Roaches Run has less waterfowl but some nice diversity -- heading the list was
a Red-necked Grebe, 2 Ring-necked Ducks, 6 Lesser Scaup, 4 Mallards, 4
Canvasbacks, and at least 4 Pied-billed Grebes. Other interesting birds were a
loud Belted Kingfisher, several Brown-headed Cowbirds, and 2 Bufflehead in the
channel. On the National Airport side, the big flocks of Redheads have gone
and early afternoon scoping did not reveal a Snowy. An American Kestrel was
hunting the airport grasses as was a very dark Red-tailed Hawk. The airport
scoping was done from Gravelly Point, which on a weekend day with 60's temps,
brought a carnival feel, with bikers of all sorts (standup bikes, recumbent,
racers, goofy kids bikes, etc) complete with lots of bells and whistles
(literally), footballers, plane watchers and all manner of other onlookers, all
trying to find legal parking spots. I hope someone spots the owl tonight!
Bob in Arlington
