, 1 Nov 2009 12:20:32 EST Sally Wechler led today's walk. Despite the incessant rain and drizzle, our group of 4 observed a surprising amount of bird activity and finally found our first Hermit Thrushes for the walk this fall. We meet every Sunday at 8 AM at the Visitors' Center. All are welcome to participate. The list follows: Ralph Wall Great Falls, VA Location: Great Falls National Park - CGF10 Observation date: 11/1/09 Number of species: 35 Canada Goose 15 American Black Duck 3 Mallard 6 Ring-necked Duck 9 Common Merganser 4 Pied-billed Grebe 1 Double-crested Cormorant 1 Great Blue Heron 1 Black Vulture 20 Turkey Vulture 10 Mourning Dove 3 Red-bellied Woodpecker 12 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 3 Downy Woodpecker 6 Hairy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 20 Pileated Woodpecker 5 Blue Jay 12 American Crow 10 Carolina Chickadee 10 Tufted Titmouse 20 White-breasted Nuthatch 12 Brown Creeper 1 Carolina Wren 4 Winter Wren 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet 4 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 8 Eastern Bluebird 30 Hermit Thrush 2 American Robin 10 Cedar Waxwing 60 Yellow-rumped Warbler 20 White-throated Sparrow 1 Dark-eyed Junco 1 Northern Cardinal 6 This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org) _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Snow Buntings (2), Back Bay NWR area, 10/31/09 From: Elisa Enders <elisaenders AT hotmail.com> Date: Sun, 1 Nov 2009 12:08:04 -0500 Nick Flanders and I planned to visit Back Bay NWR yesterday, but found out when we arrived that the refuge was closed for a hunt of White-tailed Deer and feral hogs. Instead, we visited Little Island City Park, various spots east of Princess Anne Road (on the west side of Back Bay), and Munden Point Park. Best birds were an American Bittern seen in flight at the kayak/canoe launch across from Little Island City Park and two Snow Buntings (with a lot of brown in their plumage, I thought) at the end of Mill Landing Road, just past the 'No Trespassing' sign. The birds were sitting on the edge of the road and flushed, due to an approaching truck. We lost sight of the birds as they flew away. We didn't find many species of duck -- Mallard and American Black Duck were the only ones. There were 2 Northern Harriers seen (including a male at the Whitehurst Tract of Princess Anne WMA). Lesser Black-backed Gulls were present in fair numbers at Little Island City Park. Northern Gannets, Blak Scoters, and Surf Scoters were seen over the ocean. A falcon, either a Merlin or a Peregrine, flew high overhead (to the north). This bird's facial markings (well marked 'sideburns') seemed to indicate it was a Peregrine, but the bird's size seemed to small for a Peregrine. It probably was a Peregrine, but I'm not confident on that ID. There were lots of Yellow-rumped Warblers about -- especially at Little Island and Munden Point. Elisa Enders Portsmouth, VA _________________________________________________________________ Windows 7: It works the way you want. http://www.microsoft.com/Windows/windows-7/default.aspx?ocid=PID24727::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WWL_WIN_evergreen2:112009 _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Upper Northern neck birding--two nice surprises From: Frederick Atwood <fredatwood AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 1 Nov 2009 04:22:26 +0000 (GMT) Despite the drizzle it was a fun day! After a month of wonderful weekends at my cabin in the mts of WV I was eager to get back to my stomping grounds in King George and Westmoreland Counties wondering about what surprises would show up.  I started at the King George ponds/lakes along route 3 which was very exciting, then checked out the Potomac R from Washington's Birthplace where there was very little, and finished up in Leedstown. The total was 82 species despite missing several common birds (see complete list below). At King George, the pond/lake to the right of the Aggregate driveway had 5 dunlin and a LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER, which I think is the first one I have seen in VA.  Across route 3 from this driveway the corn field has been harvested and there is lots of waste corn there.  A flock of 4-5000 mixed blackbirds were feasting on this corn.  I carefully searched through the swarming, constantly moving flock. About 1/3 of the flock was cowbird, 1/3 starling, and 1/3 redwing. No grackles.  But a gorgeous male YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD was there in full breeding plumage.  (The only other one I have seen in the east was a female several years ago down the neck in Richmond Co.) I could not find any Brewer's blackbirds in the constantly moving flock but nearby in a private farm's floodplain forest earlier in the morning, 16 Rusty Blackbirds were eating ash seeds and poison ivy berries. Twice the blackbird swarm took flight and swirled around letting me know that a hawk was nearby.  