I drove over to Burke Lake Park this afternoon to see what might be on the
water. I found numerous, probably hundreds, of Northern Rough-winged and Tree
Swallows, hocking insects on the surface of the water. There were least 150
Double-crested Cormorants, many displaying their Spring crests, from which the
birds get their name.
The two bald eagles were much of evidence tending to their nest.
And, while scoping the lake, I discovered EIGHT COMMON LOONS in full
breeding plumage, on the far side of the lake from the boat launch. Even at
that distance their green heads just glowed in the afternoon sun. Too bad they
weren't closer.
There were also a couple of the county park employees racing around the lake
in a motorboat, which seemed to bother the cormorants a little and the loons a
lot. When they came back to the boat launch I asked them what they were doing.
"Just doing our job," one of them replied. Who knows?
Donald Sweig
Falls Church, Virginia
Sent from my iPad
