I decided to go out for the beginning part of the storm to see what I could
find before the rain and wind got really heavy. Burke Lake had only 29
mallards, 7 wood ducks, 1 canada goose and 1 ring-billed gull, and Leesylvania
was closed, so I continued on to the only other place I know in the area where
I could watch from the car, Pohick Bay Regional Park. (If any of you know of
other good places to watch from the car, please let us all know).
I sat in my car in three places there from 2:30 to 4:15 until the rain made
the visibility too bad and the inside of my car was saturated. I saw nothing
new after 3:30.
It was worth the wet car and scope because I had some nice finds.
Best birds were 2 red-necked phalaropes swimming and foraging among the
hydrilla, my first in VA. Two black terns were hovering above them. Perched on
the remains of a hunting blind among forsters terns, laughing gulls, and
ring-billed gulls were an immature and adult common tern. I think the black and
common terns were my first in Fairfax county. 75-100 mostly unidentified
swallows also flew by (a few could be seen well enough to identify as tree). 3
ospreys fished the entire time and there were also several great blue herons,
great egrets, and a kingfisher.
All the best
Fred
Frederick D. Atwood fredatwood@xxxxxxxxx
Flint Hill School, 10409 Academic Dr, Oakton, VA 22124
703-242-1675
http://www.agpix.com/fredatwood
http://www.flinthill.org
http://tea.armadaproject.org/tea_atwoodfrontpage.html
