Hi, I wish to thank all those who replied and confirmed my sighting. My
eBird sighting was confirmed too.
Today I made another trip to Dyke Marsh -- I walked from Belle Haven to
Jones Point and back, at a leisurely pace so I spent more time there. I met
quite a few friendly birders. I located the GWFG in the river and finally
saw its face, so this time there was no doubt!
http://www.travelerathome.com/2015_new_year/greater_white_fronted_goose2.jpg
I saw saw a Red-tailed Hawk at close range, apparently having just finished
its meal (with blood still on its talon).
My write-up of this trip can be found at:
http://www.travelerathome.com/2015_new_year/2015_new_year.html
Thanks and happy birding!
Howard Wu
Herndon, VA
On Wed, Dec 31, 2014 at 3:48 PM, Howard Wu <howiewu1@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi,
This bird has been my "nemesis bird" for a long time -- this must be my
6th trip to see it, yet I am still not even sure I did.
I know one has been reported at Belle Haven/Dyke Marsh/Hunting Creek
Bridge for some time, but I was out of town ... anyway, today I started
from Belle Haven and walked to Hunting Creek Bridge. I did not find it in
the river. Then I went to the west side of Hunting Creek Bridge, there were
some Canada Geese and other birds in the creek. I saw one, with its head
tucked in. I though this one had a reddish-brown neck instead of black as
the CAGOs, unfortunately I was somewhat in a hurry (this was supposed to be
my lunch break). I stayed for a bit but its head remained to be tucked in
all the time so I never saw its face.
Normally I would just write this off and try again. But I just saw a
report on eBird about the bird at the same location. I was at the location
between 1:45pm and 2pm, whereas the eBird report was made at 12:30pm.
So now I will share this photo, what do you guys think? Is the white line
on its side a good field mark? I included a few CAGOs for comparison.
http://www.travelerathome.com/image_upload/birds/2014_winter2/goose.jpg
Thanks and happy New Year!
Howard
