After reading many posts about Possum Point Road and Cockpit Road in
Dumfries, VA, I finally got out there this morning (Sunday) for 1-1/2
hours. No unusual sightings, but a nice variety of species and several
very birdy areas. Highlight was a kinglet in a flock of other birds.
Wait, I know that's fairly common. But in this case it was several
FLOCKs of Ruby-Crowned Kinglets in different places, and in one of them,
the "exceptional kinglet" was a Golden-Crowned.
I covered both roads including 2 stops beside Quantico Creek and 4-5
other stops. Wonderfully quiet road on a Sunday morning - not a single
other car in 90 minutes!! Note - there is no sign at the intersection
to get onto Cockpit Road. If you have a map it's simple because there
is only one side road.
I still don't have a SINGLE Red-Breasted Nuthatch in Virginia for this
entire season, despite looking and listening for them in pine trees
everywhere. I'll keep trying. (BTW I did have considerable success
with them earlier this month in upstate New York. Eat-your-heart-out
success. Let me know off-list if you want to hear about it.)
- Steve Johnson
Fairfax, VA
American Bald Eagle - 4 (1 Imm, 3 Ad)
Red-Shouldered Hawk - 1
Canada Goose - more than one
Ruddy Duck - 100 or more
Hooded Mergie - 40
Mallards - yes
Scaup (species) - 10
Ring-Billed Gulls - many
Laughing Gull - some
(all the gulls took off right after I parked to look. Well, if they're
not going to cooperate, neither am I. Phooey.)
D-C Cormorant - 40+
P-B Grebe - 4
Great Blue Heron - 6
Great Egret - 1
Belted King - 1
Downy - 1
Flicka - 1
Mourning Dove - 12 ish
Northern Cardinal - 3
Blue Jay - 6
Northern Mockingbird - 1
Eastern Bluebird - 1
Amer Crow - 1
Fish Crow - 2
Crow sp - 20 ish
Ruby-Crowned Kinglet - 20 ish
Golden-Crowned Kinglet - 1
Carolina Wren - 5
Tufted Titmouse - 4
Carolina Chickie - 2
White-Breasted Nutcase - 1
Dark-Eyed Junco - 3
Eastern Towhee - 3
White-Throated Sparra - 8 ish
