At least 15 people were on the Friends of Dyke Marsh birdwalk this morning.
From 8 am to about 10:45 am we did the normal circuit of the southern part
of Bellehaven Picnic area, the marina, and the Haul Road and dogleg. The
weather was warm, humid, and sunny.
Collectively the group recorded 52 species, though I think no one person saw
all of these species (I know I didn't).
Double-crested Cormorant 5
Least Bittern 1
Great Blue Heron 15
Great Egret 2
Canada Goose 27
Wood Duck 1
Mallard 15
Osprey 5
American Coot 1
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Herring Gull 3
Forster's Tern 2
Mourning Dove 3
Chimney Swift 1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 3
Downy Woodpecker 2
Eastern Wood-Pewee 1
Acadian Flycatcher 1
Great Crested Flycatcher 1
Eastern Kingbird 4
Warbling Vireo 2
Red-eyed Vireo 2
Blue Jay 1
American Crow 6
Purple Martin 2
Tree Swallow 1
Barn Swallow 7
Carolina Chickadee 4
Tufted Titmouse 2
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Carolina Wren 6
Marsh Wren 3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 5
American Robin 2
Gray Catbird 1
Northern Mockingbird 1
Brown Thrasher 1
European Starling 15
Northern Parula 2
Common Yellowthroat 2
Eastern Towhee 1
Northern Cardinal 13
Indigo Bunting 5
Red-winged Blackbird 15
Common Grackle 21
Brown-headed Cowbird 2
Orchard Oriole 1
House Finch 4
American Goldfinch 8
House Sparrow 16
Val Kitchens spotted the Least Bittern, and someone named Jim (whose surname
I didn't get) who was searching for the bittern a while later spotted the
Spotted Sandpiper; we saw both birds from the south side of the observation
deck. On the dogleg, Fred Bogar saw a goldfinch on a nest, while Lisa
Shannon and I saw a young Brown Thrasher with a full-grown tail. Warbling
Vireo and Least Bittern were life birds for one happy participant.
At least some of the group enjoyed watching a fresh Viceroy on the dogleg,
and a Red Admiral in the sun along the Haul Road. At the parking lot I saw
a Mourning Cloak before the trip and a Cabbage White afterward. Common
Green Darner, Twelve-spotted Skimmer, Common Whitetail, and ?Golden-winged
Skimmer were among the dragonflies Lisa and I identified.
Chocolate was finally procured on the way home ...
Rob Hilton
aimophila10@xxxxxxxxxxx
Silver Spring, Maryland
"I like to hear the small birds singing, merrily upon the leyland"--English
trad/Watersons
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