A Snowy Owl was seen again today at National Airport. I arrived at Gravelly
Point at 4:30 and saw Dave Ledwith, who had found the bird at 4:15. The
bird had been at the far south end of the airfield on a black box with the
letter H on it. This box was to the left of a large number 5, which in turn
was to the left of the yellow prefabricated structure that has the Naval
Research Laboratory in the background. The bird had left the box when Dave
and I began to look for it, but I found it a few moments later on the same
box. The bird stayed there for the next thirty minutes, preening and
stretching its wings. At 5 o'clock, it flew left and landed on the arm of a
Komatsu back-hoe. Over the next 15 minutes, it flew from the back-hoe to
the top of a pile of dirt, back to the back-hoe, and back to the pile of
dirt. A Delta plane was parked in the runway very close to the back-hoe,
and we wondered whether the pilots and the passengers in the plane might be
looking at the owl. The owl then flew behind the stopped plane, and we lost
sight of it.
Thanks to Dave Farner for reporting the owl yesterday. The question is
whether this is the light owl, the dark owl, or neither. The owl today was
very far away, so we could not get great looks at the plumage, especially
with all of the shimmer from the airfield. The bird appeared to be a bit
darker than the light owl we last saw ten days ago. Also, it is hanging out
at the end of the airport where the darker bird was staying on the few days
when it was at the airport. We will have to see if we can get better looks
at the bird in the coming days.
Earlier today, I went to Belle Haven Picnic Area in Alexandria. The Greater
White-fronted Goose was only about 20 yards from the shore at the north end
of the parking lot. It later was only 15 yards from the shore as it drifted
into the water off of the picnic area. I also took some photos of a
Cackling Goose, who was in the river near the first major open area as you
are walking from the parking area toward the stone bridge. In the first
photo, the Cackler is at the front left. In the second photo, it is second
from the right. Finally, the Nashville Warbler was very cooperative. I saw
it about five times as it foraged near the ground in the brushy area just
north of the parking area. The warbler was moving quickly, sometimes
pumping its tail, which makes me wonder whether this might be the Western
subspecies. In the third photo, you can see a trace of the bird's red
crown. There are three photos of the warbler, two of the Cackler, and one
of the Greater White-fronted Goose at the following link:
http://www.slickpic.com/users/WilliamYoung/gallery/
Best
Bill Young
Arlington, VA
