Bart Hutchinson and I went to Dyke at 6 a.m. this morning, enjoying a
deafening morning chorus in twilight along the Haul Road (thanks, no doubt to
the change in the weather). Unfortunately, the chorus was made up entirely
of resident birds and white-throated sparrows. Still, it was a beautiful
morning, and as the sun rose, things got more interesting. We had all three
grebes south of the peninsula, with a red-necked and horned in alternate
plumage. The Potomac is full of cormorants, many of which are sporting
dashing double-crests. Gnatcatchers are back in force -- we had at least 7.
We could also couldn't find a warbler to save our lives, until a flock of a
dozen or so yellow-rumps worked the trees over our heads as we joined the
weekly group scoping out the bay. Other highlights:
common loon - 6 flying over
Caspian terns (lots)
Small tern (presumably Forster's) - 1
laughing gull - at least 7 overhead
tundra swan - 1
ruddy duck - 30
common merg - 3
wood duck - 2
black duck - 1
bufflehead - 5
tree swallow - many
coot - a few
thrasher - 1 or 2
ruby-crowned kinglet - 2
field sparrow - 1
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