Keep right on 'til the end of the road....

I'll have to complete this more later but here's some highlights

* Record count of species
* Keep going until the very end - the two best birds were the last (Nighthawk and Cerulean)
* Don't try and over interpret the weather / forecast - the birds know better apparently
* Great raptor passage today - lots of Coopers
* Warblers spotty but cracking views of a couple of great birds
* Time flies when you are having so much fun!
* Good extras - Kinglets and Flycatchers - they all help
* The more the merrier (...mostly)
* Cerulean juvs show hints of Blackburnian and Worm-eating - go figure...
* Merlins go like a flying mammal from Beelzebub - boy do they move
* the Sun can still burn in October
Oh and there's more....



Here's the report to VA-Bird which i will enhance later

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The Big Sit event on Sunday benefited from both excellent weather and some great birding as we outstripped our previous five year's efforts by several species, ending with 66 seen.

Dawn on the river found 6 Great Egrets, a good number for the park, but the ducks were lower than last year although there were good numbers of wood duck flying upstream for the day. A Screech Owl and a Yellow-billed Cuckoo called nearby.

Throughout the day there was a good raptor passage with upwards of 25 Coopers and 10 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 3 Osprey, a Northern Harrier, an American Kestrel and a Merlin heading in a southerly direction. Many of the birds were very high so more could have been easily missed.

We pondered if the odds Chimney Swifts we were seeing would be the last of the season throughout the day but dusk saw big numbers flying downstream.

We easily had a 6 woodpecker species day with several sightings of all species with Hairy the scarcest.
Passerine migration was spotty throughout the day but very busy at times especially at the start and end of the day. Numbers of Yellow-rumped Warblers moved through and also included 3 species of flycatcher, both Kinglets, a very showy Nashville and single Pine, Blackpoll and Black&White Warblers. At least a couple of birds frustratingly eluded specific identification
Some interesting observations were made when a couple of large roving flocks of grackles, each many hundred strong, came through. As the nearby trees filled with the birds, a number of smaller birds including the Warblers were flushed. A late House Wren showed in the nearby undergrowth.

The last two species provided the biggest surprises when first a lone Common Nighthawk quartered the river for insects and then a couple of warblers in a nearby tree attracted our attention. The first proved to be 'yet another' Yellow-rump, the second initially gave tantalizing partially obstructed views. We proceeded to watch the bird for several minutes from all angles and were surprised as we found it to be a very-late first-winter plumage Cerulean Warbler


Rob Young
Alexandria, VA



Location: Riverbend Park - CGF11
Observation date: 10/10/10
Number of species: 65

Canada Goose 300
Wood Duck 75
American Wigeon 2
American Black Duck 4
Mallard 50
Common Merganser 1
Pied-billed Grebe 5
Double-crested Cormorant 15
Great Blue Heron 2
Great Egret 6
Black Vulture 20
Turkey Vulture 15
Osprey 3
Bald Eagle 3
Northern Harrier 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 10
Cooper's Hawk 25
Red-shouldered Hawk 2
Red-tailed Hawk 5
American Kestrel 1
Merlin 1
Ring-billed Gull 4
Herring Gull 2
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1
Eastern Screech-Owl 1
Common Nighthawk 1
Chimney Swift 150
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 3
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2
Downy Woodpecker 4
Hairy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 4
Pileated Woodpecker 5
Eastern Wood-Pewee 2
Alder/Willow Flycatcher (Traill's) 2
Eastern Phoebe 2
Red-eyed Vireo 2
Blue Jay 30
American Crow 20
Fish Crow 5
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 10
Tree Swallow 5
Carolina Chickadee 10
Tufted Titmouse 10
White-breasted Nuthatch 5
Carolina Wren 3
House Wren 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 4
Eastern Bluebird 1
American Robin 1
Nashville Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 25
Palm Warbler 1
Blackpoll Warbler 1
Cerulean Warbler 1
Black-and-white Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 3
Chipping Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 1
White-throated Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 3
Common Grackle 1000
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
American Goldfinch 8
----end----