Another gem of a day at Wakefield (10/3)
Mike Collins (collins@ram.nrl.navy.mil)
Sat, 3 Oct 1998 16:07:07 -0400
I didn't have high hopes this morning at Wakefield Park
since it was chilly and late in migration. I was pleasantly
surprised to see Connecticut, Nashville, Black-throated
Blue, and Yellow-rumped Warblers, Ovenbird, Common
Yellowthroat, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. It was also the
first really good day this fall for sparrows at Wakefield
with Lincoln's, White-crowned, White-throated, Swamp,
and Song.
The first action was a pair of Nashvilles together along the
powerline cut. I then spotted what I thought for an instant
to be a third Nashville in the same group, but it turned out
to be a Connecticut. Imagine the confusion that little group
of birds would have caused a beginner! It was rather
strange to see the Connecticut about 15 feet up in a tree
(giving a nice view of the long undertail coverts). It must
have been an adult female (my first) since the hood was a
relatively deep shade of brown and the plumage appeared
worn (especially the tail feathers). The adult male I saw last
month also seemed to have worn plumage. Do these birds
not molt before fall migration? It's hard to imagine they
make long flights over water in worn plumage! I saw male
and female Black-throated Blue Warblers together eating
berries, something I had not seen a warbler doing before.
The hot spot for sparrows was the extreme north end of
the Park (across the creek from the baseball field).
I needed a good day like this to help cheer me up. My wife
and I have been a bit down because an injured crow we
took to a rehabber the other day ended up not making it.
By the way, the Dickcissel was at our feeder for a full
week, but we haven't seen it for a few days.
Mike Collins
Annandale, Virginia
collins@ram.nrl.navy.mil