Tyson's Corner, IAD, Virginia, August 2014

There are few things in life that can’t be fixed with a great look at a snake or an owl or even both. After a long day yesterday followed by a couple of beers, I was reluctant to rise for the lark and festered until almost lunchtime. It wasn’t a hangover as such, just a beery fatigue that seems to hit more often these days. I wasn’t expecting much from the pockets of woodland around Tyson’s Corner in the middle of the day, so I sauntered about not paying much attention, but I got a few surprises.

First, unfortunately, building has begun on the wild ground behind Tyson’s 2 Mall. With the arrival of the Metro train, land around the station is likely to be in high demand and the woodland pockets are being squeezed. For the first few minutes, all bird sounds were drowned out by construction noise from two sides. Even the strident “birdeep” calls of the Northern Cardinals were barely audible.

I moved on along Westbranch Drive and ducked back into the woods at Google Earth ref; 38 55 34.20N 77 13 21.95W, where the path leads down to a small pond. A Great Crested Flycatcher caught my eye from high up and at last I could hear a Carolina Chickadee with its fast call.

The outbound journey was so uneventful that I could hardly be bothered to look on the return leg, but a Spotted Sandpiper, teetering on a log before flying onto the shallow edge of the pond, had me reaching for my camera. This would be a state first and I wanted a photo just for the record.

As I was putting the camera back into my backpack, I spotted a long black shape in the shade beneath a tree. “Be a snake, be a snake”, I am sure you all know the mantra.

Sure enough, this turned out to be a Rat Snake. It wasn’t a very big specimen of a species that can grow to over 8 feet, but it was slow and photogenic. I am sad to say that it was probably heading for a warm spot in the sun when I noticed it and it had already spotted me as it turned slowly and sluggishly crept back into its tree.

I was pleased that I hadn’t taken the short cut home now and I was rewarded again on investigating a commotion a little further round. I had nearly doubled back on myself and wondered if the birds were alert to the snake, but they were calling from on high and about 30 meters from the snake’s tree. It had to be worth a look in the event that there might be an owl. I scanned the trees where the fuss appeared to be coming from, but couldn’t see anything. I put down my backpack and moved further in. I glanced to my left to check my footing on the slope and saw a Barred Owl looking back at me. 

The owl was half way up a tree that was half way down the slope which put us on eye-level with each other. After a few moments, I regained my composure (please note that at no time during the proceedings did the owl’s poise desert it) and moved slowly back to my camera. 

We were unfortunately in deep shade and there was a bit of camera movement on most of the pictures, but by fashioning a rest out of my camera bag and a tree stump, I managed to get a few usable shots before retreating.

I can't ever remember getting a better look at an owl. I was fortunate to be so close to the bird without it flushing before I spotted it and lucky again that it tolerated my movement as I backed away.

Bird list for Tyson’s Corner; 20

Mallard 3, Red-tailed Hawk 1, Spotted Sandpiper 1, Mourning Dove 3, Barred Owl 1, Northern Flicker 2, Great-crested Flycatcher 1, American Crow 4, Carolina Chickadee 1, Tufted Titmouse 1, Blue-grey Gnatcatcher 1, American Robin 15, Grey Catbird 10, Northern Mockingbird 2, European Starling 1, Song Sparrow 3, Northern Cardinal 5, Common Grackle 1, Brown-headed Cowbird 1, House Sparrow 8.

There are more posts from Tyson's Corner at the links below;

http://redgannet.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/tysons-corner-virginia-iad.html

http://redgannet.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/tysons-corner-virginia-february-2012.html

http://redgannet.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/raglans-wood-tysons-corner.html

Visit the dedicated USA and Canadapage for more posts.

Birding, Birdwatching, Tyson’s Corner, Virginia.

Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, IAD, August 2014

A ribbon of mist followed the serpentine course of the Shenandoah River in the valley below the ridge of mountains that make up the Shenandoah National Park. It was a beautiful start to the day. The sun had risen to the east, but was still low enough to cast the shadow of the mountains across the valley. The many pull-outs allow motorists to stop and enjoy the tremendous views as farmland rolls away to the west and hills disappear into the distance on the other side.

My main focus for this drive was to find Black Bears. I had started early from Tyson’s Corner and arrived at the park gate just before six (this was the northern gate at Front Royal, Google Earth ref; 38 54 10.800N 78 11 33.20W ). 

