Riverbend Park Birding
Dendroica@aol.com
Wed, 14 Oct 1998 10:56:18 EDT
Since I'm only a couple of minutes away, I have been birding the Riverbend
Park meadow area for the past five mornings. This morning, with bright
sunlight, birds were quite active and a number of species, Carolina Wren,
House Finch, Chickadees, etc. were singing as if it were a spring morn.
Swamp, Chipping, Song and White-thr. Sparrows, Yellow-rumps and Flickers
remain in good numbers, but the Palm Warblers and Phoebes present for the past
few weeks seem to have moved on.
Sunday morning, 10/11, was the most active day, birds were everywhere, but
sadly, I was the only early morning birder that day. Nothing very unusual,
but flocks of sparrows, goldfinches, bluebirds, waxwings, flickers, etc. I
did see one Blue-Headed Vireo in a small wave of Red-Eyed Vireos, and Ruby and
Golden Crown Kinglets., and also a sole sapsucker.
On Saturday, 10/3, in the company of other birders, we observed a breeding
plummaged male Mourning Warbler and Lincoln Sparrows, and heard a Whip-poor-
will call once (hopefully, it wasn't a talented Mockingbird!). Connecticut
Warbler and Philadelphia Vireo have also been reported this fall. It looks
like the Riverbend meadow restoration project is beginning to pay birding
dividends, despite misgivings many of us held at the outset.
Ralph Wall
Great Falls, Va.