Fellow birders,
Nine persons joined me for the weekly walk at Dyke Marsh WP sponsored by the
Friends of Dyke Marsh, which was held this morning instead of the regular
time starting at 8 o¹clock on Sunday mornings because the George Washington
Parkway will be closed tomorrow morning for a running race. Highlights
during the walk included at least 54 CASPIAN TERNS, which is an exact count
of individuals standing on a sand bar at the end of the walk; large numbers
of swallows, with good numbers of PURPLE MARTINS, including several perched
at close range at the marina, and TREE, BARN and NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED
SWALLOWS; many CHIMNEY SWIFTS; several SPOTTED SANDPIPERS and a GREATER
YELLOWLEGS, which were seen at close range by the marina; two HORNED GREBES
at close range by the marina, including one in full breeding plumage; a
BROWN THRASHER singing at the top of a tree at the beginning of Haul Road; a
GRAY CATBIRD at the beginning of Haul Road; a RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD
along Haul Road; BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHERS at several locations, including on a
nest near the end of Haul Road; a singing HOUSE WREN during the return trip
along Haul Road; YELLOW WARBLERS at several locations, including the
traditional nesting area near the end of Haul Road; YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS
seen and heard throughout the morning; a PALM WARBLER by the parking lot at
the beginning of the walk; a singing NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH during the return
trip along Haul Road, which we unfortunately could not locate; and a couple
of singing first-year male ORCHARD ORIOLES. Waterfowl included a small
number of lingering LESSER SCAUP and BUFFLEHEADS and a single NORTHERN
SHOVELER, as well as three male WOOD DUCKS near the end of Haul Road.
Highlights also included an adult BALD EAGLE perched above an apparent nest
across the marsh at the end of Haul Road and the numerous breeding OSPREY at
this wildlife refuge. Observed breeding activity included a pair of
copulating TUFTED TITMICE, a pair of copulating RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS, a
couple of WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCHES that appeared to be checking out a nest
cavity and EUROPEAN STARLINGS and HOUSE SPARROWS carrying nesting material.
At the end of the walk several of us enjoyed booth presentations in the
picnic area by the Friends of Dyke Marsh and the Raptor Conservancy of
Virginia, which displayed several captive raptors, including an EASTERN
SCREECH-OWL and a hybrid between a PEREGRINE FALCON and a MERLIN that was
bred in captivity. These raptors of course do not make the list for the
field trip, which is set forth below for those who are interested.
Gerry Hawkins
Arlington, VA
VA-Dyke Marsh - CMN02, Fairfax, US-VA
Apr 25, 2015 7:03 AM - 11:42 AM
Protocol: Traveling
1.2 mile(s)
56 species
Canada Goose 25
Wood Duck 3
Mallard 8
Northern Shoveler 1
Lesser Scaup 18
Bufflehead 8
Horned Grebe 2
Double-crested Cormorant 60
Great Blue Heron 3
Osprey 10
Bald Eagle 2 Consists of an adult perched above an apparent nest and an
immature perched on a log.
Spotted Sandpiper 3
Greater Yellowlegs 1
Ring-billed Gull 25
Caspian Tern 54 Exact count of birds seen standing together on a sand
bar.
Mourning Dove 8
Chimney Swift 25
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 6
Downy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 1
Blue Jay 8
American Crow 4
Fish Crow 3
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 20
Purple Martin 25
Tree Swallow 150
Barn Swallow 75
Carolina Chickadee 8
Tufted Titmouse 8
White-breasted Nuthatch 3
House Wren 1
Carolina Wren 8
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 8
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
American Robin 12
Gray Catbird 1
Brown Thrasher 1
European Starling 12
Northern Waterthrush 1 Heard singing during the return trip along Haul
Road.
Yellow Warbler 3
Palm Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 25
Eastern Towhee 2
Song Sparrow 3
Swamp Sparrow 1
White-throated Sparrow 20
Northern Cardinal 15
Red-winged Blackbird 40
Common Grackle (Purple) 10
Brown-headed Cowbird 6
Orchard Oriole 2
House Finch 1
American Goldfinch 15
House Sparrow 6
View this checklist online at
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S23049272
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org
<http://ebird.org/> )
