About 15 birders were treated this morning to beautiful sunny weather. It
was chilly but not cold enough to freeze the abundant amphibian eggs in the
small pond in the meadow near the Nature Center. Songbird diversity was
only fair in the meadow, but a heard-only Eastern Phoebe was compensation
enough! In contrast, the waterfowl display on the Potomac near the
Visitor Center was excellent, at least by this winter's standards.
Highlights on the water were some 40 Ring-necked Ducks just upstream from
the boat launch and Tree Swallow, FOS for many of us.
Meadow:
Canada Goose 6
Wood Duck 4
American Black Duck 2
Mallard 8
Northern Pintail 4
Ring-necked Duck 40
Lesser Scaup 2
Bufflehead 6
Common Merganser 2
Double-crested Cormorant 1
Great Blue Heron 4
Turkey Vulture 5
Bald Eagle 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
American Coot 6
Ring-billed Gull 4
Mourning Dove 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 4
Northern Flicker 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
Blue Jay 3
American Crow 3
Fish Crow 2
Tree Swallow 4
Carolina Chickadee 10
Tufted Titmouse 8
White-breasted Nuthatch 3
Carolina Wren 3
Eastern Bluebird 8
American Robin 12
Eastern Towhee 1
Field Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 8
Swamp Sparrow 1
White-throated Sparrow 10
Northern Cardinal 10
Brown-headed Cowbird 10
American Goldfinch 1
Peter Ross
Arlington
