Low temperatures, gray skies, and the threat of snow depressed numbers today at
Dutch Gap, both of birds and of birders. Four regulars and one first-timer
scoured the park, and turned up some good birds in spite of less-than-ideal
conditions.
The most plentiful ducks were Wood Ducks, though as usual, they hung back near
the tree line in the marsh, giving us only distant views. We counted a total of
175. Gadwall were second with about 100 present. We also got looks at Northern
Shovelers, American Wigeon, Mallards, Ring-necked Ducks, Bufflehead, Hooded
Mergansers, Mallards, and a few Canvasbacks up on the fly-ash pond. Pied-billed
Grebe and American Coot were misses today.
We did well on woodpeckers, missing only Hairy out of the possibles. Songbirds
were a bit tough today, though we did eventually run across a couple of mixed
flocks and had good looks at both Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, a
Brown Thrasher and a flock of Song Sparrows up on the fence line. Some of the
most exciting moments of the morning came down the Twin Rock Spur trail, where
three Bald Eagles seemed to be trying to work out some courtship problems, a
Red-shouldered Hawk and a Northern Harrier did a little hunting, and four
Wilson’s Snipe gave us a quick flyby.
We finished with 45 species, not bad for a cloudy January day. Complete
checklist below.
—
Lewis Barnett
blbarnett3@xxxxxxxxx
---------------------------
Henricus - Dutch Gap Conservation Area, Chesterfield, Virginia, US
Jan 12, 2019 7:55 AM - 12:14 PM
Protocol: Traveling
2.8 mile(s)
45 species
Canada Goose 125
Wood Duck 175
Northern Shoveler 20
Gadwall 100
American Wigeon 20
Mallard 50
Northern Pintail 6
Canvasback 5
Ring-necked Duck 45
Bufflehead 6
Hooded Merganser 6
Killdeer 1
Wilson's Snipe 6
Ring-billed Gull 75
Double-crested Cormorant 1
Great Blue Heron 3
Black Vulture 200
Turkey Vulture 2
Northern Harrier 1
Bald Eagle 5
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Red-headed Woodpecker 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
American Crow 15
Carolina Chickadee 4
Tufted Titmouse 1
Brown Creeper 1
Carolina Wren 2
Golden-crowned Kinglet 5
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2
Eastern Bluebird 3
Brown Thrasher 2
Northern Mockingbird 2
Pine Siskin 2
Dark-eyed Junco 2
White-throated Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 14
Red-winged Blackbird 13
Northern Cardinal 2
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