An absolutely beautiful morning at Occoquan Bay NWR this morning. Cold
temperature but no wind and bright sun. Every blade and leaf was rimed in
frost; really stunning. The birds were nice, too. Two sharp-shinned hawks
were jousting over the road as I drove in. There were 3 or 4 tree sparrows and
fox sparrows along Bayview Road. The marsh along Charlie Road harbored an
eastern phoebe, as well as gadwall and hooded mergansers. Despite many duck
hunters, the river was full of waterfowl. A flock of red-breasted mergansers
was feeding by the marina. A huge mixed flock of birds held coots (over
1,000), ruddy ducks, lbufflehead, esser scaup, pied-billed grebe (lots),
American wigeon, gadwall, and hooded mergansers. The sun was in my face, so
there were probably other species mixed in as well. Two tundra swans floated
in Belmont Bay. Along the shore, a red-shouldered hawk was perched low to the
ground, looking for breakfast. A harrier hunted over a field. Winter wrens
gave their morse-code calls throughout the refuge. A feeding flock of
bluebirds and yellow-rumped warblers gave me some great views. A flock of 6
flickers flew up from the ground near the parking lot.
Marc Ribaudo
Woodbridge, VA
