VA BIRDers,
Partipants on this past Sunday's morning Field Trip at Dyke Marsh (sponsored
by the Friends of Dyke Marsh and free to all) were delighted to observe the
breeding activities of several species today. We viewed several Baltimore
Oriole nests as well as E. Kingbird and Warbling Vireo nests. The display
flights of Marsh Wrens were seen by many and good looks at Yellow Warblers
were had. We noted a bird of the year Black-crowned Night Heron on a docked
boat; boat rental boss Chip tells us that the bird had spent nearly an hour
trying to swallow a catfish. Several close passes by a Purple Martin at the
end of the boardwalk were enjoyed by all. And 2 American Coots continue to
visit the island off the end of the boardwalk - oh, we are into safe dates
for this species, so perhaps these are potential breeders???
We spied Jon "Eagle Eye" Little and friends in a canoe. Jon tells us of
finding a Least Bittern nest! Later, they encountered a six-pack of Ruddy
Ducks, 3 pairs, all sporting breeding plumage.
Near the end of the day, I visited the Stone Bridge as the tide was nearing
its ebb. Here I spotted a Wood Duck family - mama and 12 youngsters!
Nearby, a Hooded Merganser sat on a old log. Yet, there was no sign of the
male Red-breasted Merganser spotted Friday evening. I spent the time
counting Canada Geese Mallards; large numbers of the latter, many of which
are going into molt now and are looking quite ragged. Dotting the mudflats
on either side of the bridge were 5 Great Egrets.
Below is the totals for the entire day's outing - I included Eagle Eye's
numbers, Rich Rieger and Bart Hutchinson's breeding bird survey numbers, and
the morning Field Trip data to give you a snapshot of the birds at Dyke this
past Sunday.
Kurt Gaskill
DC Cormorant 48
Least Bittern 1, NE
Great Blue Heron 30
Great Egret 5
Black-crowned Night Heron 1, juvie plumage
C. Goose 246, FL are getting big now
Wood Duck 15, FL
Mallard 193, a few famlies of ducklings
Ring-necked Duck aka Firestone 1
Hooded Merganser 1
Ruddy Duck 6
Osprey 8
Am. Coot 2
Killdeer 7
L. Gull 16
Ring-billed Gull 21
Great Black-backed Gull 3
Caspian Tern 7
Rock Dove 20
Mourning Dove 12
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 3
C. Swift 24
Ruby-thr. Hummingbird 2
Red-bellied WP 5
Downy WP 7, 2 birds of the year
Hairy WP 1
No. Flicker 3
E. Wood Pewee 1
Acadian Flycatcher 2
Great Crested Flycatcher 2
E. Kingbird 11, ON
Warbling Vireo 5, ON
Red-eyed Vireo 5, incl FY
Blue Jay 3
Am. Crow 7
Fish Crow 1
crow sp. 10
Purple Martin 1
Tree Sw 6, ON
No. Rough-winged Sw 3
Barn Sw 19, ON
C. Chickadee 15
T. Titmouse 21
White-breasted Nuthatch 2
C. Wren 20
M. Wren 2+, Nest noted earlier this week
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 10
Am Robin 7
Gray Catbird 4
No. Mockingbird 1
E. Starling 34
No. Parula 5
Yellow Warbler 5
Prothonotary Warbler 2
Com. Yellowthroat 4
Song Sp 7
No. Cardinal 16
Indigo Bunting 1
Red-winged Blackbird 47
Com. Grackle 13
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
Orchard Oriole 6
Baltimore Oriole 8, ON
House Finch 6
Am Goldfinch 13
House Sparrow 11
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