I was at the gate at Occoquan Bay NWR this morning when it opened, and
essentially had the place to myself. As has been the case for the month and a
half, the refuge did not dissapoint. The birdiest area was along Charlie,
Bravo, and Delta roads. Highlights were two female common goldeneyes at Taylor
Point, horned grebes at Taylor Point and the gazebo, vesper and lincoln
sparrows, northern harrier, rusty blackbird and turkey. A flock of about 40
gadwall was in the pond on the south side of Charlie road (wildlife drive), I
ended up with 66 species. Here is the list with approximate numbers.
pied-billed grebe - 2
horned grebe - 3
d.c. cormorant - 10
great blue heron - 3
canada goose - 50
wood duck - 5
american wigeon - 6
gadwall - 50
mallard - 12
black duck - 8
northern shoveler - 4
lesser scapu - 100
common goldeneye - 2
bufflehead - 2
hooded merganser - 2
ruddy duck - 6
turkey vulture - 2
bald eagle - 4
northern harrier - 1
sharp-shinned hawk - 1
cooper's hawk - 1
red-shouldered hawk - 1
red-tailed hawk - 3
turkey - 3
am. coot - 100
ring-billed gull - 100
great black-backed gull - 3
herring gull - 5
laughing gull - 20
forster's tern - 20
rock dove - 12
mourning dove - 8
belted kingfisher - 1
red-bellied woodpecker - 3
yellow-bellied sapsucker - 1
downy woodpecker - 2
northern flicker - 6
golden-crowned kinglet - 2
ruby-crowned kinglet - 1
cedar waxwing - 30
carolina wren - 8
mockingbird - 4
eastern bluebird - 15
am. robin - 5
carolina chickadee - 2
tufted titmouse - 1
white-breasted nuthatch - 2
blue jay - 2
american crow - 25
fish crow - 6
starling - 30
yellow-rumped warbler - 12
eastern towhee - 2
field sparrow - 10
vesper sparrow - 1
savannah sparrow - 20
fox sparrow - 3
song sparrow - 25
Lincon's sparrow - 1
swamp sparrow - 12
white-throated sparrow - 30
dark-eyed junco - 3
northern cardinal - 12
red-winged blackbird - 30
rusty blackbird - 3
am. goldfinch - 10
Marc Ribaudo
Woodbridge, VA
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.
