[va-bird] Northern Neck, 01/07/07

  • From: "Andrew Dubill" <ajdubill@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: ajdubill@xxxxxxxxxxx, va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2007 10:46:29 -0500

Good day all:

Fred Atwood and I birded the Northern Neck for most of the daylight hours on Sunday, January 7. We visited George Washington's Birthplace, several parcels of private wetlands, fields, and farms in Westmoreland and Richmond Counties, and the ponds along Route 3 in King George County.

We focused on waterfowl, and our highlights included: an American Bittern and two Great Egrets on private wetlands, a Barn Owl on a private farm in Leedstown, Surf Scoters at the Birthplace, and
hundreds of Canvasbacks and Ring-necked Ducks off of Route 3.

To start the day, the skies were clear and the temperature hovered in the mid-50s. As the afternoon progressed, the winds picked up, the temperature dropped, the sky grew cloudy, showers arrived, and temperatures dropped into the 40s.

Our list, with approximate totals for a) Leedstown/Westmoreland County, b) Richmond County, c) the water and the greater shoreline surrounding George Washington's Birthplace National Monument, and d) King George ponds, follows:

Common Loon: 0, 0, 2, 0
Pied-billed Grebe: 0, 0, 0, 12
Great Blue Heron: 2, 1, 2, 1
Great Egret: 2, 0, 0, 0
American Bittern: 0, 1, 0, 0
Tundra Swan: 24, 0, 145, 6
Canada Goose: 450, 100, 1200, 5200
Mallard: 18, 2, 4, 8
Gadwall: 28, 0, 30, 20
American Wigeon: 0, 0, 0, 4
Canvasback: 0, 0, 0, 580
Ring-necked Duck: 0, 6, 80, 1170
Greater Scaup: 0, 0, 4, 0
Lesser Scaup: 0, 0, 50, 15
Surf Scoter: 0, 0, 200, 0
Common Goldeneye: 0, 0, 25, 1
Bufflehead: 0, 5, 120, 29
Hooded Merganser: 0, 0, 0, 56
Common Merganser: 0, 0, 15, 4
Red-breasted Merganser: 50, 0, 31, 10; (90% male)
Ruddy Duck: 0, 0, 79, 100
Black Vulture: 5, 20, 0, 0
Turkey Vulture: 10, 30, 10, 0
Bald Eagle: (2 ad, 1 imm), (2 ad, 1 imm), 1 ad, 0
Northern Harrier: 1, 2, 0, 0
Red-shouldered Hawk: 0, 1, 0, 0
Red-tailed Hawk: 1, 2, 0, 1
American Kestrel: 0, 2, 0, 0
Wild Turkey: 1, 0, 0, 0
American Coot: 0, 0, 0, 60
Killdeer: 0, 0, 0, 1
Ring-billed Gull: 250, 2000, 0, 0
Forster's Tern: 0, 0, 1, 0
Mourning Dove: 6, 100, 0, 0
Barn Owl: 1, 0, 0, 0
Belted Kingfisher: 1, 0, 0, 0
Red-bellied Woodpecker: 4, 3, 2, 0
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: 1, 0, 0, 0
Downy Woodpecker: 1, 0, 0, 0
Northern Flicker: 15, 5, 3, 0
Eastern Phoebe: 1, 0, 0, 0
Blue Jay: 5, 0, 2, 0
American Crow: 10, 10, 0, 0
Carolina Chickadee: 0, 1, 0, 0
Carolina Wren: 10, 2, 0, 0
Winter Wren: 2, 0, 0, 0
Golden-crowned Kinglet: 6, 0, 0, 0
Ruby-crowned Kinglet: 2, 2, 0, 0
Eastern Bluebird: 5, 10, 0, 0
Hermit Thrush: 2, 0, 0, 0
American Robin: 0, 10, 0, 0
Northern Mockingbird: 5, 2, 0, 0
European Starling: 0, 100, 0, 0
Yellow-rumped Warbler: 10, 30, 0, 0
Northern Cardinal: 15, 15, 5, 0
Rufous-sided Towhee: 1, 0, 0, 0
Savannah Sparrow: 2, 5, 0, 1
Song Sparrow: 20, 40, 5, 0
Swamp Sparrow: 5, 10, 0, 0
White-throated Sparrow: 15, 40, 10, 0
White-crowned Sparrow: 25, 5, 0, 0
Dark-eyed Junco: 0, 0, 50, 0
Red-winged Blackbird: 250, 200, 0, 0
Rusty Blackbird: 1, 0, 0, 0
Eastern Meadowlark: 0, 2, 0, 2
Common Grackle: 0, 0, 0, 1
American Goldfinch: 7, 5, 0, 0

Andrew Dubill
NW Washington, DC


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  • » [va-bird] Northern Neck, 01/07/07