Cerulean in Fairlington
Paula Sullivan (paulas@erols.com)
Wed, 05 May 1999 14:50:26 -0400
Larry Cartwright found a little bonanza of warblers right in front of
his Fairlington condo near 35th and Stafford in Arlington this morning.
(Near Quaker Lane and Rt. 7, DeLorme, Pg. 77, B5) The willow oaks on
the street were hosting Yellows, Black-throated Blues and Greens, and
Redstarts at various times during the morning, but at about 12:30 PM he
called me to say that he had a Cerulean! I drove over within 10 minutes
and, sure enough, it sounded like someone was playing the tape of a
Cerulean Warbler up in the tree. There was a singing Black-throated Blue
nearby for comparison. We spotted the bird that he had already seen
earlier. It had clear white underparts except for a dark band across the
upper breast and dark streaking along the sides. The fleeting glimpse of
the Cerulean blue upperparts was unmistakable.
The woods behind my house which abuts the Alexandria Hospital on
Seminary Road was alive with song this morning too. Four
Chestnut-sided, 2 Redstarts, 2 Black-thoated Blues, Scarlet Tanagers,
Red-eyed Vireos, and a Rose-breasted Grosbeak made it appear that the
migrants are on the move again.
Paula Sullivan
Alexandria
paulas@erols.com