Both the Rappahannock and Potomac Rivers were
mostly frozen or full of flow ice within sight of
land. All ponds and marshes were frozen solid.
But the exciting sounds of the ice and the sight
of large numbers of eagles on the Rappahannock
were superb. There was almost no wind so the
temp in the teens was not very uncomfortable.
From about 8:30 to 2:00 I checked out spots along
the Rappahannock between Leedstown in
Westmoreland Co and Cat Point Creek in Richmond
Co. Then I went over to the Potomac side at
Currioman Bay (mostly frozen) and George
Washington's Birthplace (GWB) in Westmoreland Co.
Pope's Creek at GWB was mostly frozen but the
little bit of open water had a large
concentration of waterfowl. I left at 4:30 just
meeting the snow as it arrived in Fredericksburg
and outrunning it on my way back to Oakton. The
highlights were 49 eagles on the ice and trees
along the Rappahannock, 3 tree sparrows (a first
for the NNK for me)at RapRivNWR Mothershead
tract, tons of other sparrows including huge
numbers of juncos, 3 lapland longspurs in a flock
of 35 horned larks in Leedstown (Muse farm, same
place as last year), a snow goose and a weird
Canada Goose at GWB, and a possible(?) Oregon
Junco (see description later in this e-mail.)
Here are the totals for the 75 species seen that
day. RR = total for Rappahannock R from Leedstown
to Cat Point Creek. GWB= George Washington's
Birthplace
Common Loon 1 GWB
DC Cormorant 4 RR
Great Blue Heron 19 RR, 3 GWB
Mute Swan 5 GWB
Tundra Swan 485 GWB WONDERFUL SOUNDS and
DISPLAYS!
Canada Goose 255 RR, 4700 GWB and nearby. Looked
closely for white-fronted goose and for neck
collars but saw neither.
One of these Canada Geese at GWB had a normal
head and neck but its body was white with some
creamy feather edgings on the back and wing
coverts. I have never seen a CAGO like this.
Legs, beak and eyes all looked normal.
Snow Goose 1 GWB
Mallard 30 RR, 145 GWB
Black Duck 72 RR, 55 GWB
Gadwall 50 GWB
American Wigeon 2 GWB
No teal, pintail or wood duck
Canvasback 50 GWB (50 in river, 10 in Pope's
Creek)
Redhead 4 GWB (Pope's Creek)
Ring-necked Duck 4 RR, 85 GWB (Pope's Creek)
Scaup 2 RR, 4 Currioman, 12 GWB
Common Goldeneye: Nice displays! 180 GWB (river)
Bufflehead: 4 RR, 52 GWB (2 Pope's Creek)
Hooded Merganser: 33 RR, 2 GWB (Pope's Creek)
Males giving really nice displays on RR
Common Merganser: 116 RR
Red-breasted Merganser: 19 RR
Ruddy Duck: 6 RR, 2 GWB (Pope's Creek)
Turkey Vulture: about 30
Black Vulture: 4
Northern Harrier: 3 RR
Sharp-shinned Hawk: 3
Red-shouldered Hawk: 2
Red-tailed Hawk: 4
Bald Eagle: all at RR; 31 immature, 18 adult
no kestrel!
Bob-white: 3 Leedstown
Coot: 1 GWB
Killdeer: 1 Currioman
Ring-billed Gull: 120 RR
Herring Gull: 18 RR
Great Black-backed Gull: 16 RR
Rock Pigeon: 3 Montross
Mourning Dove: about 30
Belted Kingfisher: 1 Leedstown
Red-headed Woodpecker: 4 Harz Landing
Red-bellied Woodpecker: 7
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: 6
Downy W: 7
Hairy W: 2
FLicker: 17
Pileated W: 2
Phoebe: 1 eating sumac "berries" Leedstown
blue jay, common crow
Horned Lark: 1 flock of about 35, Leedstown
titmouse 7, chickadee 4, wb nuthatch 2
carolina wren 8
winter wren 2
gc kinglet (no rc) only 4
bluebird 2 (WOW! so few)
robin: about 40 in one flock
hermit thrush: 21 (higher than normal)
mockingbird: 6
starling: about 80
cedar waxwing: about 15 in one flock
yellow-rumped warbler: 26
cardinal: about 25
eastern towhee: 6
american tree sparrow: 3 RRVNWR
field sparrow: 8
savannah sparrow: 18
white-throated sparrow: 235
white-crowned sparrow (all immature) 17, three
locations in Leedstown
fox sparrow: 11 (Harz Landing Rd)
song sparrow: 145
swamp sparrow: 24
dark-eyed junco: 415 (with 180 in one flock!)
The possible Oregon junco was in Leedstown among
a small flock of about 15 juncos, where Peedee
Creek goes under Leedstown Rd at a small marshy
pond with 2 wood duck boxes. I have seen gobs of
brownish dark-eyed juncos in my 40 years of
birding but this one was different from any I had
seen before in three ways: 1: the distinct, sharp
border between the head hood and the pale
brownish sides; 2: the very pale head, paler than
most slate-colored juncos, and 3: the brightness
of the brownish sides, perhaps pinkish. I did
not know to look for black lores (typical of
pink-sided) when I saw it. I cannot recall seeing
any black lores and usually I would notice such
things. I saw the bird for only about 15-20
seconds before the flock took flight onto private
property where I couldn't follow. My only view
was from the front. I could not see nape or back
before it took flight. I could not find the
flock later either. RATS! Perhaps it was an
adult female Canadian Rocky Mountain
Slate-colored illustrated in Sibley p 501, but
the sides looked brighter and with a sharper
hood/sides deamrcation. I didn't see it well
enough to conclude what it was. (If anyone is in
the area and wants to check it out, I own the
property where the wood duck boxes are. That side
of the road is posted No Tresspassing, but you
may enter if you let me know ahead of time so I
can tell you the boundaries.)
Lapland Longspur: 3, Muse Farm, Leedstown Rd
Meadowlark: about 40 RRVNWR
no blackbirds at all!
american goldfinch: 48
house finch: 4
=====
Frederick D. Atwood fredatwood@xxxxxxxxx
Flint Hill School, 10409 Academic Dr, Oakton, VA 22124
703-242-1675
http://www.agpix.com/fredatwood
http://www.flinthill.org
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