Vesper Sparrow - marvelous
Sent from my iPhone
On Apr 1, 2015, at 3:47 PM, Robert Ake <robertake@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
This morning Tracy Tate, Rexanne Bruno, and I walked Railroad Ditch
from the headquarters of the Great Dismal Swamp NWR on Desert Rd, leaving
the parking lot about 7:30am at which time the temperature was 43F and
there was virtually no wind. The wind however kicked up later in the
morning out of the north and the temperature didn't seem to rise much
making some of the birding a bit chilly, and that's no fooling. We walked
as far as the boardwalk halfway down West Ditch.
It was a good walk with Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Common Yellowthroats,
Eastern Phoebes, Louisiana Waterthrushes, and Yellow-throated Warbler
giving evidence that migration has progressed since last week. New birds
for the swamp were an Ovenbird and a White-eyed Vireo. The Ruby-crowned
Kinglets were in full song and one had his red crest erect for quite a
while. We had three flocks of Rusty Blackbirds, one containing 200 birds,
the others 60 and 30 birds. Good views were had. Twice a group of three
Downy Woodpeckers were observed chasing each other around a tree trunk.
Two pairs of Wood Ducks were seen in trees investigating nesting cavities.
We did see an otter in West Ditch.
After returning to the parking lot, we drove to Lake Drummond. In the
burn area along Interior Ditch we encountered a group of five Lesser
Yellowlegs. Many Tree Swallows were zipping over the extensive marshy area
filled with burned fallen trees. We heard another White-eyed Vireo.
Perhaps the best bird seen on this segment was a Vesper Sparrow feeding
along the road affording excellent viewing from the car.
The next walk will leave from the Jericho Ditch Lane parking lot at
7:00am, Thursday, April 9, 2015. No reservation is necessary; just show
up. I hope you will be able to join me. The two complete bird lists for
each of the two segments of this morning's outing are given below:
Dismal Swamp NWR Railroad Ditch, Suffolk, US-VA
Apr 1, 2015 7:03 AM - 11:36 AM
Protocol: Traveling by foot
6.0 mile(s)
42 species
Wood Duck 6
Double-crested Cormorant 6
Turkey Vulture 7
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Red-headed Woodpecker 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 7
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Downy Woodpecker 6
Hairy Woodpecker 3
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 7
Pileated Woodpecker 2
Eastern Phoebe 9
White-eyed Vireo 1
Blue-headed Vireo 1
American Crow 1
Fish Crow 1
Carolina Chickadee 7
Tufted Titmouse 3
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Winter Wren 4
Carolina Wren 8
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 9
American Robin 3
Cedar Waxwing 8
Ovenbird 1
Louisiana Waterthrush 2
Common Yellowthroat 7
Pine Warbler 6
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 18
Yellow-throated Warbler 1
Eastern Towhee 6
Song Sparrow 6
Swamp Sparrow 4
White-throated Sparrow 9
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 1
Northern Cardinal 1
Rusty Blackbird 290
Common Grackle 2
Brown-headed Cowbird 3
American Goldfinch 2
Great Dismal Swamp NWR--Interior Ditch, Suffolk, US-VA
Apr 1, 2015 11:45 AM - 12:52 PM
Protocol: Traveling by car
4.0 mile(s)
23 species
Double-crested Cormorant 4
Great Blue Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 11
Osprey 1
Northern Harrier 1
American Coot 1
Killdeer 2
Lesser Yellowlegs 5
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
White-eyed Vireo 1
Tree Swallow 200
Carolina Wren 2
Northern Mockingbird 1
Common Yellowthroat 4
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 8
Vesper Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 4
Swamp Sparrow 3
White-throated Sparrow 1
Red-winged Blackbird 3
--
Robert L. Ake
6603 Catherine Street
Norfolk VA 23505
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