Hello, birders.
I birded High Point Rd. at Mason Neck NWR and this road, the Visitor Center
area and the Bayview Tr. at Mason Neck SP. The species mix is similar to what
I had last year at this same time. The trees are still not fully leafed out in
NoVa but with this warm weather they will be soon.
There are many lingering winter birds, mostly waterfowl in Belmont Bay:
Gadwall, 187
Not a typo, I've never seen so many Gadwall in one place before. One raft.
scaup sp., 20, w/ the Gadwall
Bufflehead, 3f
Common Merg., 1 pair
Ruddy Duck, 9
P.b. Grebe, 1
Am. Coot, 71
Pine Siskin, 13 total. 6 birds near the beginning of High Point Rd. (refuge)
feeding in sweetgums, 1 was a flyover. 6 more birds in a sweetgum behind the
VC in the state park.
Also, I saw a lot of FOS birds for me. A brief rundown of those, nothing
terribly different from what others have been reporting in NoVa:
flycatchers - Acadian, Phoebe, Great Crested
vireos - 3 species
Wood Thrush
Gray Catbird (swampy area near bay at MNSP)
warblers - 12 species including Blue-winged (2, picnic area of MNSP), Yellow
(3, VC area and picnic area), B.t. Blue - (1m in woods near boardwalk in dry
spot in woods)
Scarlet Tanager
Baltimore Oriole
And lastly, 1 Wild Turkey at beginning of High Point Rd.
Good birding,
Scott Baron
Fairfax, Va.
