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From: wybranie@dtrc.dt.navy.mil (Wybraniec)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Christmas Bird Count
Message-ID: <5170@oasys.dt.navy.mil>
Date: 2 Jan 91 14:04:19 GMT
Sender: news@oasys.dt.navy.mil
Reply-To: wybranie@dtrc.dt.navy.mil (Suzanne Wybraniec)
Organization: David Taylor Research Center, Bethesda, MD
Lines: 39

I went on 2 Christmas Bird Counts this year (my first two BTW).  Both were
in Northern Virginia.  One area included a light industrial park and open
fields bordered by a creek.  This is close to Dulles airport and it was a
very windy day, so birding by ear was pretty much out of the question.
The other included a golf course, some residential (i.e. backyard birdfeeder
attracters), and a creek.  On this day we had 4" of snow covered by 1/4" of
ice, and low clouds/fog; so seeing anything soaring was out of the question.
Actually - walking that day wasn't very easy, and definitely unpleasant after
I misstepped and put myself in knee-deep ice-cold muddy water.

The first count (half day only) we had 28 species and 212 birds.
The second count (full day) we had 35 species and 547 birds.

The highlights/lowlights were:
    . 2 little flocks of bluebirds (15 altogether)
    . 1 winter wren - so cute to watch for a long time even though we were
                      cold and tired
    . 1 common snipe - on the golf course where some underground heat source
                       (I guess) melted the ice and snow and it was digging
                       in the watery grass
    . 6 robins
    . 2 turkeys
    . 1 kestrel - hover hunting in high winds - he hovered soooo long and
                  so perfectly, I could have been watching a hummingbird!
    . good populations of hawks - especially red-tails
 
 
    . 4 blue jays heard and not a one seen - where are they?
    . 0 grackles - the count coordinator said he'd never thought he'd see
        the day he would be begging us to see a grackle - where are they?
    .18 house finches - same trend as above, AND
    . 3! house sparrows - not that I miss them, but what is happening??
 
 
The scarcity of jays in particular, and grackles, and the finches/sparrows
was the subject of conversation at the after-count get-together.  I've
noticed it at my backyard feeders.  Anybody out there got any facts?

Suzanne (Northern Virginia)