Yes, I know it's the middle of winter and we should expect cold,
but 19F at 7:30am felt really cold this morning even though there was
virtually no wind. No one showed up to accompany me on my walk along
Railroad Ditch, so I decided to drive instead of walking right from the
git-go. Driving on Railroad Ditch is possible after 7:30am and requires
only a self-administered permit available in the kiosk at the gate. I
used the protocol of driving 0.3mile, getting out and birding, going
another 0.3mile and repeating the process in this case for the entire
6.0 miles to Lake Drummond. The last 2.0 miles before reaching the lake
are through the relatively recent burn area.
Because there was no wind, it was easy to hear a long way.
Woodpeckers were numerous. Robins and Red-wings were recorded only as
singles; no flocks were seen or heard flying over. Sparrows were a bit
more obvious than usual, but songbirds were slow. The highlight was
definitely the Blue-headed Vireo, a beautiful bird with bright yellow
flanks and lustrous blue head surrounding the white spectacles. This
winter has not been good for these vireos. None of the southside
Tidewater CBCs recorded any. The burn area produced only an American
Kestrel, but it was my first for the interior of the swamp. The lake
added only the Bald Eagle near its nest, the Hooded Merganser, Mallards,
and Tundra Swans. The Pine Warblers were clustered around the beginning
of the drive where there is a pine stand; they were the only warblers
today. For the third week in a row no Rusty Blackbirds were seen or heard.
The refuge is currently constructing a new boardwalk through the
wet area at the corner of Railroad and West Ditches, two miles from the
headquarters. It's an interesting area and the trail should provide a
better look into it.
I will be away next week, so the next walk will be scheduled for
Friday morning, February 13, leaving the Washington Ditch parking lot at
7:15am. It's too far ahead to get any meaningful weather forecast and
no weather date is possible. So I'll be there and will walk with
whomever shows up. No reservation is needed. Please join me. Don't be
spooked by the date; there will be three Friday the thirteenths this year!
The complete list follows:
Dismal Swamp NWR Railroad Ditch, Suffolk, US-VA
Jan 29, 2015 7:27 AM - 11:22 AM
Protocol: Traveling 6.0 mile(s) 42 species
Tundra Swan 78
Mallard 8
Hooded Merganser 1
Great Blue Heron 1
Black Vulture 2
Turkey Vulture 6
Bald Eagle 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 2
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Mourning Dove 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 15
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 4
Downy Woodpecker 12
Hairy Woodpecker 4
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 12
Pileated Woodpecker 6
American Kestrel 1
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Blue Jay 1
Carolina Chickadee 12
Tufted Titmouse 7
White-breasted Nuthatch 2
Brown-headed Nuthatch 1
Brown Creeper 1
Winter Wren 8
Carolina Wren 14
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2
Hermit Thrush 8
American Robin 8
Gray Catbird 6
Brown Thrasher 2
Pine Warbler 4
Eastern Towhee 10
Fox Sparrow (Red) 5
Song Sparrow 8
Swamp Sparrow 5
White-throated Sparrow 25
Northern Cardinal 2
Red-winged Blackbird 4
Common Grackle 1
American Goldfinch 5
Bob Ake
Norfolk
