It was a little chilly this morning as Renee Hudgins, Dale Murphy
(Annapolis, MD), and I left the Washington Ditch parking lot at 6:40am. It
stayed cool but eventually warmed up enough that butterflies began flying
around 10:30am. We covered 3.5 miles and so didn't reach the lake before
turning around, arriving back at the parking area by 11:30am. It was a bright
beautiful day.
It's clear that very little migration has taken place during the ten days
since my last walk. The only new species for the year was a Black-and-white
Warbler which was seen with a group of Yellow-rumped Warblers, kinglets, and
wrens. It was not singing. Not a single herp chirp was heard. Besides Gray
Squirrels a deer was the only mammal seen although we side-stepped plenty of
poop including that of a bear. Given the quality of the scat, I had high hopes
for some great butterflies. But apparently I don't have the discerning eye of
a butterfly because no butterflies were attracted to the scat.
The bird list follows: Blue Jay 5, Eastern Towhee 4, Red-bellied Woodpecker
6, Carolina Wren 12, Wild Turkey 1, Northern Cardinal 2, American Robin 10,
White-throated Sparrow 8, Hermit Thrush (singing) 3, Winter Wren (singing) 8,
Northern Flicker 3, White-breasted Nuthatch 6, Common Yellowthroat 6,
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (singing & displaying) 11, Tufted Titmouse 2, Downy
Woodpecker 9, Wood Duck 5, Red-winged Blackbird 15, Golden-crowned Kinglet 3,
Barred Owl 3, Pileated Woodpecker 3, Common Grackle 5, Turkey Vulture 5, Black
Vulture 1, Brown-headed Cowbird 2, American Goldfinch 18, Song Sparrow 5,
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2, Carolina Chickadee 6, Swamp Sparrow 7, Rusty
Blackbird 12 + an unseen foraging flock, Louisiana Waterthrush 3, Yellow-rumped
Warbler 12, Gray Catbird 3, Black-and-white Warbler 1, Eastern Phoebe 3,
Red-shouldered Hawk 2.
Although the butterflies started flying late in the morning, the final list
was respectable with a couple of new species for the year. We saw Zebra
Swallowtail 14, Pearl Crescent 1, Orange Sulfur 3, Eastern Comma 3, Mourning
Cloak 1, Falcate Orangetip 2, Question Mark 3, Henry's Elfin 4.
I won't be in the swamp again until May since I'm taking a group to
Malaysia this Thursday and I'll be gone a month. However, when I return, I'll
crank up the walks again. Just watch for a posting on the listserve. By that
time many people will have seen what the swamp has to offer, but I'm sure we
can turn up some goodies. So, see you in May.
Cheers,
Bob
Robert L. Ake
6603 Catherine Street
Norfolk VA 23505