VA BIRDers,
I arrived at Accotink Wildlife Refuge about 0930 and went down part of the
Beaver Pond trail and then across the suspension bridge (a gorgeous bridge)
and then down the Accotink Trail overlooking the large marsh, then I
backtracked up to the big open grassy area of the McCarty Farm trail and
took a delightful break on this warm day; 1.55 miles one way (I used the
"walkjogrun.net website" & it's free. I returned to my car and then went to
the Archery Range which overlooks portions of Gunston Cove to look for gulls
and other ducks. Highlights today were Merlin, flying overhead along the
Accotink Trail, Brown Thrasher in the tangled vegetation just before
crossing the bridge, Gray Catbird about half way down Accotink Trail AND
another in a small tangle in the middle of the grassy area, 4 Fox Sparrows
along Accotink Creek, Rusty Blackbird mixed in with some American Robins
(!?) and Purple Finch calling "tok-tok" near the first marsh I encountered.
Not too many ducks today. I finished with 58 species in about 3 hrs.
Kurt Gaskill
