We had a beautiful day for birding at Henricus Historical Park/Dutch Gap
Conservation area today, in contrast with last Saturday, when I thought we were
supposed to be having a walk there amidst the fringes of Hurricane Matthew.
Cool temperatures, clear skies and calm winds made for a very active day for
birds and birders.
The open water at the first platform is covered with duckweed or some other
small aquatic plant. Whether that bothers ducks or not, I’m not sure, but there
were none there today. The only waterfowl paddling around was a single American
Coot. We had Killdeer flying high and calling, and quite a few Eastern
Meadowlarks visible along the ridge line behind the platform and singing away.
We had a bit of excitement when a pair of Kestrels chased a Mourning Dove among
the trees by the road, and then perched very briefly on a couple of poles up in
the fly-ash disposal area. Two late-season Osprey perched on snags across the
marsh. There were, of course, many Red-winged Blackbirds. The surprise of the
day was a young Green Heron that cruised past the platform and perched for good
views in one of the trees lining the marsh.
The walk along the historical area was a bit quieter than usual, though we did
have distant looks at Pileated Woodpecker and Northern Flicker. At the point,
we were treated to what seemed to be a bit of Bald Eagle family drama, as an
immature eagle practiced his moves attempting to poach what looked like a
smallmouth bass from one of two adults present over the river. There were a few
Laughing Gulls over the river, along with one Great Egret, several Great Blue
Herons, and a flock of Canada Geese on the tidal mud flats. There was a lone
female Ruddy Duck diving for fish in the river.
The trail behind the visitor’s center was productive for Bluebirds,
Yellow-rumped Warblers and Ruby-crowned Kinglets. There were several Savannah
Sparrows on the hillside. We had some close encounters with Great Blue Herons
and a Great Egret in the lagoon down the Sycamore Spur trail, as well as some
nice views of a Kestrel that posed on one of the snags there.
Overall, we found 41 species. The complete checklist is below, and check out
the Richmond Audubon Facebook page for a few photos from the walk.
—
Lewis Barnett
blbarnett3@xxxxxxxxx
Henricus - Dutch Gap Conservation Area, Chesterfield, Virginia, US
Oct 15, 2016 7:40 AM - 11:38 AM
Protocol: Traveling
1.5 mile(s)
Comments: <br>Submitted from eBird Android 1.3-beta7
41 species
Canada Goose 57
Mallard 2
Ruddy Duck 1
Double-crested Cormorant 1
Great Blue Heron 5
Great Egret 1
Green Heron 1 Photos
Black Vulture 25
Turkey Vulture 6
Osprey 2
Bald Eagle 3
Red-shouldered Hawk 2
American Coot 1
Killdeer 8
Laughing Gull 6
Mourning Dove 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 4
Downy Woodpecker (Eastern) 3
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 4
Pileated Woodpecker 1
American Kestrel 3
Eastern Phoebe 2
Blue Jay 5
Carolina Chickadee 3
Tufted Titmouse 1
Carolina Wren 8
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 6
Eastern Bluebird 4
American Robin 3
Brown Thrasher 2
Northern Mockingbird 4
European Starling 11
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 6
White-throated Sparrow 3
Savannah Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 5
Red-winged Blackbird 60
Eastern Meadowlark (Eastern) 6
Common Grackle (Purple) 2
House Finch 2
View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S32045430
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org/VA)
