I picked a glorious day to take a day of vacation from work. I seized the
opportunity and took my 3 year old son to Huntley Meadows. Exploring Huntley
with a 3 year old is a lot different than my typical bird-focused trip to
Huntley. The herps and invertebrates are out in good numbers. The waterfowl
numbers are down though still some nice birds, including 8-10 Blue-winged
Teal, 1 female Hooded Merganser, 1 Pied-billed Grebe, Green-winged Teal, and
still a few N. Shovelers. There were a good number of Wood Ducks down
Barnyard Run. Saw my first of year Green Heron and heard a House Wren.
Gnatcatchers are back in full-force. Seemingly a Swamp Sparrow in every tuft
of grass near water and a very vocal Chipping Sparrow in the main parking
lot.
The best bird of the day was a first at Huntley for me, Northern Harrier. I
only saw it briefly flying away from me (showing its "circus" white-rump).
The real highlight, however, was watching my son try and use his binoculars
and the fact that he stayed for 3 hours and not only did not loose
attention, but did not want to leave!
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Jeff Clark
Fairfax City, VA
http://www.fairfaxbirding.com
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