The weather cleared up so I decided to make another try at Blitzing
for Rusty Blackbirds in the Great Dismal Swamp. I started at Jericho
Ditch Lane where the temperature was 23F at 7:00am. I was pleased to
find that the automatic gate opened promptly at 7:02am. I slowly
drifted along the entrance road (Jericho Ditch Lane) where I flushed a
Barred Owl that sat on a stump and stared back at me with his dark
eyes. There were a few Rusties further along, but no indication of the
very large group noted last weekend. From the parking lot I walked
north along Jericho Ditch. The morning was beautiful but cold and the
birds that I recorded were all winter birds with no migrants observed.
Notable was the large number of White-throats and Hermit Thrushes. The
catbirds seemed to be up as well giving an indicator that my yardbirds
(that never overwinter) may show up soon.
I finished with Jericho early and decided to try a quick walk to
the water control structure on Washington Ditch which is 1 mile from the
parking lot. There were fewer birds because it was later, but again no
new migrants. I did find a respectable number of Rusty Blackbirds.
This flock, mostly males, were all nicely perched high in trees,
squeaking away. But the best-in-show here was two pairs of
Red-shouldered Hawks that were circling overhead and loudly calling and
interacting. This species is a common breeder in the swamp, but these
four birds put on quite a show for more than ten minutes. It was also
interesting that I recorded no Hermit Thrushes at this location, an
indication of the scarcity of fruiting hollies in the understory.
I'm going to try my next swamp walk on Tuesday, April 1 (no
fooling) leaving from the parking lot at Washington Ditch at 7:00am. If
you're interested, please join me. No reservation is needed; just show
up. I'm hoping for a little warmer weather and some migrants. And some
butterflies - there were no butterflies today at either location. The
lists of today's birds are given below.
Dismal Swamp NWR Jericho Ditch, Suffolk, US-VA
Mar 27, 2014 7:02 AM - 10:17 AM
Protocol: Rusty Blackbird Spring Migration Blitz
6.0 mile(s)
Comments: 23F-39F; 0 mph Submitted from BirdLog NA for Android v1.9.3
34 species
Wild Turkey 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 2
Barred Owl 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-headed Woodpecker 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 5
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Downy Woodpecker 2
Hairy Woodpecker 4
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 4
Pileated Woodpecker 6
Eastern Phoebe 2
Blue Jay 8
American Crow 1
Carolina Chickadee 6
Tufted Titmouse 5
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Winter Wren 7
Carolina Wren 9
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2
Hermit Thrush 18
American Robin 2
Gray Catbird 9
Brown Thrasher 3
Northern Mockingbird 1
Orange-crowned Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 6
Eastern Towhee 5
Song Sparrow 2
Swamp Sparrow 8
White-throated Sparrow 65
Northern Cardinal 7
Rusty Blackbird 13
Common Grackle 5
Dismal Swamp NWR Washington Ditch, Suffolk US-VA
Mar 27, 2014 10:43 AM - 11:50 AM
Protocol: Rusty Blackbird Spring Migration Blitz
2.0 mile(s)
Comments: 39F Submitted from BirdLog NA for Android v1.9.3
23 species
Wood Duck 4
Hooded Merganser 10
Turkey Vulture 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 4
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 2
Pileated Woodpecker 2
Blue Jay 1
Carolina Chickadee 6
Tufted Titmouse 1
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Winter Wren 8
Carolina Wren 2
American Robin 1
Pine Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 4
White-throated Sparrow 10
Northern Cardinal 1
Rusty Blackbird 60
Common Grackle 7
American Goldfinch 1
