Easing into fall

The temperatures are still pretty warm in central Virginia, but you can certainly tell fall is on the way. The days are getting shorter and the migrants are moving through. My county total for the year is up to 177 thanks to a good morning at Wilck's Lake on Tuesday. Highlights were a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher and several migrant warblers including Cape May and Blackburnian. I also saw a distant falcon that was probably a Merlin (which would be new for the year), but I just didn't see it well enough to count it.

Shorebirds are still largely absent from the year list. Despite checking a few spots that have produced peep and plovers (Semipalmated, anyway) through the years, I'm still missing such common species as Least Sandpiper in the county in 2014. There just isn't much habitat around for them, and time is growing short for finding some of these species.

Halftime is Over!

I'm not sure how many people have been reading this blog, but in case you're wondering where I've been the past three months, and how my Prince Edward County big year is going, here's the answer.


Back in December I set a goal of seeing 170 species in Prince Edward County during 2014. I thought this was a decent goal since it was about 14 more species than I'd seen in any previous year, but by May I'd realized that my goal was too low. On 21 May I reached 172 species when I found a pair of Dickcissels in western Prince Edward County – goal achieved, with more than half the year remaining.


By this time spring migration was mostly over and I was looking forward to a summer of travel as well as other things that would take a good bit of my time. Taking a cue from U.S. football, I decided that June and July would be halftime, and that I would lay aside the big year until August. That's what I did, and as for where I've been, since the first of June I've taken separate multi-day trips to southern Ohio, Italy, Atlanta, and, most recently, Ecuador.

Chestnut-breasted Coronet, one of 45 species of hummingbird I saw in Ecuador.

Only the last of these was entirely a birding trip, though I did at least a little birding on all of them. I also completed a couple of online classes and have been busy with other things such as church, visiting family, going caving, and more that have taken me away from what can be (I admit) some rather tedious summer birding in central Virginia. (How many tick bites have I avoided?)


Since I've already passed my initial goal of 170 species I've been thinking about whether to set a new one. I decided not to, at least not numerically. Instead, the new goal for the rest of the year is simply to have fun and see a few more birds for the list. I don't know what “a few more” will mean, but there's some obvious potential. I didn't find some common migrants during the spring (e.g. Cape May Warbler) that should be easy to add to the list. I haven't seen many shorebirds yet, so finding a few of those in the next six weeks or so seems reasonable. We could always have a hurricane to make things exciting! But if I do or don't make it to some other number – 190 or 200 or whatever it might be – I don't care too much.



So, halftime is over. Yesterday I visited Sandy River Reservoir and a few ponds looking for shorebirds but didn't see much. School resumes (for me) on Monday, and my commute usually provides opportunities for quick birding stops, so it's back to the routine just in time for fall migration. Common Nighthawks should be heading through soon, then the influx of first-year warblers, and so on. Here we go....

Sandy River swallows

Four swallow species are easy to see in Prince Edward every year: Tree, Barn, and Northern Rough-winged, along with Purple Martins. Two others have never been easy to find here, but in theory should occur every year: Bank and Cliff. Finding those two was one of the little puzzles I needed to solve for my county big year. Fortunately, as of this afternoon, the puzzle is solved.

Last Friday afternoon I had a chance to do a little birding but a storm interrupted me shortly after I started. I decided to drive to Sandy River Reservoir to wait out the rain and see if the storm would bring anything with it - I was hoping for a tern or shorebird, maybe. No luck with those groups, but after the storm cleared dozens of swallows appeared over the lake. Among the more abundant Barn and Tree swallows was at least one Cliff Swallow, which was number 138 for the year.  (I wouldn't be too surprised if a breeding colony of this species eventually appeared in the county -- they can be found to the north and south of Prince Edward -- but as far as I know now they are strictly transients here.)

This afternoon was something of a repeat. I tried to do a little birding on the way home from school but it was rainy and at first a Blue Grosbeak and a Savannah Sparrow were about the best things I could find (the Blue Grosbeak was my second for the year).  But as I headed for home the rain stopped and I decided to take a look at Sandy River, and when I arrived the scene was much like last Friday -- dozens of swallows over the lake. Again, most were Barn and Tree, but I picked out a single Bank Swallow in my scope and watched it flying over the middle of the lake for a few moments. That made number 144 for the year in Prince Edward, and I think this is the first time that I've seen all six "expected" swallows in one year in the county.

