Shorebirds (Ducks?) at Hunting Creek
KurtCapt87@aol.com
Tue, 20 Oct 1998 19:21:40 EDT
Folks,
Well! The weather, and the bird population, has taken a dramatic change from
just 2 weeks ago. Now, at the mouth of Hunting Creek, I search hard for a few
shorebirds and terns but am overwhelmed with ducks! Perhaps I should change
the post name, eh? But, on with the "show"...
At the hydrilla mats north of the Wilson Bridge and the mudflats of Hunting
Creek today, 20 Oct 98, from about 1230-1300 and from the Bellehaven/Dyke
Marsh picnic area from about 1730-1800 (low tide was about 1400) I spotted the
following, in addition to the usual Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Double-
crested Cormorants, the 4 usual Potomac gulls, a Kingfisher, Corvids...
Pied-billed Grebe - 45 (44 N. of the bridge in the mats)
Mute Swan - 1
Canada Goose - 200 (est, I didn't count these)
Wood Duck - 2
Green-winged Teal - 1
Black Duck - 24
Mallard - 136
Northern Pintail - 282
(Blue-winged Teal, 12+, and Cinnamon Teal, 2, at Accotink Bay 15 minutes
south)
Am. Widgeon - 5
Canvasback - 2 (hydrilla mats N. of bridge)
Bald Eagle - 3 (1 imm)
Am. Coot - 200 (est., distant, close-packed group)
Killdeer - 2
Greater Yellowlegs - 9
Caspian Tern - 3
Forster's Tern - 10
I am sure I missed many!
Kurt Gaskill, kurtcapt87@aol.com