Hello VA Birders!
Curious about whether there were any red-necked
grebes in the Middle Peninsula I checked out my
favorite spots in King William and King and Queen
Counties on Monday 3/17. I also explored a bit
in Middlesex County south of the southernmost
bridge that crosses the Rappahannock where I have
never been. I stopped at two places on the
Pamunkey River(tidal fresh water) and 9
freshwater ponds in King William Co(4 hours), 4
spots along the Mattaponi River (tidal
freshwater) and 3 freshwater ponds in K&Q Co(1.5
hours), and 4 spots along the Rappahannock River
(saltwater) and two freshwater ponds in Middlesex
County(1.5 hours). It drizzled quite bit in the
morning and was overcast and windless all day.
Highlights were the following:
1. No red-necked grebes but plenty of horned
grebes in the Pamunkey and Rappahannock, a few in
almost breeding plumage.
2. Shorebirds: Pectoral Sandpipers, large numbers
of Wilson's snipe, many yellowlegs (more than I
have ever seen here). Winter peeps/dunlin gone.
3. Many surf scoters in the Rappahannock. Males
very active, courting and chasing.
4. Lots of Tree swallows, all flying up-river.
5. More than usual number of teals but low
numbers of most other ducks, geese, swans. I
guess most have started north. Geese and gw teal
are mostly paired up.
6. Ospreys carrying nest material, sitting in
pairs on partly-constructed nests on duck blinds,
silos, etc.
7. Singing spring peepers, chorus frogs, pickerel
frogs all day long, and even a few American toads
in the evening.
8. four species of water turtles
9. Pine warblers and yellow-rumped warblers were
singing.
10 Quite a few phoebes are back.
Here is the list:(M= Middlesex Co, KW= King
William Co, KQ= King and Queen Co, all= all 3
counties, m = male, f = female)
Common Loon: 8 in Rappahannock(M)
Horned Grebe: 13Pamunkey (KW); 12 Rappahannock(M)
Pied-billed Grebe: 2 KW ponds, 1 M harbor
Double-crested Cormorant: 17 in Pamunkey (KW), 10
in Rappahannock (M), 1 in Mattaponi (KQ)
Osprey pairs: 5 KW, 2 M, 3 KQ
Bald Eagle: adults only: 5 KW, 1 M, 3 KQ
Red-tailed Hawk 3 all
Red-shouldered Hawk 8 KW very vocal, 1 KQ
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 KW
Kestrel 4 all
Northern Harrier 1 KW, flushed several snipe
Great Blue Heron: 12 total (all)
Turkey vulture ~35 (all)
Black vulture ~10 (all)
Canada Goose about 130 (all)
Mallard: 16 all
Black Duck: 2 pair in Pamunkey (KW)
Pintail: 11 KW
Gadwall: 2 KW, 29 KQ
American Wigeon: 2 pair KW
Shoveler: 1 pair KW
Green-winged Teal: 109 KW mostly in Pamunkey R
Blue-winged Teal: 6 male 2 female KW
Wood Duck: 3 pair KW, 1 pair KQ
Surf Scoter: 110 Rappahannock (M)
Long-tailed Duck: 2 Rappahannock (M)
Bufflehead: 34 KW, 140 M, 5 KQ (mostly in rivers)
Common Merganser: 4m, 5f, KW; 2 m, 2 f KQ
Red-breasted Merganser: 2m 3f KW; 3m 1f KQ
Hooded Merganser: 3m 7f KW, 2f 1m KQ
Ring-necked Duck: 5m 3f KW, 3m 2f KQ
Lesser Scaup: 3m 2 f KW, 6m 3f KQ
Ruddy Duck: 14 all
Wilson's Snipe: 181 Pamunkey, nearby fields (KW)
Pectoral Sandpiper: 5 Pamunkey, (KW)
Greater Yellowlegs: 51 KW, 8 KQ
Lesser Yellowlegs: 32 KW, 3 KQ
Killdeer 16 all
American Coot: 9 Pamunkey (KW)
Mourning Dove: about 120 KW, 30 M, and 40 KQ
Tree Swallows about 150 (KW)
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 2 (KW)
Belted Kingisher: 7 all
Pileated 3, Red-headed Woodpecker (KW) 9,
Red-bellied 5, Hairy 2, Downy 2, Flicker 15,
sapsucker 1 KW
Titmouse 10, carolina chickadee 10, carolina wren
9, golden-crowned kinglet 2 KW
Hermit Thrush 2 KW, Robin about 450 all,
bluebird about 40 all
meadowlark 15 KW
phoebe: KW 9, M 1, KQ 2
pine warbler (all) 8
yellow-rumped warbler KW 7
mixed blackbirds (incl 5 rusty in KW): starling,
cowbird, red-winged, grackle ~900 (all)
~100 crows, including 1 fish in M
blue jay (all)
white-breasted nuthatch 2 KW
sparrow approx. totals: field 5, chipping 2, song
35, white-throated 75, junco 30, swamp 5
cardinal about 25 (all)
towhee 4 KW
also goldfinch, house finch, mockingbird (all)
no horned larks, pipits, or cedar waxwings
I'll soon be off to the cloud forests of Ecuador
(Mindo and Tandayapa)for a week.
All the best 8-)
Fred
=====
Frederick D. Atwood fredatwood@xxxxxxxxx
Flint Hill School, 10409 Academic Dr, Oakton, VA 22124
703-242-1675
http://www.agpix.com/fredatwood
http://www.flinthill.org
__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Platinum - Watch CBS' NCAA March Madness, live on your desktop!
http://platinum.yahoo.com
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.