Other highlights at the lake today were a single Common Loon in alternate plumage and a lingering (or transient?) Red-necked Grebe, and the best bird of the past weekend was a Marsh Wren at Briery Creek Lake.

busy time

This is the time of year when it's easy to find birds you haven't seen since last fall. Temperatures have finally warmed some, flowers are blooming, and migrants are returning. Last Friday and Saturday it seemed that White-eyed Vireos suddenly appeared, singing in every little patch of appropriate habitat around the county. Louisiana Waterthrushes and Common Yellowthroats are both back and singing as well. Phoebes and gnatcatchers are building nests. On the other hand, our winter visitors are disappearing. I saw a single Red-necked Grebe at Sandy River Reservoir on Saturday, but expect it to leave soon if it hasn't already. Numbers of more common species like White-throated Sparrows are dropping as well.

My county list for the year is now 125, the most recent additions being Prairie Warbler yesterday morning and Wood Thrush yesterday evening. None of the species I've added recently has been rare; the most interesting transients so far this month were probably Greater Yellowlegs and Caspian Terns, both at Sandy River Reservoir on 4 April. The challenge right now is to find time to look for less common migrants: the end of the school year is approaching, some family illnesses have caused schedule changes, and this weekend will be Easter weekend. Busy times!

Another fuzzy cell phone picture... Caspian Terns this time.
Taken at Sandy River Reservoir, 4 April 2014

Goodbye ducks!

March is gone and my big year is one-fourth done. Over the past two weeks ducks have been leaving the area. The flocks of diving ducks I was enjoying as recently as last week have disappeared; I only saw two ducks while checking several good ponds this morning. I still haven't seen a Northern Pintail this year, and I might have to wait for fall for that species now (at least in the county), but in general it has been a wonderful winter for waterfowl.

Several Red-necked Grebes are still hanging around the area, many now in bright breeding plumage, and during a brief stop at Briery Creek Lake yesterday I saw Red-necked, Horned, and Pied-billed grebes from a single spot in one of the main parking lots.

April has been warm and wonderful so far, and I hope it stays that way. A few species I thought I'd have seen by now haven't appeared. Probably the best example is Louisiana Waterthrush. I normally hear the first one singing in late March in the county. I've been birding in places where I expected to hear them the past two mornings, but didn't. I'm sure I'll hear one soon, though. Another sure-to-be-here-soon species is Yellow-throated Warbler. I actually saw one of these several days ago, but I was in Charlotte County. I also expect Blue-headed Vireo, Common Yellowthroat, and some others any day. And then the real rush of spring migration will begin....

This morning's highlight was a pair of yellow (i.e. "Eastern") Palm Warblers; they represented species 112 for the year in Prince Edward County. Here's hoping for lots more warblers in the next several weeks!

Bears and teal

When the weekend started I was still looking for a Green-winged Teal in the county for 2014, and finding one was a goal for Saturday's birding. On Wednesday I'd made a short trip into Charlotte County and birded briefly at one lake – and it had three Green-winged Teal on it. Nice to see, and my first anywhere for the year, but mildly frustrating at the same time. On Saturday I checked at least 12 lakes of all sizes in Prince Edward County, from the largest (Briery Creek) to some small but frequently productive ponds to some medium-sized ones in between (the Goldilocks approach, I guess). After checking about seven or eight lakes, I'd added two species to my 2014 county list, bringing it to 106, but still hadn't found the teal.

I decided to check a lake that I seldom visit because it isn't very accessible, requiring a hike in from a back road. On the walk I saw an adult Bald Eagle fly by, but not much else, and on the lake I found only four cormorants. Oh well, I thought, and turned to go.

About 100 feet back up the trail – which was actually a washed-out, muddy old road – I noticed a bear track in the soft soil. Cool, I thought; I took out my phone and took a picture. You could even see the marks from a couple of the claws.

