VA BIRDers,
With the mercury climbing into the high twenties, 9 birders assembled for the
regular 8 am Sunday Morning Field Trip at Dyke Marsh, sponsored by the Friends
of Dyke Marsh and free to all. The ice was mostly gone from the Potomac off
the picnic area and there was a strong northern breeze blowing. The latter
made birding a bit tough. The trip highlight was a Gray Catbird, mixed in with
a bunch of sparrows along Haul Road.
The river held several waterfowl species with over a hundred Common Mergansers
dominating the scene - also present were Canada Geese (less than a thousand), a
few Black Ducks, a few dozen Mallards, flyby Green-winged Teals, a couple
groups of Bufflehead, and a small patch of Ruddy Ducks. A single American Coot
was in the marina. Two adult Bald Eagles flew about as well as a first/second
winter immature bird. Near Hunting Creek mudflats, a Red-tailed Hawk perched
and the broken ice in this area attracted a large number of Great Black-backed
Gulls and a couple of Killdeer.
Haul Road was relatively quiet - a single Winter Wren uttered a single chip
note near the beginning. Closer to the dogleg, many sparrows were noted
including a lone American Tree Sparrow. It was in this area that the Gray
Catbird appeared in response to pishing. Vistas from along the dogleg showed a
very frozen marsh which was nearly devoid of activity. Hopefully, a few warm
days will change all of this as blackbird migration (should) start in about two
weeks!
Kurt Gaskill
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