Dick Bauder, Phil George and I conducted the Audubon Society of Northern
Virginia annual waterfowl survey in the Occoquan-Neabsco sector. Not nearly as
exciting as Pohick, but we did find ducks. Very little water was open, but
where it was we found good concentrations. At Occoquan NWR we found
canvasback, redhead, ruddy duck, bufflehead, gadwall, American wigeon, ruddy
duck, lesser scaup, and hooded merganser and coot. At the marina overlook we
added black duck, mallard, red-breasted and common mergansers and ring-necked
duck. Veteran’s Park had one open pond that contain green-winged teal and a
surprise Wilson’s snipe, feeding on the exposed bank and then scurrying across
the ice. Neabsco Creek held large concentrations of mallard and black duck,
with a smattering of other species including a couple of greater scaup and 11
cormorants. Another treat at Neabsco was an otter that popped up from under
the ice with a fish. We tallied 22 bald eagles, most at Occoquan where they
were scattered on the ice and in shoreline trees. We also encountered 3 sharp
shinned hawks at Occoquan, including one carrying what looked like a sparrow.
Marc Ribaudo
Woodbridge
