VA BIRDers,
After watching dawn at Lorton I drove to Neabsco Creek near Leeslyvania SP to
sort through gulls. During the field trip yesterday we noted the gulls flew
SW (to the Pr Wm dump I would guess) between 0700 and 0745. So, I felt a
visit at 0645 may pay off.
As I scanned the group with my scope I found a dark mantled gull. Although I
initially thought it may be a Lesser Black-backed, I noted it was smaller
than the surrounding Herring Gulls, yet a tad larger than Ringed-billed
Gulls. Then I saw the few fine dark streaks on the nape, the slight
smudginess about the eye, the bill with the red gonys and slight black smudge
near the end and the brown eye. Hot Dog! A California!
The bird took off as an eagle flew over head - along with another thousand
gulls. I tried to follow it and got a momentary glance of the broad white
trailing edge of the underside of the wing and then lost the bird.
Attempting to find it, I stumbled upon a Glaucous Gull in flight. White with
very little brown from head the tail and the black tip of the pink bill quite
evident suggested it to be a second winter/summer.
I left this location for Quantico Creek, meeting up with Lori Markoff at
0800. Before eight I spent some time watching a few ducks and such near the
marshy area of the creek and then we visited a few other areas, some upland
near the Dominion power plant. Nothing out of the ordinary although we did
find a Northern Pintail, beating my personal best late date by a day. Below
is the our modest efforts for this location (which is very good for Osprey
and Bald Eagle) and which is seldom birded.
Oh, on the way home I visited Dyke Marsh near the Stone Bridge and add 5
Laughing Gulls and 6 Boneparte's Gulls to Paula Sullivan's outstanding
efforts today.
Kurt Gaskill
Quantico Creek:
DC Cormorant 11
Great Blue Heron 18
Great Egret 1
Black Vulture 2
Turkey Vulture 21
Canada Goose 12
Wood Duck 12
Gadwall 6
Am. Black Duck 52
Mallard 5
No. Shoveler 6
No. Pintail 1
Green-winged Teal 5
Hooded Merganser 6
Common Merganser 3
Osprey 10 (we found 4 nests)
Bald Eagle 4
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 4
Killdeer 2
Ring-billed Gull 103
Herring Gull 17
Great Black-backed Gull 1
Rock Dove 3
Mouring Dove 3
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Downy Woodpecker 5
No. Flicker 6
E. Phoebe 3
Blue Jay 4
Am Crow 33
Fish Crow 4
Tree Sw 4
C. Chickadee 11
T. Titmouse 8
C. Wren 9
W. Wren 1
GC Kinglet 5
RC Kinglet 6, several singing
Hermit Thrush 3
Am Robin 25
No. Mockingbird 4
E. Starling 20
Am. Pipit 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1
Pine Warbler 5
E. Towhee 2
Field Sp 17
Song Sp 57
White-thr Sp. 15
Junco 35
No. Cardinal 14
Red-winged Blackbird 11
Com. Grackle 14
Brown-headed Cowbird 9
House Finch 21 (NB, I spotted a female carrying material into a power line
cavity with a nice well-rounded cup nest in it!)
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