Bear track... a very FRESH bear track....

A few feet away I saw another track, then as I walked along I found several more; wow, I wondered, how did I miss those on the way down? Then I noticed one of my boot tracks and one of the bear tracks overlapping and decided to take another picture. As I leaned over to get closer for the picture, I noticed that the heel of my bootprint was smudged – because it had been stepped on by the bear.

I'd only been at the lake for about 10 minutes. Had the bear simply watched me walk by from the trees, then headed up the road in the opposite direction? Had I spooked him away from the lake shore? I'll never know. I never saw the bear, though after finding its track atop mine I got out the video camera and was hoping to record at least a brief glimpse. But I am blaming the bear for scaring all the ducks off the lake before I got there. Thanks, bear.

As for the Green-winged Teal... I saw six at Sandy River Reservoir this evening, one of three new species for the year there today, taking my Prince Edward total to 109 for the year.

Slowly, slowly

I'm adding new birds to the year list slowly, slowly, but surely. Two have appeared this week, Osprey and Northern Shoveler. Ospreys were just a matter of time, since they nest in several places in the county, and in recent years I have been seeing the first ones return in late February. Not this year. But after being away from the county for a couple of days, I saw three on Monday, 10 March. Two of these were a pair at one of last year's nests, and they were already busy preparing for the coming nesting season. I watched one bird trying to break limbs from a tree, and then a little later saw one of the pair flying to the nest carrying a branch.


Although this has been a remarkable winter for ducks, there are still a few I have not seen in the county this year that should be findable. One that I was able to add to the list yesterday was Northern Shoveler. I was taking a quick look at a pond in eastern Prince Edward County when I saw a chestnut-bellied duck circling the pond, almost landing on it, then gaining elevation and flying away to the south. I could identify it as a male Northern Shoveler, but I was hoping for a better look. When I saw it head to the south I suspected it might be going to another pond just out of sight in that direction. I drove to a spot where I could scan that pond, and there he was.

Number 103: Northern Shoveler, 12 March 2014. Cell phone digiscope.

In addition to these new species for the Prince Edward big year, I've seen several other good birds in the past week. Highlights include Red-necked Grebes in Albemarle, Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford, and Buckingham counties and the city of Buena Vista, as well as the continued presence of many on the Prince Edward lakes. I was shown an active Bald Eagle nest in Rockbridge County last Saturday, and perhaps the biggest surprise came later the same day at Thrashers Lake in Amherst County, when I spotted an immature Golden Eagle circling over the lake just as I arrived.

Red-necked Grebe bonanza

A few days ago I saw two Red-necked Grebes (RNGRs) at Briery Creek Lake and then another at Sandy River Reservoir in the same afternoon and realized that this was a county high count - before the past few weeks, all our county records had been of single birds. Then this morning Evan Spears posted a note about seeing five RNGRs at Sandy River Reservoir and I sent him a quick note about setting another high count. Little did I know.

This afternoon, enough of our most recent snowfall had melted that I was able to get my Jeep out and go check the lakes myself, along with my son Jeremy. From the main Sandy River Reservoir boat ramp area I saw four RNGRs, but could also see several "interesting" blobs far up the lake, too far to resolve with my scope. I drove to another viewing area and started to scan the lake and was amazed to count six... eight... 13... and eventually 22 more RNGRs. These were all definitely identified in the scope, and there were still a few little blurry blobs that I couldn't identify for sure due to the distortion and distance... maybe even more grebes. This was amazing... 26 RNGRs on one lake in Prince Edward County?

Distant... fuzzy... Red-necked Grebes on Sandy River Reservoir. Fortunately the view through my scope was clearer.

