I was joined by five hardy birders for the walk at Henricus Park/Dutch Gap Conservation Area on Sunday. The predicted show didn't amount to much, and the day was sunny and brisk, especially after the wind picked up.
The marsh area had a nice complement of ducks. We found Ring-necked Ducks, Gadwall, Northern Shovelers and Mallards in good numbers, with a few American Wigeon scattered in, as well as one female Wood Duck and one American Coot. A bumper crop of Eastern Bluebirds were flitting around the marsh as well, observed by a pair of Red-shouldered Hawks perched on the same branch, just a few trees over from a Cooper's Hawk.
The trail back into Dutch Gap was much quieter. We did find a few Yellow-rumped Warblers, Song Sparrows and White-throated Sparrows. The lagoon Kingfisher showed up as usual, and we were treated to immature and adult Bald Eagles soaring. As we hiked out, we were visited by a Kestrel on the fence-line and had a swift overflight by an Osprey.
The most interesting experience of the day (and also the grisliest -- the faint of heart may want to skip to the trip list at the end of this message) was evidence of a hearty meal enjoyed by one of our avian friends. On the left-hand side of the trail between the Twin Rock Spur and the fork leading to the new bridge, we found a drift of gray feathers, presumably the leavings of a hawk or owl who had used the branch just overhead as a perch to consume a sizeable meal. We eventually noticed, suspended ("like a Christmas ornament," noted one young member of the group) by a thread of sinew in a bare bush, the intact head of the victim, which appeared to be a Green Heron. The kill appeared to be very fresh, as the eyes had not clouded.
The complete trip list is below. Lewis Barnett Location: Henricus - Dutch Gap Conservation Area Observation date: 12/7/08 Number of species: 35 Canada Goose 12 Wood Duck 1 Gadwall 25 American Wigeon 8 Mallard 22 Northern Shoveler 15 Ring-necked Duck 36 Double-crested Cormorant 120 Great Blue Heron 2 Turkey Vulture 3 Osprey 1 Bald Eagle 2 Cooper's Hawk 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 2 American Kestrel 1 American Coot 1 Ring-billed Gull 50 Mourning Dove 1 Belted Kingfisher 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 3 Eastern Phoebe 2 American Crow X Carolina Chickadee 4 Carolina Wren 4 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1 Eastern Bluebird 10 Northern Mockingbird 4 European Starling 15 Yellow-rumped Warbler 4 Song Sparrow 3 White-throated Sparrow 4 Dark-eyed Junco 1 Northern Cardinal 2 Red-winged Blackbird 10 This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/VA) You are subscribed to VA-Richmond-General. To unsubscribe, send email to va-richmond-general-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. To adjust other settings (vacation, digest, etc.) please visit, //www.freelists.org/list/va-richmond-general.
