Occoquan was a lot of fun this mornging, despite the chilly winds along the
river. There was a lot of activity, with 75 species tallied. One of the
highlights was a pair of kestrels, the first I have seen at the refuge in some
time. Hopefully they will stick around and use the kestrel box located behind
the fishing pond. I saw over 100 Bonaparte's gulls, in several flocks. The
most interesting was about 30 birds well up Marumsco Creek (behind the banding
station), sitting on the mudflats. Several gulls had partial hoods. One flock
contained 4 Forster's terns. I saw 2 northern harriers, including a gorgeous
male "gray ghost". An eastern meadowlark was singing over one of the
newly-mown fields along Charlie Road. A flock of about 40 rusty blackbirds was
near the intersection of Easy and Deephole Pt. Roads. I heard 4 different king
rails at various points. The marsh located adjacent to the river contained
about a dozen Wilson's snipe and 2 greater yellowlegs. I came across several
flocks of turkeys. They appear to have undergone a population boom, and are
now very conspicuous, particularly at first light. A large flock of swallows
was working Occoquan Bay near the overlook. I picked out several barn swallows
and a single rough-winged swallow. I watched a eagle relieve an osprey of a
fish, and watched a fox eat a squirrel.
For those interested, here is my list, a few totals:
horned grebe - 20
pied-billed grebe - 2
double-crested cormorant - 75
great blue heron - 50 (these guys were everywhere)
Canada goose
wood duck
gadwall
green-winged teal
mallard
greater scaup - 2
lesser scaup - 700
bufflehead - 40
hooded merganser - 1
red-breasted merganser - 30
common merganser - 1
ruddy duck - 1
turkey vulture - 3
osprey - lots
bald eagle - 4
northern harrier - 2
red-tailed hawk - 1
American kestrel - 2
wild turkey - saw 3, heard many
king rail - 4
killdeer - 3
Wilson's snipe - 12
greater yellowlegs - 2
ring-billed gull
herring gull
Bonaparte's gull - 100
Forster's tern - 4
rock pigeon
mourning dove
red-bellied woodpecker - 3
yellow-bellied sapsucker - 1
downy woodpecker - 2
northern flicker - 12
eastern phoebe - 8
tree swallow
northern rough-winged swallow - 1
barn swallow - 5
golden-crowned kinglet - 10
ruby-crowned kinglet - 3
cedar waxwing - 3
carolina wren
northern mockingbird - 5
brown thrasher - 4
eastern bluebird - 25
hermit thrush - 1
American robin
carolina chickadee
tufted titmouse
brown creeper - 1
blue jay
American crow
fish crow
starling
house sparrow
house finch
American goldfinch
yellow-rumped warbler - 2
palm warbler - 1
eastern towhee - 4
field sparrow - 12
savannah sparrow - 8
song sparrow - 70
swamp sparrow - 3
white-crowned sparrow - 1
white-throated sparrow
dark-eyed junco
northern cardinal
eastern meadowlark - 1
rusty blackbird - 52
common grackle
brown-headed cowbird
Marc Ribaudo
Woodbridge, VA
