VA BIRDers,
Also saw the first spring Little Blue Heron today, about 530pm; the bird was
just starting to change into adult plumage. Also noted an Eastern Phoebe
perched high on a tree edging the marsh. It emitted a few notes that were
somewhat similar to a pewee but I knew that, without field marks, it could
not be. Pewees are due in ca. 15-20 days in this area.
The Swamp Sparrow count was 10 and Song Sparrow was 1. Many snipe - easily
7 spotted with little effort. Two Field Sparrows, an E. Towhee, and 36
Rusty Blackbirds near the beginning of the boardwalk. The Green-winged Teal
count was ca. 28. Also two yellow Palm Warblers and the gnatcatchers were
up to half a dozen, including a pair doing courtship activities.
Kurt Gaskill
-----Original Message-----
From: va-bird-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:va-bird-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of jack-sharon-lynn
Sent: Friday, April 07, 2006 6:46 PM
To: va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [va-bird] Little blue heron at Huntley Meadows Park
Paula Sullivan and I went to Huntley Meadows Park this afternoon. We had
excellent looks at WILSON'S SNIPE from the boardwalk,and were able to take
pictures. While we were taking the photos, we noticed a GREAT EGRET and a
juvenile LITTLE BLUE HERON. Also present in the marsh were many GREEN
WINGED TEAL, a pair of BLUE WINGED TEAL,a PECTORAL SANDPIPER and a GREATER
YELLOWLEGS. Along barnyard run, we saw a pair of BELTED KINGFISHERS, and a
pair of HOODED MERGANSERS along with more turtles than we have ever seen at
one time in the park. Other notable birds seen were:
RED SHOULDERED HAWK-2
RED TAILED HAWK-1
BLUE GRAY GNATCATCHERS-3
COMMON YELLOWTHROAT-1,heard only
AMERICAN COOT-1
PIED BILLED GREBE-1
Sharon Lynn, Alexandria
