VA BIRDers,
About 10 people participated in the regular Sunday morning Field Trip to Dyke
Marsh, sponsored by the Friends of Dyke Marsh and free to all. The skies were
mostly cloudy and just a bit breezy with a chill in the air near 42F. Top
birds for our outing were Common Loon, Tundra Swan, many Bald Eagles, Brown
Creeper, Winter Wren including one singing, both kinglets, Eastern Bluebird
(unusual for this location), Gray Catbird, American Pipit, and Cedar Waxwings.
An early morning visit to the Hunting Creek mudflats found Dunlin and Pectoral
Sandpipers, and, later, a couple of Juncos were near where the Big Gut crosses
the bike trail. Lastly, a late afternoon visit to GW Parkway's stone bridge
over Hunting Creek produced a successful Merlin.
The group met in the picnic area where we studied Lesser Scaup and Ruddy Ducks
at close range, with Bald Eagles making frequent flights over our heads. Both
kinglet species were easily seen in the shore vegetation and all got a chance
to learn their calls. Our journey down Haul Road found more kinglets and both
Gray Catbirds, one sounding a bit hoarse. The keen eyes of Bill Cross netted
us a Brown Creeper along this path. A bunch of Cedar Waxwings on the dogleg
was a great sight along with the numerous White-throated and Song Sparrows in
the area. The Am. Pipit was heard overhead from this location. At the end of
the boardwalk we spied a Common Loon diving off the far island.
The tallies for today's discovery are below.
Kurt Gaskill
Common Loon 1
Pied-billed Grebe 40
DC Cormorant 14
Great Blue Heron 59
Great Egret 24
C. Goose ca. 200
Tundra Swan 1
Am. Black Duck 14
Mallard 158
Blue-winged Teal 1
Green-winged Teal 6
Ring-necked Duck 6
Lesser Scaup 490
Ruddy Duck ca. 300
Bald Eagle 16, 2 adults
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Merlin 1, carrying a bird
Killdeer 8 (maybe 7 now)
Greater Yellowlegs 2
Pectoral Sandpiper
You are subscribed to VA-BIRD. To post to this mailing list, simply send email
to va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx. To unsubscribe, send email to
va-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
