[va-bird] Dyke Marsh, Fairfax County, 2/20/05

Hello VA-Birders,

It was a crisp but sun-filled morning at this Sunday's Dyke Marsh field trip 
sponsored by the Friends of Dyke Marsh.  Six birders participated in all of the 
fun as we welcomed the many new vocalizations of the season, a harbinger of 
Spring.  Highlights of the day were a PIED-BILLED GREBE near Dead Beaver Beach, 
BUFFLEHEADs and COMMON MERGANSERs among the other waterfowl in the Potomac, and 
8 BALD EAGLEs of various ages.  Just 37 species were observed, but after all, 
it is still Winter.  The miss of the day was Winter Wren despite an early 
morning pre-walk search.  An interesting note are the musical Starlings 
vocalizing near the marina, imitating American Goldfinch, Fish Crow, Eastern 
Pewee, Gray Catbird, and Killdeer, so care must be taken when birding the area 
by ear.  They are quite skilled!  The day's complete list follows, which 
includes the adjacent mudflats.

Jay Keller

Pied-billed Grebe 1 
Great Blue Heron 7 
Canada Goose 311 
Mallard 15 
Lesser Scaup 13 
Bufflehead 5 
Hooded Merganser 1 
Common Merganser 5 
Bald Eagle 8 
Ring-billed Gull 105 
Herring Gull 5 
Great Black-backed Gull 35 
Rock Dove 12 
Mourning Dove 5 
Belted Kingfisher 1 
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2 
Downy Woodpecker 2 
Hairy Woodpecker 1 
Northern Flicker 1 
Blue Jay 2 
American Crow 7 
Fish Crow 15 
Carolina Chickadee 3 
Tufted Titmouse 3 
White-breasted Nuthatch 2 
Carolina Wren 5 
Eastern Bluebird 1 
American Robin 8 
Northern Mockingbird 2 
European Starling 45 
Song Sparrow 36 
Swamp Sparrow 2 
White-throated Sparrow 42 
Northern Cardinal 8 
Red-winged Blackbird 7 
American Goldfinch 18 
House Sparrow 13 


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