Lunchtime Diversions
KurtCapt87@aol.com
Mon, 28 Dec 1998 20:29:43 EST
Folks,
I visited Todd at lunch and asked him to show me Lake Brittle and Manasas to
see the birds he recently reported. Fortunately he could get away for a bit.
A Lake Brittle we saw the Hooded Mergansers. Fantastic! I counted 170 birds
(I don't know how he got 174, but well, I have taken a few more math
courses...) In the middle of this big flottilla, sat a somewhat bemused
Lesser Black-backed Gull! Cool! Off to the sides were 50 or so Mallard, 20
or so Ruddy Ducks, 8 Lesser Scaup and a Common Merganser; also a Herring Gull
and a few Ring-bill Gulls. As we watched, a Pileated flew over the lake and
this female Hairy kept calling behind us. Fun!
At Lake Manasas we watched 6 Common Mergansers, a Red-breasted Merganser and 3
Pied-billed Grebes from the dam. In the distance, an adult Bald Eagle perched
in a tree about 150 yds from the nest of a Bald Eagle pair from last year (one
of the same birds?). As we watched, a dart flew across the lake and across
the dam to perch on a high power line tower. Merlin.
Boy did those Juncos fly to the cedars!
Diversion complete, I dropped Todd off and continued on home. Wish I had
similar diversions like this every day.
Kurt Gaskill, kurtcapt@aol.com