From Sandy River I drove to Briery Creek Lake by way of some back roads along which we saw three Wilson's Snipe as well as a flock of blackbirds that were mostly Rusties... at least 80 and probably well over 100, and a nice find for the Rusty Blackbird Blitz that is going on this month. At Briery, we went first to the route 701 boat ramp and saw five more RNGRs along with a few Buffleheads. Then we drove up to the Causeway parking area, scanned the lake again, and saw seven more RNGRs. This made 12 RNGRs on Briery Creek Lake, and a total of 38 on the two lakes for the afternoon. Who knows how many more were out there on other lakes; who knows how many might have been on Kerr Reservoir or Smith Mountain Lake today?

little white geese

Normally if I see little white geese in a pond with Canada Geese I suspect they're some sort of domestic waterfowl, and once I look closely at them that's what they prove to be. I was happy that the little white geese I spotted last Tuesday morning with a Canada Goose flock just south of Farmville were Ross's Geese -- a first for Prince Edward County and so also a new year bird, number 101. While number 100, Pine Warbler, was predictable (see last post), number 101 certainly was not! And so our strange winter continues a little longer.

Ross's Geese south of Farmville, 25 Feb 2014

A milder surprise this week was that an Osprey had not returned to Briery Creek Lake as of Thursday evening. The last two years one has been back there by the end of February. That species is now a candidate for number 102... perhaps later today. But I'd be happy with another rare duck or goose, too.

99 and holding...

I mentioned signs of spring in my last post, and the past few days I've seen them everywhere I've been birding. Male Red-winged Blackbirds are back and singing at small ponds around the county. A few Double-crested Cormorants are back at Briery Creek Lake. On Friday I saw my first Tree Swallow for the year, and then saw 19 at Briery Creek on Saturday morning. I've seen many flocks of grackles and other blackbirds the past few days. All this plus the recent warmer temperatures, calling chorus frogs and a spring peeper, and the first few moths of the year, suggest that the winter duck bonanza is coming to a close, even though a female Long-tailed Duck was still at Sandy River until at least Friday, and flocks of Red-breasted Mergansers remain at both Briery and Sandy River this weekend as well.

The Tree Swallows I mentioned represented species 99 for the year in Prince Edward County.  Number 97 was American Woodcock, seen and heard displaying a few nights ago, and another sign of spring, and number 98 was Wood Duck. After not seeing Wood Ducks in January or early February, I saw them in two places on Friday. I might have made it to 100 for the big year on Saturday, but got a call about a jaeger at Kerr Dam in Mecklenburg County and immediately headed down there. Not a bad distraction -- 100 can wait a little longer! While watching the jaeger I saw and heard a few other species that are new for the year and that I might not see in the county in 2014, including Brown-headed Nuthatch and Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Good candidates for number 100... Pine Warbler, Osprey, Sharp-shinned Hawk, or another duck... despite the great duck show I still need a few species, such as the teal, for the year.

Slowing down

The past week has been a slow one for birding in the county, quite a change from the end of January. Once most of the ice melted on the lakes the duck numbers dropped quite a bit, though a few interesting ones are still around. As of this afternoon, at least one White-winged Scoter was still at both Sandy River Reservoir and Briery Creek Lake, as well as several Greater Scaup at each lake. There's also at least one Red-breasted Merganser at Sandy River. But the Canvasbacks and Redheads have mostly disappeared, nearly all the Hooded Mergansers seem to have gone (presumably back to smaller lakes), and the numbers of grebes have dropped as well.

gull on ice... Sandy River Reservoir... 8 Feb 2014

So far my only new bird for the year in February was the Great Horned Owl that I saw last night. I was able to locate him in my scope and briefly watch him(?) watching me. I spent some time today looking for other owls -- mainly a Long-eared Owl -- which is a low-percentage proposition (look in a lot of trees, and a very low percentage have an owl in them). I have found a few Long-eared Owls this way in the past, but never in Prince Edward County. I did find a patch of whitewash and a couple of reasonably fresh owl pellets... but not their source.

Although my cold fingers tell me it's still winter, a few subtle signs of spring are showing. The days are getting longer, of course. I've seen two flocks of blackbirds flying overhead the past couple of days, and both days have heard Mourning Doves actively calling. But for now... it's still pretty quiet. And I wouldn't be surprised if we got another round of cold weather and maybe a few more interesting waterbirds on the big lakes before the spring really hits.

One Month Done

January is over, and I have not birded quite so much in January in a long time. No long trips, but lots of Prince Edward County back roads....


