[va-bird] Dyke Marsh, Frfx Co, 4/29/07

VA BIRDers,
 

Just the most amazingly delightful day to be out birding!  A group of about
20 gathered at the picnic area for the regular Sunday morning Dyke Marsh
Field Trip, sponsored by the Friends of Dyke Marsh and free to all.
Highlights?  Migrants, 'natch!  A fine day where everyone got to see at
least one of everything in good light.  We started off with the Eastern
Kingbird show - just as we were gathering Sandy Farkas notices a flock of 12
flying north and yet 3 are still in the picnic area chasing each other as
well as other in-your-face antics.  The trip started with these, quickly
segue-ed to Orchard Orioles and then Baltimore Orioles. Yellow Warblers were
great, but the Northern Parulas were not very cooperative (until about the
seventh one we found), and the Warbling Vireo was low in branches and moved
often and was just plain easy to see (that's unusual!).  Also present was a
quickly fleeing Worm-eating Warbler, a singing Wood Thrush near Ramp Road,
and unusual (for location) Eastern Bluebird.  

 

We observed the many Osprey (how many nests now?  Perhaps 11), spotted a few
swallows and began our trip down Haul Rd, stopping for this oriole or that
parula, chatting about Gray Catbirds and Carolina Wrens, noting a couple of
very close Indigo Buntings, and watching several pairs of Blue-gray
Gnatcatchers along the way.  We spotted a Broad-winged Hawk coming out of
the forest and then spiraling up over the lagoon.  The dogleg yielded up
Savannah Sparrows - one in a tree and Palm Warbler.  We viewed Red-breasted
Mergansers, noted a couple of Caspian Terns, lucked into a Wilson's Snipe,
spotted a small flock of 4 E. Kingbirds fly over, and had an adult Bald
Eagle flyover.  We spotted a distant Black Vulture and Cooper's Hawk over
the forest.  During the whole trip, Tree and Barn Swallows were constantly
passing over with the occasional Chimney Swift mixed in.  The Blue Jay
movement was not big here today - about 80 were counted flying north.

 

For those folks from out west and the new visitors to Dyke, the full trip
list of 64 species is below.  Before and after trip notes will follow.

 

Canada Goose 6

Wood Duck 2

Mallard 7

Red-breasted Merganser 7

Great Blue Heron 9

Black Vulture 1

Turkey Vulture 2

Osprey 18

Bald Eagle 1

Cooper's Hawk 1 (distant, over the trees)

Broad-winged Hawk 1

Spotted Sandpiper 4

Wilson's Snipe 1

Laughing Gull 14

Ring-billed Gull 10

Caspian Tern 2

Rock Pigeon 8

Mourning Dove 6

Chimney Swift 6

Belted Kingfisher 1

Red-bellied WP 3

Downy WP 3

Hairy WP 1

Great Crested Flycatcher 2

E. Kingbird 22

Warbling Vireo 3

Red-eyed V 2

Blue Jay 80

Am. Crow 2

Fish Crow 12

Tree Swallow 24

Barn Swallow 20

C. Chickadee 2

T. Titmouse 4

White-breasted Nuthatch 2

C. Wren 5

H. Wren 2

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 12

E. Bluebird 1

Wood Thrush 1

Am. Robin 24

Gray Catbird 2

No. Mockingbird 2

E. Starling 10

No. Parula 8

Yellow Warbler 4

Yellow-rumped Warbler 15

Palm Warbler 1

Worm-eating Warbler 1

Common Yellowthroat 6

E. Towhee 2

Savannah Sp 2

Song Sp 4

Swamp Sp 1

White-thr Sp 12

No. Cardinal 12

Indigo Bunting 2

Red-winged BB 40

Common Grackle 25

Brown-headed Cowbird 10

Orchard O 6

Baltimore O 3

Am. Goldfinch 8

House Sparrow 6

 

Before the Field Trip, I visited the bicycle trail bridge which is close to
the marsh to look for rails, etc.  No rails, etc, but did find 2
Prothonotary Warblers, a Green Heron and a Rusty Blackbird plus more Wood
Duck and a Warbling Vireo.

 

Later this afternoon, I visited the Hunting Creek mudflats at the Stone
Bridge and noted a Red-shouldered Hawk, 2 Killdeer, 2 Greater Yellowlegs,
and 2 Northern Rough-winged Swallows.  On the river side a single American
Black Duck hung out with 2 Mallards and 7 Great Black-backed Gulls were
added to the species list.

 

Kurt Gaskill


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