VA Birders:
This morning, the Northern Virginia Bird Club visited Widewater State Park in
Stafford county. We collectively found 54 species. Many of us were delighted
to have our first of season sightings of Tree Swallow and Osprey, the latter
already paired up and bringing in sticks to the nesting platforms. We did not
find large numbers of ducks on the water but we did manage to find a few
Gadwall, Lesser Scaup, Ring-necked Duck, Bufflehead, and Canvasback. A loop
around the muddy trail near the Visitor's Center produced a surprising number
of White-throated Sparrows and Eastern Towhees, a few Chipping Sparrows, a
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, a couple of flybys of a noisy pair of kingfishers,
and very cooperative views of a Winter Wren and a Hermit Thrush.
We then went over to the picnic area to look at the colony of Red-headed
Woodpeckers. It took a bit of effort to finally get some good scope views of
them but we did eventually. Other notable finds at the picnic area was quick
flyby of a Merlin, a few Eastern Phoebes, and long-distance scope views of a
male Red-breasted Merganser on the Potomac. We also found a Bald Eagle sitting
on the nest above the pavilion.
The complete eBird checklist is below.
Elton MorelArlington, VA
Widewater State Park, Stafford, Virginia, US
Mar 16, 2019 7:55 AM - 11:25 AM
Protocol: Traveling
2.5 mile(s)
Comments: NVBC walk led by David Ledwith and Elton Morel.
54 species (+1 other taxa)
Canada Goose 20
Gadwall 4
Mallard 4
Canvasback 2
Ring-necked Duck 1
Lesser Scaup 8
Bufflehead 15
Red-breasted Merganser 1
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Mourning Dove 8
Ring-billed Gull 15
Herring Gull 4
Double-crested Cormorant 5
Great Blue Heron 1
Black Vulture 10
Turkey Vulture 8
Osprey 6
Sharp-shinned/Cooper's Hawk 1
Bald Eagle 10
Red-shouldered Hawk 3
Belted Kingfisher 3
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 4
Red-headed Woodpecker 6
Red-bellied Woodpecker 5
Downy Woodpecker 6
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Pileated Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 3
Merlin 1
Eastern Phoebe 3
Blue Jay 25
American Crow 15
Fish Crow 4
Tree Swallow 4
Carolina Chickadee 5
Tufted Titmouse 7
White-breasted Nuthatch 1 Heard
Winter Wren 1
Carolina Wren 6
Eastern Bluebird 5
Hermit Thrush 2
American Robin 3
European Starling 2
House Finch 4
American Goldfinch 2 Heard
Chipping Sparrow 6
Dark-eyed Junco 12
White-throated Sparrow 70
Song Sparrow 15
Swamp Sparrow 1
Eastern Towhee 10
Red-winged Blackbird 6
Brown-headed Cowbird 8
Common Grackle 20
Northern Cardinal 12
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S53887723
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
