Twenty-five people joined me today for a productive walk on a gorgeous day.
The highlight was a likely pair of breeding Barred Owls in the wooded area
adjacent to the southern picnic area. The male remained perched as the
larger female appeared to be ripping something apart (possibly feeding
young), but her activities were partially obscured. Yellow-rumped and Palm
Warblers , Dark-eyed Juncos, and Chipping Sparrows were seen and heard
singing in the picnic area and the buzzy vocalizations we heard signaled the
return of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers back to Dyke Marsh. Bonaparte's Gulls
flashed their white wing patches while flying over the river. Caspian Terns
were in respectable numbers. We got good views of them and of the smaller
Forster's Tern as they fished close to the shoreline. We had a great
variety of woodpeckers, including a migrant Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. The
group observed two Northern Harriers on their northbound migration after
briefly checking out the marsh. The breeding season is winding up with at
least five active Osprey nests and one Bald Eagle nest. We saw a Fish Crow
carrying nesting material, and of course, we would like to know what the
Barred Owls are doing. Barred Owls have not been recorded as Dyke Marsh
breeders for quite a while.
Dyke Marsh - CMN02, Fairfax, US-VA
Apr 12, 2015 8:03 AM - 11:48 AM
Protocol: Traveling
3.0 mile(s)
Comments: Friends of Dyke Marsh sponsored walk. <br />Submitted from
BirdLog NA for iOS, version 1.8
62 species
Canada Goose 35
Mallard 13
Northern Shoveler 7
Lesser Scaup 10
Red-breasted Merganser 23
Common Loon 1
Pied-billed Grebe 3
Horned Grebe 4
Double-crested Cormorant 17
Great Blue Heron 4
Osprey 14
Northern Harrier 2
Bald Eagle 5
Bonaparte's Gull 60
Laughing Gull 3
Ring-billed Gull 180
Herring Gull (American) 11
Great Black-backed Gull 5
Caspian Tern 33
Forster's Tern 5
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 2
Mourning Dove 7
Barred Owl 2
Chimney Swift 3
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 8
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Downy Woodpecker 9
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 11
Peregrine Falcon 2
Eastern Phoebe 2
Blue Jay 3
American Crow 1
Fish Crow 15
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 2
Tree Swallow 55
Barn Swallow 2
Carolina Chickadee 20
Tufted Titmouse 15
White-breasted Nuthatch 3
Brown Creeper 2
Carolina Wren 12
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 9
American Robin 18
Gray Catbird 1
Brown Thrasher 1
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling 20
Palm Warbler (Yellow) 4
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 22
Chipping Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 13
White-throated Sparrow 16
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 4
Northern Cardinal 14
Red-winged Blackbird 25
Common Grackle (Purple) 8
Brown-headed Cowbird 3
House Finch 1
American Goldfinch 20
House Sparrow 3
View this checklist online at
<http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S22818104>
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S22818104
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 ( <http://ebird.org>
http://ebird.org)
Larry Cartwright
<mailto:prowarbler@xxxxxxxxxxx> prowarbler@xxxxxxxxxxx
