Date: 8/28/12 3:58 pm
From: Frederick Atwood <fredatwood...>
Subject: [MDBirding] could this quick glimpse have been a bells vireo?


It was a quick glimpse, and not very close, but what caught my attention was the frequent wing-flicking like a ruby-crowned kinglet which I had never noticed in a vireo (not begging-display wing-quivering).� When I googled wing-flicking vireo the only one that came up was Bells. I did not notice tail-pumping which I read that Bells does also. This bird was a drab vireo, bigger than a kinglet, with evident, but not bold, broken spectacles (narrow broken eye-ring with light line above lores between beak and eye), a narrow wing bar (did not notice a second fainter wingbar above it but my look was brief and at least 50 feet away in my Zeiss 10X binocs) Gray to grayish green on the back, and pale underneath. I saw no yellow on this bird. My look of this bird was only a few seconds before it flitted across a gap from one thicket to the next and disappeared.

When? Yesterday Aug 27 at about 9:30 AM just when I had to rush off to meet my students and fellow teachers at Calleva to head over to Calleva's island across from Violettes Lock for yesterday and today.

Where? At Hughes Hollow. On the main trail after it passes the wetlands and then a short gap between trees where there are some tall spruces.� It was in a thicket at the base of these spruces and then flew across to the thicket closer to the wetlands.

I hope someone else can get out there and find this bird. I would have at first thought it was a warbling vireo by size and drabness but the wing-flicking, slightly-more-evident face pattern, and faint wing-bar would seem to exclude that species. Another possibility would be a dull philadelphia with pale covert edgings that I could have mistaken for a wingbar, but do they flick their wings like a kinglet? For now it will have to be an unidentified vireo. Any input would be appreciated.

I also had a yellow-bellied flycatcher and 3 empidonax sp� in the thickets by the wetlands as well as a few pewees, and magnolia, prairie, prothonotary, redstart. and northern waterthrush.

At Violettes Lock area this morning, viewing from the Calleva island,�� I had 2 black terns, 3 caspian terns, 4 forsters terns, a spotted sandpiper, 10 wood ducks, 2 bald eagles and 4 great egrets.

Frederick D. Atwood <fredatwood...>

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

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