The first time it was a Cooper's hawk.  The second time, a Peregrine Falcon.  When the Peregrine came by they swarmed into the trees instead of staying in flight.  It looked like neither raptor caught a bird. The nearby Red-tailed Hawk paid no attention to the blackbirds.  The lakes had gobs of Laughing Gulls (close to 10,000) which I carefully searched (unsuccessfully) for rarities like Franklin's Gull. Waterfowl have started to arrive here including over 1000 Canada geese, hundreds of ring-necked ducks and some ruddies, lesser scaup, gadwall, pintail, and american wigeon. There were also a few American Pipits and lots of sparrows. In Leedstown several Hermit Thrushes were eating wild grapes, a Virginia Rail called from the marsh, a covey of Bobwhites flushed from a field, and a woodcock flew over at dusk (no display) as the nearly full moon brightened the sky. Cormorants were on the move at both the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers, flying upriver. Here is the list and the totals for the day. Canada Goose 1,920 Wood Duck 21 Gadwall 38                        American Wigeon 8                       American Black Duck 4 Mallard 31 Northern Pintail 3 Ring-necked Duck 675 Lesser Scaup 8  Ruddy Duck 152 Northern Bobwhite 8 Common Loon 3 Pied-billed Grebe 5 Double-crested Cormorant 227 Great Blue Heron 6 Black Vulture 10 Turkey Vulture 53 Bald Eagle 15  Northern Harrier 3 Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 Cooper's Hawk 1  Red-shouldered Hawk 2 Red-tailed Hawk 2 American Kestrel 4 Peregrine Falcon 1 Virginia Rail 1 Killdeer 87 Lesser Yellowlegs 2 Dunlin 5 Long-billed Dowitcher1 American Woodcock 1 Laughing Gull 9,750 Ring-billed Gull 136 Herring Gull 70 Great Black-backed Gull 4 Forster's Tern 2 Rock Pigeon 32 Mourning Dove 80 Belted Kingfisher 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker 10 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker1 Downy Woodpecker 8 Hairy Woodpecker  3 Northern Flicker 12 Pileated Woodpecker1 Eastern Phoebe 1 Blue Jay 17 American Crow 213 Horned Lark 2 Carolina Chickadee 15 Tufted Titmouse 12 Brown Creeper 2 Carolina Wren 38 House Wren 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet 10 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 12 Eastern Bluebird 18 Hermit Thrush 10 many were eating wild grapes American Robin 45 Gray Catbird 4 Northern Mockingbird 9 Brown Thrasher 3 European Starling 2,412 American Pipit 4 Cedar Waxwing 34 Yellow-rumped Warbler 54 Field Sparrow 28 Savannah Sparrow 40 Song Sparrow 263 Swamp Sparrow 120 White-throated Sparrow 230 White-crowned Sparrow 27 Dark-eyed Junco 14 Northern Cardinal 51 Red-winged Blackbird 3,555 Eastern Meadowlark 18 Yellow-headed Blackbird 1 Rusty Blackbird 16 eating ash and poison ivy Common Grackle 301 Brown-headed Cowbird 1,575 House Finch 2 American Goldfinch 54 many were eating wild grapes Frederick D. Atwood fredatwood AT yahoo.com Flint Hill School, 10409 Academic Dr, Oakton, VA 22124 703-242-1675 http://www.agpix.com/fredatwood http://www.flinthill.org http://tea.armadaproject.org/tea_atwoodfrontpage.html _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Sky Meadows SP, Oct. 31; Fauquier Co. From: Scott Baron <brnpelican AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:08:55 -0700 (PDT) Hello, birders. A friend and I birded Sky Meadows SP on this beautiful fall day. Top bird was the immature GOLDEN EAGLE that soared overhead a few minutes before noon headed southwest. We had spectacular views as it passed by at treetop level as we stood on the Piedmont Overlook Trail. Many other species were seen/heard in low numbers. My friend enjoyed seeing the RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS in the Walnut Grove. Happy Halloween, Scott Baron Fairfax, Va. _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/ Subject: Great White Heron - Russell County, Virginia From: Thomas Hunter <opiehunter AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:50:09 -0700 (PDT) This afternoon I was driving on Clifton Farms Road when I saw a large white bird in the edge of a field near the confluence of the Clinch and Little Rivers. I went back home and retrieved my camera and when I got back it had moved on to the Clinch River. I had to backtrack to the road that follows the Clinch River. When I found it again I could tell it was not a Great Egret and wasn't my first guess (Cattle Egret). When I was close enough to see the bill and legs it was a Great White Heron. When I looked at the photos I could also see the plume on the back of it's head. Photos are at the following link:   http://www.pbase.com/opiehunter/great_white_heron     Tom Tom & Laverne Hunter Russell County Bird Club Lebanon, VA _______________________________________________ va-bird mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird Thank you for subscribing to Va-bird, a service of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. Please consider joining the VSO. http://www.virginiabirds.net/