VA BIRDers,
Rich Rieger and I visited The Point this morning, arriving at about 630am on
an overcast morning with little wind, about 50F. Peter Ross joined us at
about 7. Highlights of today's 81 species at this location were Common
Loon, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Eastern Kingbird, Wood Thrush, Juncos, Orchard
Oriole, Purple Finch singing, and Pine Siskin. We started by viewing the
bay of Quantico Creek, finding a Sharpie soundlessly moving through the tree
over our heads. Many Wood Ducks were spied along with a few Green-winged
Teal but the Tundra Swan was not seen. Down the road on the big bridge we
spotted a half dozen Gadwall in the bay plus Caspian Tern and American Coot.
Along the road we slowly picked up the migrant and resident species plus two
overflying Common Loons. The second Bald Eagle nest described by Marc
Ribaudo yesterday produced a single nearly bald head of a curious eaglet -
the Purple Finch sang nearby. The final stretch of road had nearly the same
birds as reported yesterday including a pair of LA Waterthrush exploring
"their" territory. Near the end we heard the growls and "whip-whips" of 2
Wood Thrush and a nearby Ovenbird sang. Blue Jays began coursing overhead
signaling their migration is now in full swing. The high trees held 3 Rusty
Blackbirds. On the way back, we met a few tight migrant groups adding to
our day's list. Tallies of the interesting birds are below.
We then headed to Leesylvania SP and found Prothonotary Warbler at the car
top launch boardwalk area plus another Blue-headed Vireo. The park has put
up one of the Purple Martin apartments, but the other is still down.
Veteran's Park produced no egrets yet added Lesser Yellowlegs and Spotted
Sandpipers. We then stopped at Occoquan Marina and viewed Belmont Bay. Lots
of goodies were found out there: Gadwall 260, Am. Wigeon 3, Canvasback 3,
Lesser Scaup 100, Bufflhead 5, Common Merganser 3, Red-breasted Merganser 4,
Ruddy Duck 3, Pied-billed Grebe 2, Am. Coot 200, Bonaparte's Gull 12 and
Barn Swallows. The latter marked a century day for us and we quit at 130pm.
Kurt Gaskill
C. Goose 12, ON
Wood Duck 13
Gadwall 6
Green-winged Teal 6
Common Loon 2
Osprey 8+
Bald Eagle 8
Sharpie 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Am. Kestrel 1
Am. Coot 3
Killdeer 3
Greater Yellowlegs 2
Laughing Gull 2
Caspian Tern 1
Barred Owl 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
E. Phoebe 2
E. Kingbird 1
White-eyed V 2
Yellow-throated V 1, nice looks
Blue-headed V 2
Blue Jay 50
Purple Martin 2
Tree Sw 14
No. Rough-winged Sw 1
RC Kinglet 8
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 14
Wood Thrush 2
Brown Thrasher 5
Cedar Waxwing 2
No. Parula 8
Yellow-rumped 12
Black-thr Green 1
Yellow-throated 7, at least one interacting pair
Pine 2
Prairie 2
Palm 7
Black & White 1
Ovenbird 1
LA Waterthrush 2
Com. Yellowthroat 3
E. Towhee 9
Chipping Sp 1
Field Sp 5
Swamp Sp 3
White-thr Sp 36, in groups of 10 or more
DE Junco 2
Rusty BB 3
Orchard O 1
Purple Finch 1
Pine Siskin 1, maybe 2
Am. Goldfinch 30, one northbound flock of a dozen