Waterbirds – geese, ducks, swans, loons, and grebes – have been the big story so far this year, for me locally as well as across the state and region. There seems to be a strong correlation between the cold weather to our north and northwest, and perhaps more specifically to the ice cover on the Great Lakes, and the appearance of these birds in our area.

Mute Swans and ducks at Sandy River Reservoir, 31 Jan 2014
cell phone digiscope

The appearance of scoters and Red-necked Grebes makes me think this way, and I wonder whether the Mute Swans I saw yesterday are also from the Great Lakes area.

Some stats: I finished January with 94 species in the county. Of these, nine were single sightings of single individuals, but only one of those, Red-necked Grebe, is a bird I can't expect to see again in the county this year (or decade – the last one I saw there was in 2003). All the others are either owls – which required night birding – or birds that are rare in winter but should be much more common as migrants or breeders (e.g. Bonaparte's Gull, Fish Crow, Gray Catbird, House Wren and others).


I also saw five species that I only found once, but which were represented by multiple (two or more) individuals. Of these, Purple Finch (a group of five) is a bit of a surprise, but only in comparison to other winters. Normally they are around; this winter they are (mostly) not. Mute Swan and Red-throated Loon, represented by two individuals each, were both surprises and cannot be counted on again this year (or any year) in the county. Wilson's Snipe (also two) is more common as a migrant; I got lucky and saw a couple by the side of the road, but I count on seeing more in spring. Rusty Blackbirds (a flock of 32) are usually present in the county in the winter, but are a bit tricky to find some winters. That combined with their ongoing population crash (read more here) always makes me glad to see them.


One of the 94 species, White-winged Scoter, had not previously been documented in the county, but in the past month has gone from being unknown here to being the scoter with the most reports in the county. This reflects an ongoing event in Virginia and adjacent states where dozens of White-winged Scoters have been appearing – up to 50 or more on the Ohio River at Louisville (I saw only one there while living and birding in Louisville for over eight years). And another species, Red-throated Loon, might or might not have been seen here before, but had not been definitely documented (anyone who knows otherwise – please send me details!).


What's next? As always, that largely depends on the weather. I still need a few resident birds for the year list (Red-headed Woodpecker, Great Horned Owl), but I am not stressed about finding them. A few more rare waterbirds would be nice. A rare owl would, too. But so would warm weather! I'm tired of birding with cold, aching fingers....

Duck Days

Highlights for the past week have been the unprecedented numbers of several species of ducks and other waterbirds that continue to appear in the county, and elsewhere in our region, perhaps due to the extensive freezing of lakes to our north. Here are some examples:

I wrote about finding the first White-winged Scoters for the county a couple of weeks ago. Last Friday, another group appeared at Sandy River Reservoir – seven this time, all adults. At least one was still there on Saturday, but I haven't seen them since.

More subtle, perhaps, but almost as surprising, is the number of Greater Scaup in the area right now. The species was not definitively recorded in the county until 2007, and the task is normally to find a single Greater Scaup amidst the Lessers. But for the past several days Greaters have outnumbered Lessers at Sandy River, and today I counted more than 60 there – by far a high count for the county.

Another species that is irregular here, though not completely unknown, is the Red-breasted Merganser. They first appeared Friday, and this evening I saw nine at Sandy River.

I saw 14 Redhead, all drakes, on a farm pond this afternoon, and five Canvasbacks, also all drakes, at Briery Creek Lake this morning.

Ring-billed Gull numbers also continue to build. My count / estimate at Sandy River this evening was 445, and at least four young Herring Gulls were mixed in with them.

Pied-billed Grebe numbers are building on the larger lakes, no doubt because the smaller lakes are freezing, and several Horned Grebes are around as well.

A few things I haven't seen yet this year, but that the cold might send our way, include the other two scoter species, Common Merganser, Red-necked Grebe, maybe a rare gull... and who knows what else.


Besides water birds, I've had a couple of other additions to the big year list. Last Thursday I was surprised to find a small flock of Purple Finches along the entrance road to Briery Creek. I'm glad I won't have to wait until next fall for that one. And most recently, I heard a Barred Owl this morning, which brought my county total to 91 species for the year.

