FreeLists / va-bird / [va-bird] Northern Virginia Birding: Biggish Day up here

["Kurt Gaskill" <KurtCapt87@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

VA BIRDers,
 

Kim Peacock, Jay Keller and I set a challenge to find as many species as
possible in No. VA before noon today.  Since it worked out so well, they
twisted my arm (very gently!) to continue on to fill the day.  We ended with
139 species, pretty good for sticking just up here!  What makes it really
interesting is that 135 of those species were in Prince William County.
Sweet!

 

We started off trying for Whips near Prince William Forest Park and failed
(I heard later we missed a Chuck-wills-widow).  We did manage E. Screech
before heading off to the Nokesville area.  Here Hazelwood Rd yielded up
night calling Grasshopper Sparrows and displaying Am. Woodcocks and we left
to Killdeer waking up for the morning.  We soon arrived at the private Cedar
Run Wetland where King, Virginia and Sora rails made an appearance plus
singing Swamp Sparrows, some yellowlegs, a Least Sandpiper and a Wilson's
Snipe.  Nearby was LA Waterthrush singing.

 

We headed next to the Possum Pt area near Dumfries, first stopping at an
unassuming spot in the piedmont finding Pine and Hooded Warblers plus
singing Yellow-throated Vireos and RC Kinglet.  Possum Pt pulled through, as
usual, - we probably left this location near 100 species at 0930.
Highlights were Wood Duck, Lesser Scaup, dozen plus Osprey, at least 4 adult
Bald Eagles plus 2 or more sub-adults (which mean that TWO nests are on or
near Quantico Creek), Wilson's Snipe, Black-billed and Yellow-billed Cuckoo,
another Ruby-throat Hummer (Jay got dived upon at dawn in the piedmont),
Belted Kingfisher (pair), Acadian Flycatcher, more RC Kinglets, Nashville,
Magnolia, Black-throated Blue, Yellow-rumped (ca. 100 or so), Black-throated
Green, Palm (westerns) Warblers and YB Chats.  Plus Summer and Scarlet
Tanagers, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Indigo Buntings, overflying Rusty
Blackbird, both orioles and a singing Purple Finch in first year plumage
eating catkins with other finches.

 

We moved onto Leesylvania SP where I heard a calling Blue-winged as we drove
in and yielded up its resident Prothonotary Warbler near the car top boat
launch area.  As Marc previously noted, the swallow and swift spectacle
netted us both Cliff and Bank to the more common swallows.  The beaver pond
produced a Green Heron.  We headed for Julie Metz, dipping on the Warbling
Vireo and other goodies but finding our first Laughing Gull and Northern
Waterthrush for the day.  More Swamp Sparrows were here plus a large number
of White-eyed Vireos, Brown Thrashers, Gray Catbirds, Yellow Warblers,
Common Yellowthroats, Song Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows, and Orchard
Orioles.  We picked up our first hawks here, all buteos with Red-shouldered
(nest nearby), Broad-winged and Red-tailed Hawks and of course the usual
Osprey.

 

Our next stop was a marina overlooking Occoquan Bay where we netted more
Lesser Scaup, Greater Black-backed Gull, Caspian Tern, Sharp-shinned and
Cooper's Hawk, Black Vulture and as we drove in a flock of ca. 20 Cedar
Waxwings (the first I have seen in months!).  We moved on to Occoquan Bay
NWR where we netted more ducks - Ruddy Ducks and Red-breasted Mergansers
plus Common Loons - found more Rusty Blackbirds, plus Blue Grosbeak and
Savannah Sparrow.

 

During lunch, "the boys" made a case for going on, which we did ad hoc.  We
motored to Nokesville again and dug up some No. Bobwhite, visited a Barn
Owl, noted two groups of Bobolinks, and spied a White-crowned Sparrow at a
feeder.  Then we visited the North Forks Wetlands (courtesy BSA) and spotted
Pied-billed Grebe, and 7 gorgeous Blue-winged Teal plus more "blinks".  We
headed to Harrison Rd where we saw many of the same shorebirds as reported
by Sue Heath and 3 Savannah Sparrows - but nothing new!  So we headed home
via I-66 and GW Parkway.

 

We traveled and arrived at Roach's Run where we quickly noted a male Hooded
Merganser - undoubtedly on his way north after breeding!  Also on the pond
was a Pied-billed Grebe.  We sped to Dyke Marsh but again came up wanting
for new species although a wonderfully colored male Ruddy Duck held out in
Hunting Creek Bay and 3 Lesser Yellowlegs and 6 Spotted Sandpipers were on
the mudflats.  We saw that a new pair of Osprey has built a nest on the
hurricane-deposited tree in the middle of Hunting Creek Bay probably because
of a dearth of nesting sites here.

 

We finished up at Huntley where we added Barred Owl and Hairy Woodpecker to
our tally sheet.  We note a female Hooded Merganser with 7 "merglets" on the
new, first beaver pond plus more yellowlegs, Solitary and Spotted
Sandpipers, and a half dozen or more Rusty Blackbirds.

 

For the tally sheet, we recorded 7 duck species, 8 hawk species (not lucky
in the falcon department other than Am. Kestrel), 8 shorebirds, 6 larids, 4
flycatchers, all the east coast swallows, only 3 thrush - and also vireos!,
22 warbler species, and 9 sparrows.  Most surprising species found was Am.
Woodcock (did not expect it) and Purple Finch (ditto).  Biggest misses for
the route may have been Black-crowned Night-Heron, a big falcon, Great
Horned Owl, and Warbling Vireo.

 

Kurt Gaskill


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