Renee Hudgins joined me for today's walk was along Jericho Ditch in the
northern section of the Great Dismal Swamp NWR. The electronic gate didn't
open until 7:15 but the slow drive down Jericho Ditch Lane was rewarding. A
Louisiana Waterthrush called, followed by a Yellow-throated Warbler and a
Common Yellowthroat, the latter two being our first of the year. We walked
south on Jericho Ditch with the temperature 52F, no wind, and a slight
threat of a sprinkle which never materialized. We turned around after
walking about three miles. The only butterflies on this cool, unsunny
morning were two Spring Azures. Spring Peepers and a few Leopard Frogs were
calling. Scat and tracks of otters and bears were prominent, but no animals
were seen. A couple of times we heard loud crashings around out of our
sight which we guessed were from deer. South past the dog-leg proved to
have the most interesting birds. We ran into another Common Yellowthroat
plus two White-eyed Vireos, our third new bird for the year. There were a
couple of medium-sized flocks of robins and a flock of Rusty Blackbirds.
Ruby-crowned Kinglets were singing as were the two Winter Wrens we heard. A
Hermit Thrush was also singing somewhat quietly nearby. We had several
groups of Myrtle Warblers, clearly on the move, and two male Brown-headed
Cowbirds were advertising from their tree tops. On our way out of the swamp
we had a male turkey displaying for two females who seemed not to care at
all.
My next walk in the swamp will be next Thursday, March 31 and will leave
from the Railroad Ditch parking lot at the headquarters at 7:30am. No
reservation is necessary; just show up. The complete bird list for today's
walk is given below.
Robert L. Ake
6603 Catherine Street
Norfolk VA 23505
Location: Dismal Swamp NWR Jericho Ditch
Observation date: 3/23/11
Number of species: 36
Wood Duck 4
Wild Turkey 3
Turkey Vulture 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Mourning Dove 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 9
Downy Woodpecker 8
Hairy Woodpecker 5
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 7
Pileated Woodpecker 9
Eastern Phoebe 2
White-eyed Vireo 2
Blue Jay 2
Carolina Chickadee 5
White-breasted Nuthatch 5
Carolina Wren 6
Winter Wren 2
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 11
Hermit Thrush 5
American Robin 130
Gray Catbird 4
Brown Thrasher 1
Orange-crowned Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 68
Yellow-throated Warbler 1
Louisiana Waterthrush 1
Common Yellowthroat 2
Eastern Towhee 2
White-throated Sparrow 4
Northern Cardinal 2
Red-winged Blackbird 2
Rusty Blackbird 40
Common Grackle (Purple) 6
Brown-headed Cowbird 5
American Goldfinch 2
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)
