Kerrie Kirkpatrick, here on a visit from KS, and I went birding today. First
we
thought we'd try Sky Meadows. Folks, this place is closed on Mon & Tues,
and is only open from 9-5! Is this any way to run a park for birders,
naturalists,
etc?
Onward we went, first to Dulles Wetlands. Not a whole lot there, Black & Wood
Ducks, GW Teal, a Phoebe and a RT Hawk. Field Sparrows singing - not one
Song Sparrow!
Then to Beaverdam Reservoir, to which the entrance has been redecorated, for
those of you who haven't been there in a while. But you can get to the
water's
edge, and we found a RT Loon, pretty basic plumage, 2 RN Grebes, pretty
basic, but it looked like they're traveling together and it seemed like there
was a bit of billing and cooing. Also one Lesser Scaup and a RB Merg.
Next was the Dulles Airport pond where we found 1 Bonaparte's Gull, a
transitional
Horned Grebe, some Ring-bills and Ring-necks and, a very surprising sight of
Turkey Vultures eating dead carp. These fish looked like huge goldfish, and
they had washed up down at the dam. We also saw a Great Blue with one,
but this one was alive and either he couldn't manage to kill it in time or it
just managed to escape. Those fish were enormous. Don't know that the
heron could have eaten it even had he been successful in killing it.
Last stop was Occoquan Sewage Treatment, off Rte 28 in Manassas. There
were 10 RN Grebes and 16 fBonapartes in with the Corms, Ring -bills and
Canadas.
Bev Leeuwenburg
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