Loons! and more ducks

Highlights of the past two days -- pre-storm and post-storm -- have been loons and ducks at Sandy River Reservoir. Yesterday a single Common Loon appeared on the lake, and not long after that I got good looks at a pair of Greater Scaup along with a few Lesser Scaup. Like most inland locations, in Prince Edward County, Greaters are much less common than Lessers, so they were a nice addition to the list.

Early this morning I was glad to see that the storm had passed leaving less than two inches of light snow near my home, and I was able to return to Sandy River in the early afternoon to see if the storm had brought anything other than cold, wind, and snow with it. Apparently it had.

The first new bird for the year was American Wigeon, a pair associating with Mallards and Gadwalls near the dam. Almost as exciting -- maybe more so, even though it was not a new species -- was an adult male Long-tailed Duck.

Male LTDU, 22 Jan 2014, Sandy River Reservoir

These birds are just beautiful, and even though this is the third record of the species here in recent weeks, it is not something I expected to see. Soon I had also noticed two Common Goldeneye above the dam -- another new species for 2014.

Moving to a site farther up the lake, I was amazed to see the male Long-tailed Duck less than 10 meters from shore when I drove in to the parking area, offering even better views than earlier. It was not far from the Greater Scaup pair, which also were even closer than they had been yesterday. I then started looking for the Common Loon -- and instead found two Red-throated Loons in nearly the same spot on the lake. This is a first county record for this species. I attempted to get pictures, taking breaks in my car when the cold was too much for my gloveless fingers.

About the best image I could get of two Red-throated Loons
22 Jan 2014, Sandy River Reservoir

During one of my car breaks I texted Fenton Day and he made it out to the lake in time to see the goldeneye, Greater Scaup, and Red-throated Loons. By the time he arrived the Long-tailed Duck had disappeared. With a single Bonaparte's Gull that I noticed mixed in with the Ring-billeds, my year list is now at 87 species.

Edging towards 80

Not a lot to report from the past week, just some cold and wet birding squeezed into my schedule that resulted in only a few new birds for the year. Probably the highlight was last Monday night, when we were discussing our evening plans and my daughter Anna said “we could go owling!” I must be raising her right.

I took her suggestion, and we went out searching for owls for about an hour and a half while the rest of the family was occupied elsewhere. After a few fruitless stops, a red phase Eastern Screech-Owl called in response to my recording, then flew in and landed within about 15 feet of Anna, giving her great looks before it flew away.

Today at Briery Creek I (finally) heard a Hairy Woodpecker, which made 80 species for the year so far. Otherwise -- there have been decent numbers of Ring-billed Gulls at Sandy River Reservoir this week, but no Bonaparte's (or any other species). A few Horned Grebes have been hanging around both Sandy River and Briery Creek Lake, along with the more common duck species, but that's about it for the highlights.

Scoters in the rain

I had no idea if I would even go birding today, since the forecast was for cold rain all day, but I had to run a few errands in Farmville and I decided to make a quick trip to Sandy River Reservoir afterwards. The rain had abated somewhat when I left my house, but by the time the errands were done and I drove into the parking lot at the lake the rain was steady again. But a group of Ring-billed Gulls sitting on the water caught my attention, and when I looked a them through the scope, I saw that they had a single first-winter Herring Gull with them – new for the year.


After watching the gull for a short time, the rain increased and I sat in my car debating whether to leave. I decided to wait a few minutes, and when the rain eased a bit I started to scan the lake. Two large, dark ducks stood out among the Ruddy Ducks above the dam. I immediately thought “scoters!” but was cautious; both had their heads tucked, and visibility across the water was awful. After a minute or so I could see white in their wings, and I knew that would make them White-winged Scoters, a first county record as far as I know, but the visibility was still poor thanks to the rain and mist.

Awful picture of a great duck -- White-winged Scoter

Gradually, though, the ducks came closer, the rain slowed even more, and it was clear that they were White-winged Scoters. I took some terrible pictures, though I did get some relatively good looks through my scope. At one point the two scoters took off and flew a couple of laps around the lower part of the lake, giving me great views of their white secondaries. They also spent a few minutes diving, but when I left they were resting again not far above the dam where I'd first seen them.

