FreeLists / va-bird / [va-bird] Red-necked Grebe, Redheads at Riverbend Park

["Dorothy M. Tella" <dtella@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello VA Birders:

A first-winter Red-necked Grebe was on the Potomac River yesterday afternoon
at Riverbend Park (Fairfax County, VA). I was told it had been seen there
earlier in the week and reported to the Voice of the Naturalist, but it
doesn't appear in the 2/11 VON posting.  When I first saw the grebe, around
3 PM, it was directly in front of the Visitor Center; later it moved about a
quarter mile downstream where it stayed until at least 5 PM, giving me time
to walk back to my car, parked at Great Falls National Park, and drive
around to Riverbend with my scope. Perhaps with the snow and ice predicted
for the weekend, it will linger in the area. (Directions to Riverbend Park
(DeLorme 80 3D) may be found at the web site of the Fairfax County Park
Authority.)

Also at Riverbend yesterday were at least 18 Redheads (I counted 12 males
and 6 females) as well as the single Tundra Swan that Carol and Jay Hadlock
first reported about two weeks ago. In the stretch of the Potomac between
the dam above Great Falls and the Riverbend visitor center there were close
to 100 Common Mergansers, an unusually large number for this part of the
river. The path along the river is extremely muddy now and walking is
difficult, but definitely worthwhile.

Dorothy Tella
McLean, VA
dtella@xxxxxxxxxxxxx



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