I spent the day in the area of King George Ponds (King George Co) and
Washington's Birthplace (and a little bit of Leedstown) in Westmoreland
County.I only have time to talk about the highlights of the 85 species
found.Best birds were...
--4 sandhill cranes reported earlier at the Aggregate Industries gate along
route 3. Janice Frye also saw them and they were still present at dusk. It was
county lifer for me bringing my King George total to 222.
--1 Hudsonian Godwit. Many thanks to Janice Frye for finding this bird,
photographing and filming it, notifying me about it, and waiting for me to come
to see it. It was along Lagrange Lane in the shallower pond with all the gravel
bars near the shore. Stay on the road because the grass is private property. It
was still present at sunset. The bird has an injured leg; its ankle joint is
swollen to twice the size of the other ankle.
--1 Great Egret at the same location
--1 Long-billed Dowitcher heard and seen along LaGrange in the AM, not seen
later in the day but there are plenty of places where it could be not visible.
--Other shorebirds at King George ponds (private properties and LaGrange)
included both yellowlegs, a few dunlin, lots of killdeer, 2 pectoral, several
least, and some peeps that got away.
--1 orange-crowned warbler, my first for Westmoreland Co (bringing my county
total to 247), at the picnic area of Washington's Birthplace.
--a male Redhead and a Bonaparte's Gull at private Farley Vale ponds (KG Co)
--3 snow geese (a white form at Popes Creek in Wahsington's Birthplace, and 2
blues at dusk at Aggregate Industries gate)
--a tree swallow, house wren and flock of 120 goldfinches along Cleve Rd, Dogue
(KG Co)
--a cackling goose at private Burnley Farm pond (KG Co)
--lots of waterfowl are back including over 300 gadwalls, am wigeons, over 300
ruddies, over 800 ring-neckeds, several shovelers, 27 pied-billed grebes, a few
green-winged teals. There were 9 common loons but no bay ducks present in the
River at Birthplace yet.
All the bestFred Atwood Frederick D. Atwood Flint Hill School, 10409 Academic
Dr, Oakton, VA 22124 703-242-1675 http://www.agpix.com/fredatwood ;
http://www.flinthill.org http://tea.armadaproject.org/tea_atwoodfrontpage.html ;
https://www.flickr.com/photos/75425046@N06/sets/
