I was hoping that the Western Grebe Lee Adams had found might still be hanging
out somewhere in the Rappahannock River, so I checked out several river
viewpoints in Essex and Middlesex counties to see what was around. From there
I went to the Pocket on the Pamunkey River in King William, and finished the
day listening to frogs at sunset at an oxbow pond (Riverwood, private) in upper
King William. I could not find a Western Grebe but did find several FOY birds
including the following in chronological order:
1. Cliff Swallows (55) going in and out of nests and flying around the route
301 bridge that goes from Port Royal (Caroline) to King George. No Peregrines
could be seen at this bridge, though the downriver viewpoint is no longer
publicly accessible. (Bill Portlock saw a pair here in the winter as he did his
river eagle survey.)
2. Grasshopper Sparrow (early), Northern Parula, and Ovenbird, Marl Bank Rd,
Essex
3. Eastern Kingbird, along route 17 in Loretto, Essex
4. Marsh Wren, River Place off of River Reach Rd, Essex
5. Royal Terns, Bowlers Wharf, Essex, 5 of the 9 seen here had USGS metal bands
on their legs but they were too far to be read.
6. White-eyed Vireo, Mt Prospect Rd, Essex
7. Handsome male Prothonotary Warbler, Riverwood near Beulahville, King William
Other interesting things:
8. Total species = 94
9. Ruddy Ducks were all over the place in the Rappahannock R. They were most
abundant bird of the day. My total was 8214, with the highest number (4450) at
Canoe House Landing, Middlesex. In most careful estimates, about 80% of these
were males. Many were in splendid ruddy plumage with blue bills.
10. The 2nd most abundant bird was Double-crested Cormorant, with a total of
1062 found at 9 locations; the highest number (585) was at the Rte 360 bridge
over the Rappahannock at Tappahannock. 11. At this same bridge was a pair of
Peregrine Falcons. Bill Portlock also spotted this pair back in the winter when
he did his eagle survey along the river by boat. One of the falcons took off
and snagged a small passerine which it ate on a pillar of the bridge under the
highway.
12. Other than the ruddies, waterfowl have pretty much left the area. I had the
following totals for the entire day: 21 Canada Geese, 5 Wood Ducks, 14 gadwall,
5 american wigeon, 1 mallard, 4 green-winged teal, 3 canvasback (late), 4
ring-necked duck, 99 lesser scaup, 20 scaup sp, 115 bufflehead, 1 female common
goldeneye, 20 red-breasted merganser, 5 common loon, 10 horned grebe, 13 coot
13. A Great Blue Heron rookery in Essex with something like 45 active nests,
most appearing to be incubated. Another small rookery of great blue heron
nests on the power line pylons in the Mattaponi River, West Point.
14. Significant numbers of Bonaparte's Gulls in the Rappahannock R, totaling 69
birds at 7 locations. Also 27 laughing gulls at 5 locations.
15. A red-headed woodpecker along Marl Bank Rd, Essex
16. Brown-headed Nuthatches at almost the furthest point up the middle
peninsula that I have seen them, at River Place, Essex as well as a short
distance away at Ware's Wharf.
17. Warbler totals for the day were: Ovenbird 1, LA waterthursh 2, Prothonotary
1, Yellowthroat 3, Parula 1, Pine 4, Palm 2, yellow-rumped 22, yellow-throated
7.
18. Sparrow totals for the day were chipping 32, field 3, grasshopper 1, song
13, swamp 5, white-throated 3, savannah 47, junco none. All 47 Savannahs were
along Marl Bank Rd in Essex.
19. Abundant Spring Peepers, Pickerel Frogs, and Southern Leopard Frogs, and a
couple Carpenter frogs were singing at dusk at Riverwood, and spring peepers
were heard in several places throughout the day.
20. My first Tiger Swallowtail and Falcate Orange tip of the year were flying
in Essex.
It was a real joy to be outside all day savoring the spectacular weather,
listening to the bird songs and frogs, and admiring the trees blooming and
sprouting their tender young leaves in a wide range of colors.
All the bestFred
Frederick D. Atwood fredatwood at yahoo dot com
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
