Kim Peacock, Doug Stockman, and I covered the area from Quantico Creek to
Neabsco Creek and Lake Montclair in Prince William Co, for the Fairfax Audubon
waterfowl count. We got off to a good start at Neabsco where thousands of
gulls were still roosting. There must have been close to 1000 laughing gulls,
tremendous numbers for this date. I was able to tease out one lesser
black-backed gull, but no other rarities. Quantico creek had good numbers of
waterfowl, including over 70 hooded mergansers. However, that was it for
waterfowl. Cherry Hill peninsula, Powell's Creek, Lake Montclair, and the
Potomac off Leesylvania State Park were mostly waterfowl-free. In the case of
Powell's Creek, there were no ducks last weekend either, so I don't think the
lime spill on Route 1 had any impact on numbers. We also heard very few
gunshots all morning, so hunters were not having much luck either.
Here is the list. Again, most are from Quantico Creek.
pied-billed grebe - 1
double-crested cormorant - 4
canada goose - 88
tundra swan - 14
black duck - 60
mallard - 63
no. pintail - 74
green-winged teal - 23
ring-necked duck - 35
lesser scaup - 10
hooded merganser - 82
ruddy duck - 375
bald eagle - 10
killdeer - 6
Marc Ribaudo
Woodbridge, VA
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