White-tailed Deer are common around the entrance and were seen for much of the morning close to the road. I stopped at Dickey Ridge Visitor Center to take a look around the area and found Eastern Towhee, American Goldfinch and Chipping Sparrow.

The pull-outs gave good opportunity to find birds and brought Dark-eyed Junco, Cedar Waxwing, Ruby-throated Hummingbird and Red-headed Vireo. But mainly, I stopped hoping that a bear might be feeding in a meadow cut into the hillside below the pull-out.

The sound track for the day was provided by the Eastern Towhees and Eastern Wood-Peewees. There seemed to be one or both singing every time I stopped.

An Indigo Bunting stopped me with a flash of blue and I pulled in to a trailhead parking lot. A Hooded Warbler popped up and gave me my first look at a fully hooded bird. Short walks onto the Appalachian Trail brought Blackpoll Warbler, American Redstart and Worm-eating Warbler.

My plan was to stop at Elk Wallow and count up my tally of bears over a breakfast burrito, but Elk Wallow came and went with no sightings yet (and the breakfast burrito did nothing to enhance my bear-spotting capabilities).

I stopped in at the next picnic spot (Pinnacles) and took a walk down the trail for a short way and found myself in a bird storm. This was a feeding party that had picked up a full head of steam and was ploughing through the forest. Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Red-bellied Nuthatch, White-bellied Nuthatch and Black-and-white Warbler made up the bark pickers, while American Redstart, Red-eyed Vireo and Carolina Chickadee flicked about in the leaves.

Blue-headed Vireo kept low in the undergrowth with Northern Cardinal while Scarlet Tanager and Tufted Titmouse held the high points. All the time, American Robin and Grey Catbird kept  a-squeaking and a-mewing. It was hard to keep up.

At last, as I approached Skyland, I found my first bear. Even for one who was beginning to wonder if he would find a bear today, it was an unsatisfactory sighting. A small cub looking frightened had been separated from its mother and dashed anxiously through the roadside bushes and disappeared. I am sure his mother must have been close by and that they were reunited shortly afterwards, but it was not the wild experience that I had hoped for.

The bear in Big Meadow was far more interesting. It was a long way off across a very large meadow, but as a result, it was completely unconcerned and fed happily, head down. A family was walking in the meadow and didn’t appear to have seen the bear. Watching from a distance of over quarter of a mile, I was able to see the bear’s reaction as the family came closer. It was aware of their approach and looked up occasionally, but seemed unmoved until they came within about 70-80m. At this point the bear began to move away from them, continuing to feed as it went, but looking up more regularly to check that its flight distance was being maintained. The family took a left turn and moved away from the bear which settled down again to feeding in earnest.

This experience allowed me to judge what the bear would tolerate and I walked out onto the meadow to get a bit closer. At about 100m or so, the bear looked up to check on my progress and I decided that I was close enough to allow him to continue feeding without disturbing him.

It was now well into the afternoon and I decided to start for home. I had about 60 miles to cover along Skyline Drive to get back to the gate and I wanted to do it while there was still some light in the sky.

The verges that run along the roadsides were all filled with an array of wild flowers and these attracted the butterflies. I couldn’t resist a few moments spent on my backside watching them.

A third and then a fourth bear were seen on the way out, but I had changed my exposure settings for the bright, well-lit butterflies and forgot to change them for dark bears in the shade.

An exciting moment came as the sun dropped below the ridge and a large owl flew across the road in the half light. I pulled up and checked the roadside trees, but the owl saw me first and flew again. I saw just enough of it to say that it was a Barred Owl.

Bird list for Shenandoah NP; 37

Turkey Vulture 2, Mourning Dove 1, Barred Owl 1, Chimney Swift 6, Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1, Downy Woodpecker 6, Hairy Woodpecker 1, Pileated Woodpecker 2, Eastern Wood-Peewee 15, Blue-headed Vireo 1, Red-headed Vireo 10, American Crow 4, Common Raven 2, Tree Swallow 6, Barn Swallow 20, Carolina Chickadee 2, Tufted Titmouse 2, Red-breasted Nuthatch 1, White-breasted Nuthatch 1, Blue-grey Gnatcatcher 1, American Robin 8, Grey Catbird 2, European Starling 8, Cedar Waxwing 40, Worm-eating Warbler 12, Black-and-white Warbler 2, Hooded Warbler 1, American Redstart 3, Blackpoll Warbler 1, Eastern Towhee 8, Chipping Sparrow 18, Field Sparrow 4, Dark-eyed Junco 1, Scarlet Tanager 5, Northern Cardinal 5, Indigo Bunting 2, American Goldfinch 20.

