VA BIRDers,
A wonderful clear morning that was coolish to start but started warming up
to late June temperatures near the end. And a typical Field Trip at Dyke,
sponsored by the Friends of Dyke Marsh and free to all (meet at 8am near the
first parking lot). The theme from last week was continued as more species
were going silent early in the morning, after singing for a bit. We managed
to see 3 different Orchard Orioles but heard only one Baltimore. The
grackles, starlings and robins were out in force and juveniles were evident.
A young Northern Mockingbird was on its own in the picnic area. Eastern
Kingbirds were found in several places - one good spot was the mulberry tree
near ramp road and the bathrooms which attracted several other birds
including a pair of Gray Catbirds. The main picnic area hosted a pair of
House Wrens - unusual at Dyke as 15 years of breeding bird surveys have yet
to produce a pair until today!
Osprey young are getting bigger - the nest near the boat ramp is a
photographer's delight and the young are already bigger than any passerine.
Keep up the good work! A few Mallards and Canada Geese were seen in Hunting
Creek Bay and the passages in between the islands off the marina - one such
passage held a nearly full grown Mallard with mom. We saw many Great Blue
Herons but no sign of Least Bitterns this time. Common Yellowthroats seem
to setting up house near the dogleg in Haul Road. The House Finch in the
Sycamore near the bridge along the dogleg nest appears to be occupied. And
the end of the dogleg at the board walk produced 4 Northern Rough-winged
Swallows hanging out in the bear branches of a tree.
Earlier in the morning, point counts along the bicycle path produced
Prothonotary Warbler, more orioles of the Orchard and Baltimore persuasion,
Acadian Flycatchers, a Red-bellied Woodpecker carrying food, and a Pileated
Woodpecker.
All in all a typical summer day of breeding at Dyke!
Kurt Gaskill
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