Eight people showed up for the Dyke Marsh walk this morning. It was a
beautiful morning with a refreshing breeze, but few migrants. Highlights were
60+ great egrets seen from the picnic area and in the marsh, a pine warbler, a
tight group of 5 eastern kingbirds, and solitary sandpiper. We also saw the
goose that Paula Sullivan reported. It appears to be mostly greater
white-fronted goose, but with something else mixed in. Any ideas would be
welcome.
On my drive to Dyke Marsh I stopped at Riverside picnic area along the parkway
to look for terns. I saw over a dozen black terns over the hydrilla, many
Forester's, and some Caspian, but nothing unusual. After the walk I looked
over the flats from the Hunting Creek bridge, and saw 3 pectoral sandpipers, a
juvenile short-billed dowitcher, and greater yellowlegs.
Here is the list of birds from the Dyke Marsh walk:
pied-billed grebe - 4
double crested cormorant - 25
great blue heron - 8
great egret - 64
Canada goose - 200
mallard - 100
black duck - 2
blue-winged teal - 4
northern shoveler - 6
black vulture - 1
osprey - 4
bald eagle - 2
red-shouldered hawk - 1
killdeer - 3
lesser yellowlegs - 2
solitary sandpiper - 1
ring-billed gull - lots
great black-backed gull - 1
laughing gull - 20
Caspian tern - 25
Forster's tern - 45
rock pigeon - 2
mourning dove - 3
chimney swift - 1
ruby-throated hummingbird - 4
belted kingfisher - 2
red-bellied woodpecker - 6
downy woodpecker - 3
northern flicker - 1
eastern wood pewee - 2
Traill's flycatcher - 1
great-crested flycatcher - 1
eastern kingbird - 5
tree swallow - 1
northern rough-winged swallow - 2
carolina wren - 10
house wren - 1
gray catbird - 4
northern mockingbird - 1
American robin - 15
blue-gray gnatcatcher - 2
carolina chickadee - 8
tufted titmouse - 4
blue jay - 5
fish crow - 12
european starling - 8
house sparrow - 5
warbling vireo - 2
red-eyed vireo - 3
American goldfinch - 6
pine warbler - 1
American redstart - 1
northern waterthrush - 1
northern cardinal - 10
red-winged blackbird - 25
common grackle - 1
baltimore oriole - 1
Marc Ribaudo
Woodbridge, VA