Mammals seen;

Black Bear 4, Chipmunk 8, Gray Squirrel 10, White-tailed Deer 30.

Shenandoah NP is a little over an hour from Washington DC. It can be accessed at the north end through Front Royal on Route 66.
There are plenty of picnic sites, rest rooms and lay-bys. There are a few stops with food available at various points along the 105 mile Skyline Drive that passes through the park.
Park regulations require that you pull completely off the road if stopped. Maps, details of facilities and charges can be found at the National Parks Service website for Shenandoah.
If the weather has been bad, the park authorities may close the road. Check the website above before you travel.
The road is open as a public route so you may pass at any time provided that the gates are open. A $15 fee applies and is valid for 7 days.

Please also bring plenty of insect repellent if you visit during the summer months.

For a previous post from Shenandoah NP, see the link below;

http://redgannet.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/shenandoah-national-park-virginia-iad.html

Visit the dedicated USA and Canadapage for more posts.

Birding, Birdwatching, Shenandoah NP, Virginia.

Tyson's Corner, Virginia, February 2012

The morning started very slowly at Tyson’s Corner, where we stay during our slip on Washington Dulles trips. The dead-end path was birded with nary a one seen and only a couple heard. The earthworks for the construction site now cover what used to be the sunken meadow (Google Earth ref; 38 55 25N 77 13 13W) and it looks as if the deer have moved on.

Just a short way along the pavement is another small wood and the path continues across a little bridge where a pond is overlooked by residential units (Google Earth ref; 38 55 41N 77 13 26W). The residents here often feed the birds and at last I began to see some Northern Cardinals and Carolina Chickadees. They looked a bit nervous this morning and the reason soon became clear. A young Cooper’s Hawk was perched in a tree close to the feeders. Three Blue Jays came down from the larger trees to try and shoo it away, but the hawk paid them no attention.

At the bottom of Park Run Drive an ornamental patch of shrubs and blossom trees had attracted a Northern Mockingbird, Tufted Titmice and Carolina Chickadees. I don’t know if Virginian mockingbirds are more confiding than in other states, but they always seem more approachable here than anywhere else.

A line of bushes at the entrance to an office block was busy with birds with White-throated Sparrows, Blue Jays and Downy Woodpeckers. As I leaned on the wall to take a picture a security guard came out to shoo me away. No-one is allowed to take photographs on this private land without permission it appears and that concession was not forthcoming, even after a chat with her boss. Actually, it was not so much a chat as a monosyllabic refusal. “He don’t allow no-one to take no pictures of this facility”, the original guard informed me as I left, to which I should have replied, “It’s not a facility, it’s a bush”, but instead I muttered something under my breath and returned to the public footpath ten feet from where I had been refused permission to take pictures.
From here I could see straight into the boss’s office and spent a few happy moments irritating him by taking long lens pictures of him through the window of his facility before turning my attention back a Song Sparrow.

Some of the offices here are low-level government administration buildings and the security guards are wound tighter than tripwires. I have been detained by the police before now for using camera and binoculars along the roads here, so it is probably best not to tease the officers while they are doing their duty.

Another mockingbird posed at the back entrance to the hotel, again allowing a very close approach.

Birds seen; 12

Great Blue Heron 1, Mallard 2, Cooper’s Hawk 1, Mourning Dove 4, Downy Woodpecker 1, Carolina Wren 1, Northern Mockingbird 3, Carolina Chickadee 3, Tufted Titmouse 4, Song Sparrow 3, White-throated Sparrow 6, Northern Cardinal 5.

Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, IAD

I have been humming John Denver songs ever since I discovered that the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah National Park are only a one hour drive from our slip hotel in Tyson’s Corner. On an IAD itinerary, I found myself with a day off and a companion in the shape of AM. We had a car and a tent and were out of the hotel by 05.00.

After stopping for provisions, we made it to the park entrance at Front Royal (Google Earth ref; 38 54’ 11”N 78 14’ 33”W) by 06.30. Immediately we found our first White-tailed Deer and very shortly after that, our first Black Bear. We had stopped at the visitor centre at Dickey Ridge (Google Earth ref; 38 52’ 18”N 78 12’ 17”W) and were taking an exploratory walk around.

