Georgetown Res and Lake Brittle
BlkVulture@aol.com
Sat, 26 Dec 1998 18:21:06 EST
Hello all......
Yes, the above two locations are seemingly an odd pair of spots to hit in a
single day. Unless you have to drive by one on the way home.
At Georgetown Resevoir was one Lesser Black-backed gull and 7 ring-necked
ducks.
At Lake Brittle (Fauquier County, VA) was 174 hooded mergansers, 12 red-
breasted mergansers, 6 bufflehead, 6 ruddy ducks, 1 snipe, and 2 bald eagles.
This was the highest total of hoodeds that I have seen in one place.
I also drove past Lake Manassas, and it had many birds, but there was no safe
way to leave a car and walk onto the dam to view them. The road where I would
have left my car was a sheet of ice. Im sure someone who cant drive on ice
would have hit it.
What is notable is that all the smaller lakes (five acres or less approx) are
frozen, with just small openings of water. These openings are usually
coevered by mallards. Both Brittle (77 acres) and Lake Manassas (my best
guess is 500 acres or more) are not frozen. Brittle was frozen in some areas,
but I saw no ice on Lake Manassas. The lake that I have been checking for the
Manassas/Bull Run Xmas count (small) was frozen, and the 18 hoodeds from
yesterday were no where to be found. That is why I checked the bigger lakes.
It seems like the Hoodeds have all decided to hang out at Lake Brittle......
Cheers........
Todd M. Day
Jeffersonton, VA
BlkVulture@aol.com