FreeLists / va-bird / [va-bird] VA yesterday and NC

["Lee Adams" <ladams42@xxxxxxx>]

Yesterday at the sand and gravel pond by the railroad tracks in King George 
county I saw Ruddy Ducks, Hooded Mergansers, Canada Geese, two Great Blue 
Herons and a couple of Canvasbacks. 

Outside Potomac Beach there were three immature Eagles in a field. One Mute 
Swan patrolled the water at Potomac Beach and Ring-billed gulls preened and 
soaked up the sun on a pier there. Five Bufflehead flew by.

On the beach near the town pier in Colonial Beach were Ring-billed and Herring 
gulls with 2 Great Black-backed gulls. In the Potomac River were Bufflehead, 
Scaup, Ruddy Ducks, two Long-tailed Ducks and Surf Scoters. In a cove on Monroe 
Bay were loads of Coots. Behind the Baptist church parking lot were four Mute 
Swans in a cove with a Kingfisher on a power line.

At the picnic area at George Washington's Birthplace there were chickadees, 
Cedar Waxwings, yellow-rumps, a phoebe and a Brown Creeper. I saw 5 Mute Swans 
mixed in with lots of Tundra Swans and an immature Bald Eagle in a tall tree.

Four Hooded Mergansers landed in the pond near the beach as I watched. The 
Great Blue Heron was in the same spot on the bank as it was 3 or 4 weeks ago. 
When I got to the river ducks were moving just out of sight to the left. I 
didn't pursue them and instead, enjoyed the Bluebirds, Juncos, Cedar Waxwings 
and Cardinals feeding actively at the edge of the marsh. I heard Red-winged 
Blackbirds in the marsh grasses. A Red-tailed Hawk perched high in a tree 
overlooking a field and wood lot.

On the road to Horner's Beach there were 10 Wild Turkeys in a field of small 
grain. Flickers were everywhere. At the end of the road overlooking the Potomac 
River were hundreds of Canada Geese in a field (as there were on the road to 
George Washington's Birthplace and in the fields at GWP). Common Goldeneye, a 
Long-tailed Duck and 2 Black Scoters mixed in with Surf Scoters were very close 
to the shore. It was a pleasure to be able to see them all so clearly.

An adult Bald Eagle sat in a tree overlooking Tayloe's Millpond in Richmond 
county. At the Wilna Unit of the Rappahannock River Valley NWR there were tons 
of Robins and Flickers. On Wilna Pond were 3 very vocal Kingfishers flying back 
and forth across the pond. A Great Blue Heron perched on a fallen tree at the 
edge of the pond made a pretty picture in the late afternoon sunlight. A 
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker worked its way up a tree and gave that funny mewing 
call I don't often hear. On the way out of the refuge I saw a Hermit Thrush and 
Cardinals in a tangle of vines. An adult Bald Eagle was on the ground in a 
field next to the field of Robins at the entrance to Wilna. Two adult eagles 
were perched in a tree at the tip of Cat Point on the Rappahannock River. As a 
child growing up in the Northern Neck I remember church picnics held at a 
cottage on that point.

As I retraced my trail an immature Bald Eagle flew over the road as I drove by 
Tayloe's Millpond.

On a North Carolina note I've spent the last 2 weekends on the Outer Banks 
between Pea Island, Hatteras and the Alligator River NWR. I saw 10 White 
Pelicans, tons of Harriers and Red-tails and Eagles (maybe a Golden), 2 Merlins 
and innumerable Kestrels. I saw the injured Franklin's Gull at Coquina Beach. I 
saw 10 American Bitterns the first weekend and 12 Black-crowned Night Herons 
last weekend. Both weekends I saw an odd pairing, a White Ibis and a 
Tri-colored Heron flying in together, feeding together and leaving together in 
the area of the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center. See you on the Outer Banks next 
weekend.

Lee


Lee Loudenslager Adams
ladams42@xxxxxxx