Hello, birders.
A BROWN THRASHER flushed from the ground as I ambled
along the meadow edge this morning at Riverbend. This
bird was near the NW corner of the meadow. I guess
there must be enough food available for it to last
through this very cold weather. It continued to feed
in the leaf litter and then perched a couple of feet
off the ground before I walked on.
Birds were active today. Especially common were
chickadees, titmice and sparrows.
Near the thrasher, about 15 female RED-WINGED
BLACKBIRDS fed on the ground. I counted 7 male NO.
CARDINALS perched in the same bush, brightening the
cold, winter morning. A few more Cardinals were just
feet away. FIELD, SONG, WHITE-THROATED, JUNCO and
SWAMP SPARROWS were abundant in the northern edge of
the meadow.
The Potomac was completely frozen except for one or
two small open areas. A few RING-BILLED and HERRING
GULLS, 15 BUFFLEHEAD, approx. 300 CAN. GEESE and a
PIED-BILLED GREBE were crowded in the open water and
on the nearby ice. The Grebe had apparently swallowed
a huge fish as it's throat was bulging. I watched the
bird quickly tilt it's head several times in
succession as it tried to get the thing down. After
several minutes, it was successful and then swam w/
the Buffleheads. I also saw several MALLARDS and lots
more CAN. GEESE as flyovers and a TUNDRA SWAN on the
ice.
Scott Baron
Fairfax, Va.
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