Mary Foster, Adam D'Onofrio, David Spears, Evan Spears, and I braved the
butal conditions to bird around Kerr Dam today. The wind was howling making
identifying distant waterfowl almost impossible. We started at Tailrace
where water was flowing and several thousand gulls were feeding. Ring-bills
dominated the numbers as usual, but there were a few Bonaparte's and a
single Herring mixed in. As we drove across the dam, the Spears spotted a
Palm Warbler that was foraging along the roadside. Unfortunately the rest
of us missed it and were unable to refind it. There were several rafts of
waterfowl above the dam with the highlight being a large group of
Canvasbacks. Many birds went unidentified due to the wind. Palmer Point
yielded 2 Red-throated Loons along with at least 10 Common Loons and a small
group of Green-winged Teal. We dipped on the the Loggerhead Shrike at
Palmer Springs, but on the way back across the dam we spotted a lone
American Pipit foraging along the roadside. A brief check of Dick Cross WMA
yielded 2 seperated groups of Tundra Swans, 11 on the pond behind the
kennels and 10 on Clyde's Pond. David and Evan decided to end their
suffering and head home, but being gluttons for punishment the rest of us
decided to check the gulls at Tailrace again since the water level was down
and most were resting on the exposed rocks. We were rewarded with the
continuing adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, a first winter Great Black-backed
Gull, and the 2 continuing Spotted Sandpipers.
Paul Glass
South Boston, VA
