I went back to Piscataway Park today (MD, along the Potomac), after last
weekend's disappointment with searching for the Greater White-fronted Goose.
Once again, no luck. In fact, today all the Canada Geese were huddled up in
the middle of the Potomac, away from the ice. Not a single goose in the
fields. Still, got some great looks at an immature bald eagle over the
marsh, and a definite Canvasback out by the fishing pier.
And, although I'm not 100 percent on the ID, I think I saw a Peregrin (or a
Merlin on steroids) over the marsh as well. It flushed from the trees, gave
me a quick look at a bluish, flat-winged, rufus-bellied profile and ducked
(pardon the pun) behind some trees.
Here's a question for the list. I picked up the "Checklist of the Birds of
the National Capital Parks-East" at the visitor center. For Piscataway Park,
under Ducks, it lists every single variety of duck (except Lesser Scaup and
Bufflehead!) as uncommon, rare, or transient for all seasons! Even Mallards
are listed as uncommon. Is this a reflection of infrequent birding at the
park or are there really that few birds there (except the two days I've been
there!!!)??? ;)
Here's the list:
Canada Geese
Mallard
Wigeon
Gadwall
Ruddy Duck
Common Merg.
Lesser Scaup
Canvasback
Belted Kingfisher
Bald Eagle
Hermit Thrush
White-breasted Nuthatch
White-throated Sparrow
Tufted Titmouse
Eastern Bluebird
Turkey Vulture
Mockingbird
Cardinal
Robin
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Flicker (Yellow-shafted)
Am. Crow
Carolina Wren
Carolina Chickadee
Ring-billed Gull
Greater Black-backed Gull
Starling
Great Blue Heron
-- Scott Michaud
Arlington, VA
_________________________________________________________________
MSN 8: advanced junk mail protection and 2 months FREE*.
http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail
You are subscribed to VA-BIRD. To post to this mailing list, simply send email
to va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx. To unsubscribe, send email to
va-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
