I birded Metz Wetlands and the Prince William County landfill this morning with
Kurt Gaskill and Sandy Farkas. Highlights were an immature iceland gull at
Metz wetlands and a golden eagle at the landfill. We saw the gull from the
blind as it left the Neabsco marsh and headed (presumably) for the dump. Other
notable birds at Metz were fox sparrow, catbird, rusty blackbird, and winter
wren. At the landfill we tried in vain to locate the Franklin's gull reported
last week from amongst the estimated 6,000 laughing gulls. Fortunately, the
golden eagle reported previously made an impressive appearance, escorted by a
dozen crows. It hung around for quite a while, along with 5 bald eagles. To
say the gulls were on edge is an understatement. Also at the dump were a singe
lesser black-backed gulls, a raven and quite a few American pipits.
Marc Ribaudo
Woodbridge, VA
