I checked the Hunting Creek flats late this afternoon, starting a couple of
hours after low tide. Scoped the West Flats from the north shore of the creek,
from the base of the sound wall, and from the George Washington Parkway bridge;
then crossed to East side of the bridge to look through the birds in the mouth
of the creek and the Potomac River;
VA: Alexandria/Fairfax Co: mouth of Hunting Creek
14 Sep 2008: 1650 to 1815 EDT
32à ºC; partly to mostly clouded; S 20 to 25 km/hr; sunset 1918 EDT;
low tide ~ 1440; E flats & bars submerged by 1650; only higher, more
vegetation-covered parts of W flats exposed after 1750;
#s East / #s West of GW Parkway
Canada Goose 225 / 18
Gadwall 2 / --
American Black Duck -- / 2
Mallard 70 / 22
Blue-winged Teal 2 / --
N. Shoveler 4 / --
Double-crested Cormorant 35 / --
Great Blue Heron 14 / 2
Great Egret 37 / 16
Cooper's Hawk 1 / --
Killdeer -- / 2
Greater Yellowlegs -- / 11
Lesser Yellowlegs -- / 17
Semipalmated Sandpiper -- / 8
Least Sandpiper -- / 22
White-rumped Sandpiper -- / 1
Pectoral Sandpiper -- / 3
Laughing Gull 190 / 550
Ring-billed Gull 145 / 225
Herring Gull 3 / --
Great Black-backed Gull 2 / --
Caspian Tern 6 / 5
Forster's Tern 70 / 8
Rock Pigeon -- / 4
Mourning Dove 2 / 6
Belted Kingfisher -- / 1
. . . (passerines not tallied)
Sherman Suter
Alexandria VA 22307
ssuter@xxxxxxxx
Sherman Suter, Ph.D.
Book Reviews Editor
Science
1200 New York Ave. NW
Washington DC 20005
(202) 326-6523 / fax: (202) 789-5316
email: ssuter@xxxxxxxx
