I visited several spots around Woodbridge and Mason Neck this morning. I
started off on Blackburn Rd in Woodbridge where I refound the clay-colored
sparrow, feeding on the ground with field and other sparrows. Also in the area
were a flock of 6 chipping sparrows (second pull-off), 3 white-crowned
sparrows, and tree sparrow. There were lots of waterfowl in the warm-water
discharge area of the water treatment plant. I then went to Veteran’s Park
where the ponds were all frozen. There were lots of Canada geese in Marumsco
Creek. I scanned for a cackling without success but I did not do a thorough
job of it. I then headed to Occoquan Bay NWR to try for sedge wren but found
the gate closed and Bill Hohenstein trying to find someone to open it. He was
able to contact a person who said someone would be sent to open it but we did
not wait around. Instead we went to the Belmont Marina overlook. The
partially open water contained gadwall, bufflehead, ruddy duck, lesser scaup,
hooded merganser, and pied bill grebe. A tight flock of mixed gulls sitting on
the ice was flushed by an eagle and when they lifted off I saw an all-white
gull, an Iceland judging from its size compared to nearby herring gulls. All
the gulls landed back on the ice and we could not relocate the Iceland. I next
went to Pohick Bay where an enormous mass of waterfowl provided a lot of
entertainment, although the cold wind was pretty chilling. Lots and lots of
redheads and ring-necked ducks, plus tundra swan, greater and lesser scaup,
canvasback, mallard, gadwall, pintail, American wigeon, bufflehead, ruddy duck,
common merganser, hooded merganser, and coot. There may have been others but
the cold won and I left. Dave Ledwith was also there doing a thorough count so
maybe he can add to this list.
Marc Ribaudo
