While walking the puppy...

ctaylor@seamail.nos.noaa.gov
Mon, 19 Oct 98 12:51:14 -0500 

I just got a puppy who was unwanted by its previous owners (care-takers), and I
have found him to be a great little (soon to be a big Labrador retriever)
birding buddy.  I didn't think I would be able to bird and walk the dog at the
same time, but the dog "Otter" seems to be scaring up a few birds I probably
wouldn't have otherwise seen, even though he was staying on his leash near me. 
And of course, since I did not have my bins with me or my glasses (I think I
broke some sort of birding commandment here) I couldn't positively identify some
of the birds.  There is a possibility I may have had a goshawk in my back yard.
We were walking along the perimeter of our yard (in Reston) which borders a good
sized wooded area cut by a road, and suddenly a very large accipiter (red
shoulder  - sm. red tail size) flew from a perch just above my head (and near
the many bird feeders we have).  This bird seemed to be uniformly gray in
shading, and had a very long large tail (definitely an accipiter tail), and did
not take off at any great speed.   It left the remains of a chipmunk behind(just
the head), which of course the dog found.  I guess this could have been a large
Cooper's but I like to think of the possibilities, since an immature Gos was
seen in Reston earlier in the year.  

On another walk with the puppy, I scared something up a few times on the way to
and from lake Fairfax via a wooded trail, which I can only assume was a
bobwhite.  It was so dark in the woods I couldn't get any field marks, but it
did make a fluttering or beating noise while flying from the ground to another
less conspicuous location. The sound was not like that of a mourning dove's wing
beats.  It was about quail size and flew like a pheasant might (no where near as
large though).  I've never heard bob-whites in my area, and have never seen
chuck-wills widow or its relatives in the woods.  Gosh I wish I had had my bins.
 There is so much construction going on in the area, I wouldn't be surprised if
some of the displaced animals are taking refuge in the few remaining wooded
areas, especially since there is an active beaver dam just at the end of the
trail.  Any thoughts on either of my partial sightings?  I promise I'll bring my
eyes with me next time!

Christine Taylor
Reston VA