FreeLists / va-bird / [va-bird] It was the best of days, it was the worst of days: Birding Dads Big Day

[Breep@xxxxxxx]

Sorry for the delay in posting -- I'm still recovering.

It's apparent from the postings about Prince William that we picked the wrong 
county for our big day.  At least that's my excuse.

After much agonizing about the route, Bart Hutchinson, Jim Mathews, and I 
decided to stick with the traditional route to our annual Fairfax County big 
day.  This was even a few days earlier than last year, but we hoped that this 
would help us get some good waterfowl, like last year.  Alas.  We had a good 
day, with the typical frustrations and exhaustion.  We totalled 117 species, 
considerably off of last year's record-breaking (as far as I know) total in 
the high 120s.  We seemed to miss a couple of key birds at most stops, and 
got fairly few surprises.

We began at Huntley at 3 a.m. hoping for owls and rails.  We had only barred. 
 Off to Pohick Bay Regional Park where we whistled up a screech, and then to 
Bull Run Post Office Rd., where we easily got whips and woodcock, but dipped 
on great horned (and the lingered short-eared we say the previous week).  We 
stayed long enough to get grasshopper sparrow, but no luck with meadowlark or 
kestrel.

By 6:45 we were at Great Falls.  We eventually dredged up a fair number of 
warblers (including a blue-wing, worm-eating, and lots of BTBs), but only by 
spending too much time.  We did have one waterthrush--we agreed to disagree 
about whether it was an aberrant northern that sounded a bit like a LA, or an 
aberrant LA that sounded a bit like a northern.  Other good birds included 
yellow-throated vireo and rose-breasted grosbeak.  But we heard not a single 
thrush.  Zero.  Desperate to fill out the warblers, we spent too much time at 
Riverbend as well.  Just before leaving, we finally got a few we were missing 
along the river: blackpoll, magnolia, and Blackburnian.  We also got warbling 
vireo and cedar waxwing.

Having killed the entire morning at these stops, we went down to Accotink, 
where we got pine warbler on the McCarty Farm Trail, but dipped on blue 
grosbeak and prothonotary.  At the Archery Range we netted a few expected 
species, plus a Cooper's and a Forster's, but no good waterfowl.  We were 
happy to see 10 female red-breasted mergs from the fishing pier looking out 
towards the Potomac.  Then off to Belmont Bay (after meadowlark singing near 
Harley Rd.) where we finally picked up purple martin and prothonotary, as 
well as Bonaparte's and really distant scaup.

Up to Hunting Creek, where there were no shorebirds, no waterfowl, and no 
Iceland gull.  Along the Haul Road there was no marsh wren or coot (and no 
Firestone, may he rest in peace).  But at least we picked up a single ruddy 
duck and female red-breasted merg, as well as our first yellow warbler and 
thrasher of the day.  We finally arrived back were we began, at Huntley at 
about 6:15.  We could turn up no additional passerines, but the wetland birds 
were good to us.  We rapidly got the ibis, the easy missing shorebirds, 
hooded merg, and the bittern.  We parked our sore butts on the boardwalk, 
drank our victory/consolation beers, and waited for a miracle.  It may not 
have been miraculous, but we ended the day on a high note, as we finally 
filled in green heron with a distant bird flying in the twilight, followed 
shortly thereafter by our last bird, a handful of snipe winging away noisily. 
 But no night-heron.

Big misses are almost too many to mention, but at the risk of boring those of 
you who have waded this far into the post: any waterfowl other than the 8 we 
got; kestrel; coot; any unusual shorebird; great horned owl; nighthawk; 
kingfisher; marsh wren; any of the thrushes other than wood; Nashville, 
chestnut-sided, and hooded/Canada/Wilson's (collectively named the trifecta 
of pain) warblers; chat (we totalled a measly 16 warblers); and blue 
grosbeak.

Well, we have a year to agonize over our route.  The complete list follows.  
(B is BRPO, G is Great Falls, R is Riverbend, 

cormorant
American bittern - H1
great blue
great egret - G3, M1
green heron - H1
glossy ibis - H1
Canada goose
wood duck
black duck - D1 or 2
mallard
scaup sp. M(many)
hooded merg - H2
red-breasted merg - A10, D1
ruddy duck - D1
black vulture
turkey vulture
bald eagle - R1, A(several)
Cooper's - A1
red-shouldered
red-tailed
killdeer - H1
greater yellowlegs - A(many)
lesser yellowlegs - H4+
solitary sandpiper - H5+
spotted - A1, H1+
least - H6+
snipe - H3+
woodcock - B4+
Bonaparte's gull - M100s
ring-billed
herring - M1
great black-backed - D(many)
Caspian tern - M1, D(many)
Forster's - A1
rock dove
mourning dove
yellow-billed cuckoo - A2
screech - M1
barred - H1, B1, G1
whip - B1
swift
hummer G1, D2
red-bellied
downy
hairy
flicker
pileated
Acadian - G1, R1
phoebe
great crested - many
kingbird - A2
purple martin - M2
N. rough-winged swallow
bank - A(many)
tree
barn
blue jay
Amer. crow
fish crow
chickadee
titmouse
white-breasted nut
Carolina wren
house wren
ruby-crowned kinglet - G1, R1
gnatcatcher
wood thrush - B1, R1, M2
robin
bluebird
catbird
mocker
thrasher - D1
waxwing - R4
starling
white-eyed vireo - A1, D1
warbling - R1
red-eyed
blue-winged warbler - G1, R1
parula
yellow
BTB
yellow-rumped
BTG - G1 or 2
Blackburnian -  R1
pine - A(several)
prairie - B(several), A1
blackpoll - R1
B&W - G1 (Ben missed)
redstart - G2, A1
prothonotary - M1
worm-eating - G1
ovenbird
yellowthroat
scarlet tanager
cardinal
rose-breasted grosbeak - G1
indigo bunting
towhee
chipping sparrow
field
grasshopper - B1+
song
swamp - D1, H1
white-throated
red-winged BB
meadowlark - M1
grackle
cowbird
house finch
goldfinch
house sparrow

Thanks for listening.

Ben Jesup
Alexandria


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