18 members of the Augusta Bird Club enjoyed the weekend in Virginia's
Northern Neck area. Water brids were well represented in our final talley,
but passerines were fewer than expected. It seems as if many of the winter
flocks of sparrows have dispersed and most hermit thrushes have moved on.
However, for us mountains and valleys folks it was precisely the waterfowl
and eagles that thrilled us most. While no one counted the bald eagles, a
consevative estimate of 50 were encountered as we traversed this region
between the Potomac and the Rappahannok, all the way from Fredericksburd to
the Chesapeake. This included one eagle in a nest at Lands End WMA. Here we
also saw a Great Horned Owl in an appropriated Great Blue Heron nest as well
as an active Great Blue Heron rookery. Several Ospreys were seen building
or occupying nests. Another nesting highlight was a pair of Brown-headed
Nuthatches that were actively working a cavity in a snag in the tidal marsh
at Hughlett Point Natural Area Preserve. We also saw 4 grebe species, both
loons and all three mergansers. A total of ~90 species ended up on the
composite list (and there are probably a few others of which I am unaware).
All in all, we visited some lovely areas, met some nice people and saw some
good birds. Special thanks to Teta Kain for suggesting some of the sights
visited and to Milton Gallahan, manager of Lands End WMA for the special
guided tour of that lovely preserve on the Rappahannock River. /John Spahr
Pied-billed Grebe
Red-necked Grebe (multiple sites)
Horned Grebe (most on Potomac by Colonial Beach)
Eared Grebe (Colonial Beach, photographed by Brenda Tekin)
Northern Gannet
D-c Cormorant
Ruddy Duck (multiple large flotillas on Potomac and Rappahanock)
Mute Swan
Tundra Swan
Swow Goose
Canada Goose (large flocks winging northward--thankfully)
Wood Duck
Gadwall
Mallard (Puddle ducks were limited in numbers and species)
Canvasback (well represented in the quarry ponds on SR 3 east of
Fredericksburg)
Redhead (small numbers in the same quarry ponds)
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Long-tailed Ducks (multiple spots in Potomac)
Surf Scoter
Common Goldeneye
Bufflehead (everywhere)
Hooded Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Common Merganser
Great Blue Heron
Black Vulture
T. Vulture
Osprey (the first of the year for most of us)
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier (1 adult male at George Washington Birthplace NM)
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Am. Kestrel
Wild Turkey
Am. Coot
Killdeer
Ring-billed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Herring Gull
Forster's Tern
Red-throated Loon
Common Loon
Rock Dove
Mourning Dove
Great Horned Owl (on nest -- spotted by Harry Lumadue & Grant Simmons)
Hummingbird species (seen by a few in parking lot of Days Inn, Colonial
Beach)
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Cedar Waxwing
Eastern Bluebird
Hermit Thrush (only 1)
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
E. Starling
Brown-headed Nuthatch (nest cavity located by Lisa Hamilton)
Brown Thrasher
Carolina Wren
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Horned Lark (1 bird, in field with a few pipits)
House Sparrow
American Pipit
Am. Goldfinch
House Finch (several with conjunctivitis at feeder in Colonial Beach)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (fewer than expected)
Pine Warbler (on a garage roof in Colonial Beach)
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Savannah Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blakbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Common Grackle (by the thousands in flight, mixed with redwings and
cowbirds)
Brown-headed Cowbird
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