Hi all,
Birded from 7:30-8:50am at Occoquan NWR this morning. The highlight was a
stunning look at a KING RAIL for about 15 minutes from about 30 feet away.
The rail was on the South side of Catamont Creek on the Driving Loop and was
out in the open feeding. I watched it catch a small fish and try to figure
out how to eat it. I only wish I had had a camera!!
I also had a lots of sparrows (Field, Chipping, White-Throated, Song,
Savannah, and a probable White-Crowned), bluebirds, and 4 Pileated
Woodpeckers.
Here's my ID question. I observed a lone blackbird on the mud beside the
creek. I have not previously seen Rusty Blackbirds, but I don't know for
sure if this was a Common Grackle or the Rusty Blackbird. The bird was
fairly uniformly brown with all black wings and noticeably bright yellow
eyes. I didn't have another bird around to compare it to as far as size. I
didn't notice a lot of mottling like in some of the RB pics I see on the
net, but I'm not sure if a young grackle would ever fit that description?
Any thoughts?
~Mike Webster
