I titled this article about the lower counties of the Northern Neck for these are where my birding experience lies. I know from birding with Sandy Spencer in the northern and western part of the Neck that there are some different species there, but having seen them once or twice with Sandy doesn’t allow me to generalize about them.

I live outside of White Stone about two miles below the bridge, and the majority of my birding is done walking around in my neighborhood. The river in front of our house can be quite rough, and about the only ducks I ever see are Bufflehead and Surf Scoters. I know many of you who live in quieter waters see Scaup, both Hooded and Red- Breasted Mergansers, Black ducks and Mallards. These last two are year-round residents.

I am writing this in early October, and while most ospreys are gone, I still see one occasionally. I have not seen a loon as yet, but my friend Mike Rothery, who lives further up the river and has some quiet water, has them back. I saw my last hummingbird on September 21.

The only winter bird I have seen so far is a Red-Breasted Nuthatch, which I saw on a very early September 16. Some winters they are not present at all, but last winter and this they have been. White-Breasted Nuthatch is year-round for me. Neither Slate Colored Juncos nor White-Throated Sparrows have shown up yet. These are my most common winter only species. Purple finches will also be back, but a word of caution about these, they will come to feeders only in extreme weather conditions, i.e. ice and snow. The reddish finches you see regularly are year-round residents, House Finches. You can see Purple Finches in Eastern Red Cedars with the small blue berries if you have some or know where there some. It is worthwhile to study the difference between the two finches, so if the Purple does come to you feeder, you can recognize it. Another fan of the Red Cedar berries is the Cedar Waxwing, which will also invade your yard for holly berries. The American Gold Finch is a year round resident, but in winter looses its vivid yellow breeding plumage and looks quite different.

The range maps show American Kestrel as year round residents here, but I see them in winter only, and the same is true of Cooper’s Hawks. You can always count on a Sharp-shinned Hawk to invade your bird-feeding area a few times each winter. Another year-round resident I see more frequently in the winter is the Red-Tailed Hawk soaring over a woodlot—perhaps they have to look harder for prey in the winter. Both Vultures are year-round residents. And then there are the Bald Eagles—year round but always worth watching for.

Eastern Towhees will scratch on the ground under your feeders, and some years a Brown Thresher will over-winter and will be a ground feeder also. Yellow-Rumped Warblers often travel about in small flocks and invade your yard for seeds, rarely coming to feeders per se. If you have pine trees, Pine Warblers are year-round here.

A trip to Hickory Hollow or Dameron Marsh can nearly always net both Kinglets, Golden-Crowned and Ruby-Crowned. Study your tapes and learn their high-pitched lisping calls, as this is usually the best tip they are about, and then you can scan for them. There will be Hermit Thrushes at Hickory Hollow, hard to see, but watch for their rufous tail disappearing on the trail ahead of you. A trip to Hughlett Point can nearly guarantee you a flock of Tundra Swans, and occasionally an over-wintering Great Blue Heron.