Phil Silas and I extensively birded Occoquan Bay NWR in Woodbridge this
morning, and complied a great list of 68 species. The morning started off with
a great horned owl and turkeys, heard from the gate. Waterfowl numbers have
increased somewhat, with lots of scaup and canvasback, plus some tundra swans.
We saw our first wood ducks of the year, a flock of 5. We also saw a single
goldeneye off Taylor Point, a pintail on Marumsco Creek, 2 green-winged teal at
the photo blind, 2 horned grebes and a single coot (hard to come by this
winter). On the passerine side we saw an American tree sparrow, fox sparrows,
rusty blackbird, eastern phoebe, brown thrasher, ruby-crowned kinglet, and gray
catbird. We also saw a northern harrier and sharp-shinned hawk.
Marc Ribaudo
