The Northern Virginia Bird Club trip to Occoquan NWR today enjoyed a gorgeous
October morning. Led by Marc Ribaudo and Larry Meade, the 20 attendees were
treated to some nice birds. The most unexpected was a glossy ibis that flew
over us as we were watching waterfowl near the mouth of the Occoquan River.
Other noteworthy birds were 7 Bonaparte's gulls, one calling king rail, several
hundred coots, 2 meadowlarks, and 4 rusty blackbirds. We saw 61 species in
all.
For those interested, here is the list:
double crested cormorant
great blue heron
glossy ibis
Canada goose
wood duck
gadwall mallard
black duck
turkey vulture
bald eagle
northern harrier
sharp-shinned hawk
Cooper's hawk
red-shouldered hawk
red-tailed hawk
king rail
american coot
ring-billed gull
great black-backed gull
Bonaparte's gull
laughing gull
Forster's tern
rock pigeon
mourning dove
belted kingfisher
red-bellied woodpecker
downy woodpecker
northern flicker
pileated woodpecker
eastern phoebe
tree swallow
ruby-crowned kinglet
carolina wren
winter wren
northern mockingbird
brown thrasher
eastern bluebird
american robin
carolina chickadee
tufted titmouse
white-breasted nuthatch
blue jay
American crow
fish crow
european starling
house finch
American goldfinch
yellow-rumped warbler
palm warbler
eastern towhee
field sparrow
savannah sparrow
song sparrow
swamp sparrow
white-crowned sparrow
white-throated sparrow
northern cardinal
red-wingted blackbird
eastern meadowlark
rusty blackbird
common grackle
Marc Ribaudo
Woodbirdge, VA