American Goldfinches were common and Eastern Towhees were calling from the trees. We had moved onto a short circular road (which I think was intended as an overflow car park) to get a better look at a Red-bellied Woodpecker when AM noticed something moving in the weeds by the road and as we watched, a small bear’s head popped out. It must have been as surprised as we were for it darted back into cover with a little yelp. We quickly withdrew as its mother was almost certainly close by and might have reacted badly to the cub’s scare. We returned a few moments later, safe in the car, but the bear had moved on. 

I must commend AM for her reaction to the bear and for showing no qualms about taking another walk further down the road which brought Worm-eating Warbler, Tufted Titmouse and the ubiquitous Chipping Sparrow. We were still on a bit of a high when we saw our second bear of the morning. This one was moving through the woods by the side of the road, feeding and snuffling through the roots and leaf litter. We watched for a while until it came down into the roadside weeds and then out onto the tarmac, crossing the road right in front of us. AM felt the urge to get out of the car, but thankfully resisted.

We were on Skyline Drive which runs for 105 miles north and south through the park. There are plenty of pull-ins, viewpoints and often there is enough room on the shoulder to pull over to look at something exciting. Park regulations require that you pull completely off the road if stopped. Maps, details of facilities and charges can be found at the National Parks Service website for Shenandoah.

Surely we had used up all our luck after we found a third bear which gave us a desultory look before continuing on its way through the woods. We had set out with a philosophy that you don’t see bears if you don’t go down to the woods, but had been realistic about our chances of actually finding one. To find three was way beyond what we had expected.

At Elk Wallow (Google earth ref; 38 44’ 20”N 78 18’ 36”W), we stopped for a breakfast burrito and a chat with a fine chap named Russ. He gave us a tip which was to wear a sheet of Bounce (the fabric conditioning sheet) inside our hats to keep the insects away. We weren’t sure if he was setting us up, and suspected a conspiracy to take the rise out of English people when someone repeated the same advice to us later on.

At Big Meadow (38 31’ 42”N 78 26’ 14”W), we paid the $20, pitched camp, brewed up and then took a short walk along the legendary Appalachian Trail. It was a non-descript forest path for the stretch that we walked, but it runs for more than 2000 miles from Georgia in the south to Maine in the north and was brought to the attention of the non-hiking public by Bill Bryson in his 1997 book, ‘A Walk in the Woods.’ White-tailed Deer were seen in the gloom along The Trail as well as White-breasted Nuthatch, Wood Thrush and Northern Cardinal.

An evening ranger walk from the visitors' centre at Big Meadow was not what we had expected, but was interesting in its own quirky way. More importantly, Northern Bobwhites were calling from the meadow which gave us (well, me) a focus for the next morning.

There are stories about AM and what an important part tea plays in her morning regimen, but she agreed to have a walk out across the meadow to find the bobwhite before breakfast. I shall put our stroke of luck down to AM’s self-sacrificing attitude, because I don’t usually deserve such good fortune.

A Northern Bobwhite was calling just a few meters from where we parked the car and allowed us a very close approach while putting all his effort into his characteristic and emphatic “Bob, Bob White.”

There were plenty of deer around the campsite as well as Eastern Chipmunk and a Grey Catbird that came onto our pitch to serenade AM.

We de-camped and began our journey home, stopping occasionally at lookout points and finding Indigo Bunting, Ruby-throated Hummingbird and Common Yellowthroat. The bunting proved elusive and would not sit still long enough for me to get a good focus. I had missed a few of them on the first day as they fed from thistles with American Goldfinches at the pull-ins. I would have given some good stuff for that picture.

At the Elk Wallow picnic area, we took our last walk into the woods and added Pileated Woodpecker to our list after reaching as far as the AT again. We had warmed to Russ on the outbound journey and dropped in to the service area to see him again. He told us that 3 or 4 bear sightings in a day was about the norm, but let’s not forget that this was also the man who had us wearing fabric conditioning sheets to ward off the insects, so it was hard to know how much credence to give him.

Whether you use Bounce sheets or proper repellent, you will need something if you visit the mountains in July. We used liberal amounts of repellent as well as the fabric conditioning sheets and were still pestered by tiny flying insects. Bites though, were mercifully very few.

We rounded off the trip with a final (fourth, so below par for 2 days according to Russ) bear sighting as the weather began to close in and we headed for the park gate to drive the 60 miles back along Route 66 to Tyson’s Corner.

