The regularly scheduled Sunday morning walk at Dyke Marsh shifted to the
Huntley Meadows Hike-Bike Trail today because of the closure of the George
Washington Parkway for a race. It was rather slow, but the absolute
highlight was a Merlin chasing three American Crows around the central
wetland near the water control structure. Although outsized and outnumbered,
the feisty Merlin put on a virtually nonstop pursuit of the three corvids,
stopping to rest briefly before returning to the chase. This thrilling
sight lasted for over five minutes. I'd say the contest was a draw. Both
Merlin and crows were present when we left. We also heard a small, but
vocal flock of Tundra Swans fly overhead. Several species of woodpeckers,
including a sapsucker, were quite active at the parking lot, and it was a
delight to see several Field Sparrows as well as we returned along the
gravel path from the water control structure.
Huntley Meadows Park--Hike and Bike Trail, Fairfax, Virginia, US Nov 12,
2017 7:59 AM - 11:09 AM
Protocol: Traveling
2.0 mile(s)
35 species
Canada Goose 24
Tundra Swan 5
Northern Shoveler 3
Mallard 30
Great Blue Heron (Blue form) 3
Bald Eagle 1
Ring-billed Gull 5
Mourning Dove 5
Red-bellied Woodpecker 10
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Downy Woodpecker 5
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 6
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Merlin 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
Blue Jay 12
American Crow 18
Fish Crow 4
Carolina Chickadee 8
Tufted Titmouse 3
White-breasted Nuthatch 3
Brown Creeper 1
Carolina Wren 6
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2
Eastern Bluebird 1
Hermit Thrush 1
American Robin 5
Field Sparrow 3
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 5
White-throated Sparrow 30
Song Sparrow 25
Northern Cardinal 8
House Finch 1
American Goldfinch 20
View this checklist online at
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S40465355
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)
Larry Cartwright
prowarbler@xxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:prowarbler@xxxxxxxxxxx>
