Despite a Potomac Runners- sponsored marathon which completely shut down the
George Washington Parkway, 9 birders navigated through the throng of runners to
join me for the Friends of Dyke Marsh sponsored- Sunday Morning Bird Walk.
The runners outnumbered the birders it seemed by about 2000 to 1, but no
matter. Everyone was friendly and courteous and we all had a good time.
it was beautiful today, but migrants were hard to find. The nicest bird was an
alternate-plumaged Horned Grebe only 20 feet away. I am amazed at the number of
Osprey nests. I counted 9 in just the area included in the walk, and that
excludes the whole southern portion of the marsh. Blue-gray Gnatcatchers were
all over and 2 nests have already been constructed. Besides these two species,
I was surprised to see so little breeding activity. European Starlings (ugh!)
and Tree Swallows (yea!) were carrying nesting material. Blue Jays and
Laughing Gulls are in migration with several flocks flying overhead during the
walk. We enjoyed watching Ring-billed Gulls foraging overhead for flying
insects as they did their best swallow impersonations.
Today's list for our records:
Canada Goose 10
Mallard 14
Osprey 18 (9 nests)
Bald Eagle 1
Cooper's Hawk 1 (boy, did the singing Yellow Warblers shut up
in a hurry!)
Common Loon 1 (flyover)
Horned Grebe 1
Double-crested Cormorant 23
Great Blue Heron 2
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Laughing Gull 80 (flyover)
Ring-billed Gull 90
Herring Gull 2
Great Black-backed Gull 1
Caspian Tern 1
Mourning Dove 14
Red-bellied Woodpecker 7
Downy Woodpecker 4
Eastern Phoebe 1 (at marina)
Eastern Kingbird 3
Blue Jay 70 (flyover)
American Crow 2
Fish Crow 8
Tree Swallow 8 (Carrying Nesting Material (CN) and Nest
Building (NB)
Carolina Chickadee 10
Tufted Titmouse 8
White-breasted Nuthatch 2
Carolina Wren 9
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 28 (2 nests)
Eastern Bluebird 1
American Robin 25
Gray Catbird 3
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling 16 (CN,NB)
Northern Parula 1
Yellow Warbler 6
Yellow-rumped Warbler 22
American Redstart 1
Common Yellowthroat 9
Eastern Towhee 1
Song Sparrow 6
White-throated Sparrow 40
Northern Cardinal 25
Red-winged Blackbird 55
Common Grackle 7
Brown-headed Cowbird 6
Baltimore Oriole 3
House Finch 1
American Goldfinch 13
House Sparrow 15
Larry Cartwright
prowarbler@xxxxxxxxxxx