Here is a tip for anyone hiring a car from IAD, Washington Dulles Airport; have some quarters to hand. Toll roads from the airport demand exact change. The toll on Route 267 East is 75 cents and you pay twice, so will need 6 quarters. I felt very foolish blocking the toll gate and having to walk back along the line begging for change. Twice.

Another tip for walking in bear country is to make a noise so that the bears know that you are coming. Seasoned walkers often use bells attached to their hiking sticks to alert the animals to their approach. Remember that a surprised bear is a dangerous bear and use your common sense; do not approach bears and do not leave food out.

Birds seen; 28

Turkey Vulture 9, Northern Bobwhite 1, Mourning Dove 4, Chimney Swift 6, Ruby-throated Hummingbird 4, Red-bellied Woodpecker 2, Pileated Woodpecker 2, Eastern Phoebe 2, Barn Swallow 32, Cedar Waxwing 10, Brown Thrasher 4, American Robin 14, Wood Thrush 1, Tufted Titmouse 19, White-breasted Nuthatch 4, Blue Jay 4, American Crow 21, Common Raven 4, House Sparrow 12, American Goldfinch 40, Black and white Warbler 2, Worm-eating Warbler 1, Common Yellowthroat 1, Eastern Towhee 17, Chipping Sparrow 65, Northern Cardinal 4, Indigo Bunting 7, Brown-headed Cowbird.

Mammals seen; 4

Black Bear 4, Eastern Chipmunk 6, White-tailed Deer, Grey Squirrel 25.

Other posts from this destination can be found at the links below;
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/09/raglans-wood-tysons-corner-fairfax-va.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/03/great-falls-park-virginia.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/03/tysons-corner-virginia-iad.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/05/great-falls-park-virginia-april.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/07/raglans-wood-july-2011.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/07/great-falls-park-july.html

Visit the dedicated USA and Canada page for other posts from the region.

Chipping Sparrow
Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, IAD

Great Falls Park, Virginia, April.

The elasticated waistband on my camouflage trousers is working at full capacity since my most recent weight gain incident, so the cycle ride to Great Falls Park gave me the opportunity for a low-impact workout. Apart from stopping half-way for a Snickers, muffin and Coke breakfast, the regime is working well.

North Virginia was lightly leaved in the last week of April and the temperature was very pleasant for the gentle ride, mostly downhill, towards the river. A very amiable ranger charged me the $3.00 entrance fee and made the remark that I was obviously “from the airline”. I patted myself down to see if I was wearing a name badge to give myself away, but since I seldom wear it with my uniform, the odds that I had inadvertently clipped it on to my birding silks were low. Apparently, it is a popular destination for airline cyclists. Who knew?

He kindly offered to keep an eye on the bike while I looked for birds and I started in the picnic area/car park around and to the right or south ( Google Earth ref; 38 59’ 37”N 77 15’ 16”W).

The loud drumming from a Pileated Woodpecker drew me across the damp grass where I stopped at a picnic table and began scanning. There was a lot of bird activity here and the first thing to catch my eye was a Great Crested Flycatcher at the top of a late-leafing tree. A Rose-breasted Grosbeak flew in to the same tree and, shortly afterwards, a Baltimore Oriole. When a Scarlet Tanager suddenly appeared, it felt as if I had hit the mother lode.

Chipping Sparrows were singing with a long, drawn out trill and the shorter bursts from the Northern Parula gave me my first Warbler of this year’s campaign. It was warblers that I was primarily hoping to find, with the theory that the river may act as a slight hurdle or a funnel to concentrate the birds. The Potomac is not very wide here and is pinched at the rapids, but the migrants may prefer to skirt along the bank, which heads predominately north just here, rather than cross immediately. As far as theories go, it was the only one I had, so it formed the basis of my day and the results were looking good so far.

Residents of the park were also out in force, the Red-bellied Woodpecker, Carolina Chickadee and Eastern Bluebirds were all feeding voraciously. Turkey Vultures and Black Vultures had been raiding the dustbins which had been well filled after Easter Sunday picnics (bravo to the picnickers of Fairfax County whose litter was, without exception (apart from the aforementioned raids by the vultures), in the bins provided).

I had reached the river now and the levels were a little higher than my last visit. The roads had been wet this morning and the ground was soft underfoot. I assumed that it must have been wet during the night. Perhaps this had knocked a few of the migrants down into the park, but I have no idea how much rain fell.

