What a heading.
Jodi Bucknam and I birded Huntley Meadows for a couple of hours this morning.
We had a nice time observing waterfowl and other winged creatures. The
highlight was definitely the male COMMON TEAL at the back of the marsh, roughly
across from the observation tower. I found it while watching a couple of Am.
Black Ducks that were initially with a flock of teal but that we later lost
track of. We checked every male teal that we saw this morning for the field
marks of the Common and it paid off with views of this foreign visitor just
after 9am. After we got our scopes on the bird, we were able to note most of
the field marks shown in Sibley. This bird, a first for both of us, was
actively feeding and swimming with the other teal.
List of waterfowl and other selected species:
-Canada Goose, 100+
-Gadwall, 6+
I like this duck of the marshes. The plumage of the male is a study of
neutrals, subtle but pretty.
-Am. Black Duck, 3
-Mallard, 60+
-No. Shoveler, 16
-No. Pintail, 27+
-Green-winged Teal, 20+, incl. 1 COMMON
-Hooded Merganser, 2
-Red-shouldered Hawk, 2
-Killdeer, 1
-Ring-billed Gull, 106
-Am. Pipit, 1 flyover
Also, remembering the goose poop posting of the other day, I did indeed
observe a flock of Canada Geese flying low over the marsh this morning. I'm
almost positive that the little thing dropping from one of the birds was poop.
So there.
Lastly, while running an errand for work, I showed my co-workers a pair of
adult BALD EAGLES soaring over the Rte. 1/Huntington Avenue intersection. This
is an urban area just south of the beltway but it is not far from the Potomac
River. The birds were circling slowly westward.
Scott Baron
Fairfax, Va.
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