During a beautiful morning at Occoquan Bay NWR my brother Matt and I
observed the following species. Highlights were 1 Purple Martin, 6 Horned
Grebes, a flyover Common Loon, and 4 King Rails (3 of which we observed!).
We also later stopped for a bit at the north entrance of Huntley Meadows
Park. Not many birds, but there was a flock of probably 60 Rusty Blackbirds
(along with a smaller number of Red-Wings) in the wooded area off the Bike
path. It was the first time I've ever seen Rusty Blackbirds in such a
heavily wooded area.
~Mike Webster, Falls Church
Location: Occoquan Bay NWR
Observation date: 4/13/09
Notes: Cool to begin with (30s) but with sun warming things up. Light
breeze, but not much. 6 Osprey nests were observed. Lots of gnatcatchers.
Number of species: 50
Canada Goose 4
Wood Duck 2
Gadwall 4
Mallard 5
Greater/Lesser Scaup 8
Bufflehead 35
Hooded Merganser 1
Red-breasted Merganser 3
Wild Turkey 2
Common Loon 1
Horned Grebe 6
Double-crested Cormorant 40
Great Blue Heron 14
Great Egret 2
Osprey 10
Bald Eagle 8
King Rail 4 First rail seen where Catamont Creek crosses Charlie
Road. Very near to the road/path. 2 others were seen from the marsh overlook
off of Deephole Point Road. The two were actually attempting to mate, with
one running on top of the other. The fourth rail was heard at the same
overlook in a different area.
Greater Yellowlegs 4
Ring-billed Gull 5
Great Black-backed Gull 2
Forster's Tern 2
Mourning Dove 4
Chimney Swift 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 3
Northern Flicker 1
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Blue Jay 1
American Crow 2
Purple Martin 1
Tree Swallow 50
Barn Swallow 2
Carolina Chickadee 5
Tufted Titmouse 3
Carolina Wren 4
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 8
Eastern Bluebird 4
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling 5
Cedar Waxwing 10
Eastern Towhee 2
Savannah Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 8
Swamp Sparrow 5
White-throated Sparrow 25
Northern Cardinal 10
Red-winged Blackbird 25
Common Grackle 6
American Goldfinch 6
