I was expecting a really cold, windy walk in the swamp. Boy, was I wrong.
It was gorgeous. The temperature was indeed a cool 42F at 7:00 am, but it
warmed to a delightful 56F by the time we left at noon. And the wind was
essentially zero, although it came up to about 8 mph from the NW at the end. I
was joined by Peggy Rommen, John Young, Renee Hudgins, and Steve Living. We
walked 3+ miles along Washington Ditch, turning back at 10 am.
The OVENBIRDs which were not heard last week were certainly out in force
today. So were the BLUE-GREY GNATCATCHERs, WHITE-EYED VIREOs, and LOUISIANA
WATERTHRUSHes. But the two new warblers stole the show. Several male AMERICAN
REDSTARTs and a stunning non-singing male PROTHONOTARY WARBLER found perching
quietly by Renee were the highlights of the morning. On our way in we flushed
an AMERICAN BITTERN from the ditch as we passed.
The bird list includes: Ovenbird 14, Common Yellowthroat 15, Red-bellied
Woodpecker 10, Pileated Woodpecker 5, Eastern Towhee 3, Pine Warbler 1,
American Woodcock 1 (peenting near the parking lot), Carolina Chickadee 6,
American Goldfinch 10, White-eyed Vireo 2, Northern Flicker 1, Barred Owl 3
(nice vocal display, came in for a look), Red-shouldered Hawk 2 (nesting now,
so much quieter), Carolina Wren 11, White-breasted Nuthatch 4, Downy Woodpecker
5, Hairy Woodpecker 5, American Bittern 1, Louisiana Waterthrush 8 (many good
views), White-throated Sparrow 5 (singing for poor sam peabody), Red-winged
Blackbird 12 (all females), Yellow-rumped Warbler 15, Ruby-crowned Kinglet 6
(much singing), Purple Martin 1 (overhead), Rusty Blackbird 130 (several
flocks), Belted Kingfisher 2 (males), Brown-headed Cowbird 1 (overhead), Wood
Duck 4, Common Grackle 3 (overhead), Blue-headed Vireo 1 (singing), Black
Vulture 1 (overhead), Hermit Thrush 2 (singing quietly), American Redstart 4
(all singing males), Tufted Titmouse 2, Blue-grey Gnatcatcher 5, Dark-eyed
Junco 2, Mourning Dove 1, Turkey Vulture 2 (overhead), Grey Catbird 1
(muttering), Prothonotary Warbler 1 (a non-singing beauty), Black-and-white
Warbler 1 (singing), Blue Jay 1.
Butterflies began to appear around 9:30am. Pearl Crescent 18, E. Tiger
Swallowtail 4 (with both sexes seen well), Zebra Swallowtail 5, Palamedes
Swallowtail 3 (first of the year, provided careful study), Mourning Cloak 2,
Question Mark 1.
I will be out of the area for a month so this was the last swamp walk for a
while. But there's most of the spring left to arrive, so I'm counting on you
to keep checking out what's happening in the great out-of-doors.
Cheers,
Bob
Robert L. Ake
6603 Catherine Street
Norfolk VA 23505
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