It was quite lucky for me, that the Geo Washington Parkway was closed today; I
parked in the nearby neighborhood and walked to the Belle Haven picnic area.
In the neighborhood, a pair of Barred Owls flew and perched in a tree. Moments
later, one of them chased an adult Cooper's Hawk. It continued chasing the
COHA through 3 successive perches; each time, they both perched for a few
seconds before the Owl continued the chase. Meanwhile the other Owl stayed
where it had first perched. Finally the chasing Owl got its desired result,
and the Hawk flew off.
My junior, junior, solo Dyke Marsh walk this morning yielded many of the usual
suspects, and anything you see missing from the list below is due to my lack 'o
hearing and sighting skills.
I also hit Neabsco Creek (outside the entrance to Leesylvania State Park,
Prince William County) afterward. Both locations had far fewer gulls than
Mssrs. Ribaudo and Gaskill mentioned yesterday. I'd guess 20-ish total at Dyke
Marsh, and 100-ish at Neabsco. The main flock at Neabsco was along the far (N)
shore, close to the houses with no public access to view the marsh, and too far
for my strong binoculars or even most spotting scopes.
My last note is probably "preaching to the choir". But if it helps any of you
to have some ammunition against littering and plastic consumption, maybe this
will help.
At the S end of the dyke marsh trail (where you turn left to walk out a bit
Eastward towards the Maryland shore), there was a male Mallard with a clear
plastic cup (just the top 1" wide ring) around his neck. The bird looked
healthy and flew well. But I have to think this is a very bad thing for the
bird's health and safety.
Steve Johnson
Fairfax, Virginia
Begin forwarded message:
From: ebird-checklist@xxxxxxxxxxx
Date: November 15, 2015 12:37:35 PM EST
To: stevejohnson2@xxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: eBird Report - Dyke Marsh - CMN02, Nov 15, 2015
Dyke Marsh - CMN02, Fairfax, Virginia, US
Nov 15, 2015 6:50 AM - 8:25 AM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
Comments: wkly Dyke Marsh walk was moved due to road closures for race
today, so I was alone; from picnic area S to dyke (normal route)
31 species (+1 other taxa)
Canada Goose 40 very conservative from memory, forgot to count them when
I was there
Mallard 60 one drake just S of the dyke had the top ring (about 1" long)
of a clear plastic cup around his neck. plumage and flight looked healthy,
though.
Northern Shoveler 15
Hooded Merganser 11
Double-crested Cormorant 4
Great Blue Heron 5
Great Egret 12
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 imm. in woods along Dyke Marsh trail, made a failed
attempt at two House Finches atop a tree. much smaller than imm Coop, narrow
tail bands.
Cooper's Hawk 2 adult chased by Barred Owl in nearby neighborhood, 5
minutes before sunrise. immature along Dyke Marsh trail.
Bald Eagle 3 all adults; 2 near Stone Bridge, 1 S of the dyke
Red-tailed Hawk 1 perched S of the dyke
Ring-billed Gull 3
Great Black-backed Gull 1 big adult perched out in river, not obviously
smaller than adjacent Canada Goose
Mourning Dove 15
Barred Owl 2 pair flew and perched together in a tree. Then one chased
a persistent ad. Cooper's Hawk 3 times, ultimately chasing it away. behavior
consistent with pair protecting fledglings, but never saw any other Barreds.
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Downy Woodpecker 2
Blue Jay 4
crow sp. 2
Carolina Chickadee 1
Carolina Wren 2
Eastern Bluebird 3
Hermit Thrush 1
American Robin 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1
White-throated Sparrow 5
Song Sparrow 2
Swamp Sparrow 2
Northern Cardinal 9
Red-winged Blackbird 25 mixed flock, about 1/4 adult males
House Finch 2
View this checklist online at
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S25840670
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)