Bird song drew me back inland and a little yellow head, with what might have been a black stripe through the eye, ducked back into cover. Could it have been a Blue-winged Warbler? The sighting was so brief and unclear that I was reluctant to take the lifer, but retrospectively (this post is written after returning from the second part of my itinerary, Boston, where I became more familiar with Blue-winged Warblers), I will.

I began working upstream and passed a nice flock of Carolina Chickadees, one of which sat still just long enough for a picture. Carolina Wrens were much in evidence too. I had been hearing their calls all morning, but did not see one until I sat down to wait for another picture.

A pair of Blue Gray Gnatcatchers had built a nest in the fork of a tree, about 8 metres up. They kept leaving and returning to sit for a few moments at a time without really settling. Perhaps they were in the final adjustment stages and were trying it for size and fit. The nest on its own would have made an underwhelming photograph as it was perfectly blended to its surroundings. Only when the bird was in it did the nest become apparent. 

I had seen a Bald Eagles’ nest across the river on my previous visit and was pleased to see that this time, it was occupied. Last time, I had seen something white protruding from the nest, but it did not move for a significant length of time (it could have been guano or the lighter wood of a broken bough, for example), but on this occasion, it was definitely an eagle. There was nothing else that I could see that may have explained the white thing in the nest before, so it may now be safe to assume that it could have been an eagle then.

Another Carolina Wren was seen collecting food and darting into a tangle of roots and low growth at the base of a fallen tree, so the season is obviously gathering pace.

I was not looking forward to the return cycle ride. Being mostly downhill on the way to the river meant that the hard work was ahead of me. I reluctantly turned back downstream to start home when a sudden movement caught my eye. A Northern Watersnake was sunning itself at the top of the jumbled remnants of a fallen tree. It jerked as I watched, which had been the movement that had caught my eye in the first place. I moved around to get better light direction and saw that there were two snakes. Possibly they had been making little snakes.

With the Blue-winged Warbler rejected (but subsequently re-instated), this was the highlight of the day and the journey back was not now looking so onerous. I even stopped on uphill stretches losing all my momentum to find more Pileated Woodpeckers and the season’s first Ovenbird.

To cycle from Tyson's Corner, head north on International Drive. You will soon pass under the 267 Freeway and then cross an odd junction leading into Spring Hill Rd. After about 1.6kms you will reach a crossroads with a gas station. Turn west (left) onto Old Dominion Dr and follow this for 4.3kms. At the junction, Great Falls Park is sign posted immediately ahead and is about 1.7kms into the woods here.
The roads are well paved, but are a little narrow. The trails in the park by the river do not have a hard surface, but were easy to cycle on.
There is more uphill on the way back and it took me approx 45 minutes to return to Tyson's Corner.
There is no taxi rank here. If you wish to visit by taxi, you should arrange a return ride.

Species seen; 37

Double-crested Cormorant 3, Great Blue Heron 1, Canada Goose 12, Mallard 3, Turkey Vulture 13, Black Vulture 3, Bald Eagle 1, Cooper’s Hawk 1, Mourning Dove 5, Belted Kingfisher 1, Red-bellied Woodpecker 8, Downy Woodpecker 2, Pileated Woodpecker 4, Great Crested Flycatcher 2, Tree Swallow 6, Carolina Wren 4, Grey Catbird 2, Eastern Bluebird 3, American Robin 25, Blue-grey Gnatcatcher 6, Carolina Chickadee 15, Tufted Titmouse 3, Blue Jay 30, American Crow 2, American Goldfinch 3, Blue-winged Warbler 1, Northern Paula 3, Yellow-rumped Warbler 6, Ovenbird 1, Common Yellowthroat 1, Scarlet Tanager 1, Chipping Sparrow 1, White-throated Sparrow 8, Dark-eyed Junco 3, Northern Cardinal 12, Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1, Brown-headed Cowbird 4.

IAD, Great Falls Park.

Other posts from this destination are linked below;

http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/07/shenandoah-national-park-virginia-iad.html

http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/09/raglans-wood-tysons-corner-fairfax-va.html

http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/07/raglans-wood-july-2011.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/raglans-wood-tysons-corner.html

http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/03/tysons-corner-virginia-iad.html

http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/05/great-falls-park-virginia-april.html

http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/07/great-falls-park-july.html

 

Visit the dedicated USA and Canada page for other posts from the region