With this record, I've now seen all three species of scoters at Sandy River Reservoir, though it has been a few years since the last record of either Black or Surf scoters there. This is a definite plus for the big year, even more than the Long-tailed Duck. Just the sort of thing to make me glad I went birding in the cold rain.

Looking for longspurs

Or even one longspur, actually.

On Tuesday morning I was scanning the ducks at Sandy River Reservoir when Evan Spears showed up. He told me that his group had found a Lapland Longspur on a farm in western Prince Edward County during the Darlington Heights Christmas Bird Count last Sunday. This is a first record for the county, so obviously it would be a great addition to my year list. After receiving permission to visit the farm, I stopped by that afternoon on my way home from school. I found Horned Larks, with which the longspur would probably be associating, as well as American Pipits, but no longspur.
To make a long story short, I've been back the past two days, looking for the longspur, and have found larks on each visit, but no longspur.

Horned Lark in the driveway. 9 Jan 2014. Cell phone digiscope.

Other interesting birds included an adult White-crowned Sparrow singing a partial song this morning as well as several Savannah Sparrows. As long as the flock of larks stays around there's hope of seeing the longspur as well, but the next two days are supposed to be rainy, so I doubt I'll get to look for it much over the coming weekend.

The good news is that I did see some new birds for the year on the farm, and the 2014 county list is now at 73 species. Number 70 was Common Raven, a pair seen over US 15 south of Farmville (a common occurrence these days); number 73 was Brown-headed Cowbird, which is common on the farm (I saw over 350 there today). Also, while at Sandy River Reservoir on Tuesday morning, Evan and I saw a group of about 45 Redhead, a high count for the county as far as I know. When I visited briefly this afternoon, they were all gone.

I'm also starting to play the "what's next?" game, as in "which new species will I see next?" Some that I still need for the year are Hairy Woodpecker, Sharp-shinned Hawk, and Fox Sparrow, as well as several ducks and any owls. But I'd really like a longspur.

Ducks and Tweaks

A few days ago I wrote about my surprise at seeing a Canvasback at Sandy River Reservoir for my first duck of the year. Saturday morning, the largely white duck emerging from the dawn mist was a Long-tailed Duck. It could be one of the ones that were there last month, it could be a new arrival – but I was glad to see it.

Long-tailed Duck, Sandy River Reservoir,  4 Jan 2014

Until a few winters ago there were no Prince Edward County records of this species, and I wasn't counting on it for my big year. Several other ducks were around, though so were several duck hunters, one of whom flushed the Long-tailed Duck and the Ruddy Ducks he was with, but not before I could get a few pictures.

Not far away, the second surprise of the chilly morning was a Gray Catbird. While I would certainly count on seeing this species later in the year, to find one here in January is a treat, and represents one of the few January records for the county. Other new species from Friday and Saturday brought my year total for the county to 64 species. Although I am not a fan of the cold, the approaching weather system could well bring more ducks, gulls, and perhaps a Red-necked Grebe or something even more exciting our way during the coming week.

This is evident if you've visited the blog before today, but I decided to change its name. The original name was pretty bland, if descriptive. I also opened comments to anyone (you don't have to register to comment). More tweaks to the site will likely follow.

Getting Started!

I started my Prince Edward County big year today, not yesterday, since we were out of town visiting family for the New Year's holiday. I made it to Sandy River Reservoir this morning a little after 7 a.m. The lake was foggy... but I could see a large, largely white duck through the mist. When the fog finally lifted enough that I could identify it, I was pleasantly surprised that my first duck of the year was a drake Canvasback, accompanied by three drake Redheads. I would not have predicted that – a great beginning to the year. Other nice surprises in the morning were a few dozen Rusty Blackbirds foraging in a field with robins, and a flock of more than a dozen Chipping Sparrows.

I had to be at my office during the middle of the day, but after leaving did enough birding to reach 53 species by the time the light faded. The last 2+ hours were spent trying to add a few species in the cold rain. Best bird of afternoon was a House Wren – my first House Wren record for Prince Edward in January.