Yesterday looked to be such a great day that I took the day off and
went birding. Actually that's what I do every day. I couldn't pass up
a walk in the Great Dismal Swamp on a beautiful day. I was hoping for
some first-of-the year spring migrants, but that didn't happen. It's
hard for the effects of this cold winter to be wiped out so quickly.
But I had hopes. I started at the Washington Ditch parking lot and
walked 3 miles in and back. I was met immediately by a gobbler
displaying in the middle of the trail to four hens. The group was still
going at it when I returned several hours later. The woodpeckers were
making their usual racket for this time of year, but I encountered many
more Carolina Chickadees than usual. No finches other than a flock of
American Goldfinches were encountered. Late winter is sometimes good
for siskins and Purple Finches in the swamp. However, I did get
Rusties. I had three groups of about ten birds each. The first two
groups flew in and then proceeded to "fall" through the branches,
spiraling downward, eventually reaching the wet forest floor where they
disappeared and presumably began tossing leaves looking for food.
I decided not to walk the last mile to the lake. So, after
returning to the Washington Ditch parking lot, I drove to Railroad Ditch
and drove slowly to Lake Drummond. I found another small group of
Rusties along the way, but since it was after noon, the bird activity
was slow. At the lake I counted 750 Tundra Swan along the northern
edge. Had I continued my Washington Ditch walk to the lake, they would
have been directly in front of me there. With the south wind I had
expected to have swans fly over at some point during the morning walk,
but it didn't happen. Over the lake there was a nice batch of Tree
Swallows. A short distance from the pier at the end of Interior Ditch,
I heard a King Rail, a new bird for me for the swamp. There were fewer
dead trees standing in the burn area than last year and I didn't see any
Red-headed Woodpeckers there.
I plan to take my next walk in the Great Dismal Swamp on Monday,
March 17, leaving from the Jericho Ditch Lane parking lot at 7:15am.
Please join me. No reservation is necessary; just show up.
Below are the two bird lists from yesterday's excursion.
Dismal Swamp NWR Washington Ditch, Suffolk, US-VA
Mar 11, 2014 7:03 AM - 11:25 AM
Protocol: Rusty Blackbird Spring Migration Blitz
6.0 mile(s)
Comments: Submitted from BirdLog NA for Android v1.9.3
36 species
Wood Duck 10
Wild Turkey 6
Great Blue Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 2
Barred Owl 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 12
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2
Downy Woodpecker 7
Hairy Woodpecker 3
Northern Flicker 7
Pileated Woodpecker 7
Eastern Phoebe 2
Blue Jay 3
American Crow 1
Carolina Chickadee 15
Tufted Titmouse 2
White-breasted Nuthatch 3
Winter Wren 9
Carolina Wren 21
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 4
Eastern Bluebird 1
Hermit Thrush 7
American Robin 10
Gray Catbird 1
Pine Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 24
Song Sparrow 5
White-throated Sparrow 27
Northern Cardinal 5
Red-winged Blackbird 6
Rusty Blackbird 28
Common Grackle 30
American Goldfinch 12
Dismal Swamp NWR Railroad Ditch, Suffolk, US-VA
Mar 11, 2014 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Protocol: Rusty Blackbird Spring Migration Blitz
6.0 mile(s)
21 species
Tundra Swan 750
Gadwall 2
Pied-billed Grebe 2
Double-crested Cormorant 5
Turkey Vulture 12
King Rail 1
Killdeer 1
Ring-billed Gull 120
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
Tree Swallow 25
Carolina Chickadee 3
Carolina Wren 6
Northern Mockingbird 2
Pine Warbler 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 16
Song Sparrow 10
Red-winged Blackbird 1
Rusty Blackbird 20
Common Grackle 4
