VA BIRDers,
I had heard the rain in the middle of the night and immediately thought this
would be good for the Sunday morning Field Trip to Dyke Marsh, sponsored by
the Friends of Dyke Marsh and open to all comers. And the misty, drizzly
weather at 730 am brought visions of "Great Day" to my mind's eye. And it
was - possibly the best autumn birding day at Dyke in recent memory! Two
others joined me and we could not stop until 1230 pm as the migrants kept
coming and coming. A big wave started in the picnic area near the boat ramp
to Ramp Rd, then scattered pockets along the trail, very good showings on
the dogleg, and when we almost got back to the cars another huge wave moving
into the picnic area from the island of trees near Ramp Rd. About 80
species were seen, best highlights were Black Tern, Least Flycatcher,
Philadelphia Vireo, Blue-winged Warbler + 16 other warbler species, and
Bobolink. Big movements of Blue-winged Teals, No. Rough-winged Swallows,
Magnolia Warblers, Common Yellowthroats and Gray Catbirds were noted. The
list is below.
Kurt Gaskill
C. Goose 20
Gadwall 2
Am. Wigeon 2
Am. Black Duck 2 (found at 6pm)
Mallard 60
Blue-winged Teal 80
No. Shoveler 25
Green-winged Teal 1
Ruddy Duck 1
Pied-billed Grebe 7
DC Cormorant 12
Great Blue Heron 19
Great Egret 8
Bald Eagle 4
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 (obs. near the golf course engaging a crow)
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Am. Coot 3
Greater Yellowlegs 6
Lesser Yellowlegs 40
Least Sandpiper 1 (found at 6pm)
Pectoral Sandpiper 2
L. Gull 750
RB Gull 200
Caspian Tern 40
Forster's Tern 50
Black Tern 1
Mourning Dove 2
C. Swift 60
RT Hummer 3
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied WP 4
Downy WP 6
No. Flicker 1
E. Wood Pewee 6
Trail's Flycatcher 1
Least Flycatcher 1
E. Phoebe 4
Philadelphia V 1
Red-eyed V 4
Blue Jay 10
Am. Crow 2
Fish Crow 1
Tree Sw 2
No. Rough-winged Sw 40
Barn Sw 5
C. Chickadee 12
T. Titmouse 8
White-br Nuthatch 4
C. Wren 14
H. Wren 4
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2
Am. Robin 10, one very spotted noted
Gray Catbird 24
E. Starling 15
Blue-winged W 1
No. Parula 4
Yellow 4
Chestnut-sided 3
Magnolia 12
Black-thr Blue 1
Black-thr Green 1
Prairie 3
Palm 2 (western)
Bay-breasted 3
Blackpoll 4
Black & White 1
Am. Redstart 6
No. Waterthrush 2
Com. Yellowthroat 27
Wilson's 4
Canada 1
Song Sp 3
No. Cardinal 20
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1
Indigo Bunting 5
Bobolink 1
Red-winged BB 200
Com. Grackle 3
Brown-headed Cowbird 2
House Finch 2
Am. Goldfinch 12
