Hi All,
Sorry for the late post. After "twitching" the Snowy Owl at Dulles on Friday
(Jan 27) AM, my friend from the UK Andy Walker and his friend from PA Mark
Larson headed up to the Lucketts area of Loudon County to find more lifers for
Andy. Along Route 661 south of Lucketts, we ran into Ralph Wall who joined us
for the rest of the morning. From there, we headed down to Mason Neck and
Occoquan Bay NWR. Below are the highlights (many of these were highlights
because they were life birds for Andy).
Rt 661 - 2 Great Horned Owls (at the usual nesting area at the creek crossing
~0.5 mile east of Rt 15 in the big woods there), Blue Jay, White-breasted
Nuthatch, Purple Finch
Along Rt 656 - White-crowned Sparrow (near the pig farm), Pileated Woodpecker,
Eastern Towhee (female seen briefly near the end of the road- missed by
Andy...one lifer that got away)
We searched in vain for Loggerhead Shrike along Montessori Rd.
At Mason Neck State Park (at visitors center)- 3 Bald Eagle, Tundra Swan, large
numbers of Goosander (er I mean Common merganser), Fish Crow, Hermit Thrush,
Brown Creeper
Occoquan Bay NWR- American Tree Sparrow (at least 3 along Easy Road at the
first bend), Savannah Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Field Sparrow;
Gadwall,Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck, and Black Duck (along the wildlife
loop), huge rafts of Lesser Scaup in the river
We saw many of these birds in a whole new way as we joined Andy in his
excitement of adding Blue Jay, White breasted Nuthatch,Savannah Sparrow and
other "common" birds to his Life List!
Mike Boatwright
Amherst, VA
