VA BIRDers,
Rich Rieger and I went out today hoping for a break in the weather but
instead got foggy, overcast skies and intermittent drizzle. Uhh! But,
we're birders and so what's a little rain, right? We started off at Mason
Neck as Rich has agreed to help organize that sector of the Fort Belvoir CBC
(Dec 30). We then visited Ft Belvoir itself (Accotink Bay - the security
gate took about a minute, Greg Fleming is the CBC Sector boss) and then
Jackson Abbott Wildlife Refuge (Larry Meade is the Sector Leader). Top birds
today were Blue-winged Teal (male, Jackson Abbott Wildlife Refuge), Redheads
(Mason Neck and Pohick Bay), Black-crowned Night-Heron (Mason Neck), Greater
Yellowlegs (Mason Neck NWR, Great Marsh), and Chipping Sparrow (Mason Neck
SP). It was fairly birdy today, at least 12,000 waterfowl were encountered
and we tallied about 72 species before going home near 3pm.
Our efforts at Mason Neck were straightforward - we discuss various CBC
hotspots and scope ducks. I kept a few notes on duck numbers and so will
report those below. The passerines were good - most locations had a Brown
Creeper. Anyway, the waterfowl were most numerous around the Mason Neck
peninsula although we noted perhaps a thousand plus waterfowl in Pohick Bay
whose identity was lost in the fog as we scoped from Ft Belvoir. The
Black-crowned Night-Heron was on a private boat ramp at Mason Neck
(Hallowing Pt), the Greater Yellowlegs were in the Great Marsh and the
Chipping Sparrow was mixed in with a bunch of Juncos at Mason Neck SP.
Kurt Gaskill
C. Goose 445, more lost in the fog
Tundra Swan 105, all at the Great Marsh of Mason Neck
Gadwall 1506, the most I have ever seen in Virginia
Am. Wigeon 307
Am. Black Duck 183
Mallard 326
Blue-winged Teal 1
No. Shoveler 7
No. Pintail 34
Green-winged Teal 8
Canvasback 223
Redhead 26
Ring-necked Duck 1241
Greater Scaup 26
Lesser Scaup 4350, another large raft (ca. 5000, probably of scaup) were
dimly observed south of OBNWR
Bufflehead 91
Hooded Merganser 51
Common Merganser 15
Ruddy Duck 2210
Common Loon 3
Pied-billed Grebe 43, most off Accotink Bay
Horned Grebe 7, all in Occoquan Bay
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1
Am. Coot 757
Greater Yellowlegs 2
Laughing Gull 3 (Ft Belvoir, Accotink Bay)
