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The usual late winter cold temps in northern Virginia, but spring is trying to break through and the birds are starting to arrive from points south. We don't see a lot of these around here, but yesterday there was a chipping sparrow at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens.  Chipping sparrow at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in northern Virginia
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Very little open water left on the Potomac River as the arctic air has settled in hard in northern Virginia. But this little strip of water had three common mergansers on it, two females and a male. Here is one of the females shaking off her wings after a session of preening.  Female common merganser shaking off after preening on the Potomac River at River Bend Park in northern Virginia The bluebird is always pictured with scenes from Spring and Summer, but they are remarkably tolerant of cold. It was below freezing out when I took this photo in northern Virginia.  Eastern bluebird from along the Potomac River in northern Virginia I have come to believe that it is impossible to photograph a brown creeper that does not look blurry. Between the bird being a very twitchy sort to start with and the odd nature of the back and wing feathers they just never look sharp.  Brown creeper on a white oak along the Potomac River in northern Virginia It has been darn cold around here lately, and this Carolina wren shows it with all its feathers puffed out and huddling near a tree trunk.  Carolina wren on a cold day at River Bend Park on the Potomac River, Virginia One of the New Years birds we saw on a walk today along the Potomac River at River Bend in Virginia. Brisk but nice out.  Downy woodpecker seen at River Bend Park in northern Virginia on New Years Day Every winter a few snowy owls come down out of the north and find places to settle in for the winter in the eastern US. One of the most famous sites to see this magnificent bird is Dulles Airport near Washington, DC, but it is not the only place. This year a snowy owl has taken up residence near the towns of Bridgewater and Mt. Crawford in Virginia. And unlike at Dulles where the owl can be extremely far away, the Mt. Crawford owl can be seen relatively close without disturbing it. It is known to roost in several places, mostly centered on the 7-11 and McDonald's at exit 240 off interstate I-81. We found it sitting on a giant light post in the Walmart terminal complex on December 22, 2017. Pretty good viewing but note that public access stops at the Walmart property so please do not trespass if you try and go to see the owl (and no parking on the public access road so you may have to walk a bit. I estimate we were no more than 200 yards from the bird and it gave us a very nice look as it was awake and just looking around while we were there (late afternoon).  Snowy owl on one of its favorite perches near Bridgewater/Mt. Crawford Virginia Yes, I will get back to the bat coins, but I took this photo today over at Greenfield, a little park and lake just north of Roanoke, VA and kinda liked it. Hope you do to.  Great Blue Heron hunting in the shallows at Greenfield, just north of Roanoke, VA Turtles are mostly gone from northern Virginia now (burrowed down in the mud), but as long as there is open water it seems there are a few around.  Redbelly turtle |
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Keith Christenson Wildlife Biologist Archives
September 2021
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