[MDOsprey] Common Loon upstream of the Great Falls of the Potomac
KurtCapt87@aol.com
Fri, 2 Jul 1999 10:40:16 EDT
Folks,
I visited Riverbend Park, VA for a quick morning of birding 1 July 99. I met
up with Marty Smith, the local naturlist pro at Riverbend. He was showing me
the habitat of many Riverbend specialities, including Worm-eating Warbler.
While walking down the Potomac River trail south of the boat ramp, we spotted
a breeding plummaged Common Loon languidly swimming in the river between us
and one of the islands which terminates at the dam just above Great Falls.
The bird would put its head underwater as it slowly paddled - behavior that
Marty noted when viewing loons in summertime Maine. A great way to start off
the July summer list, eh?
Everything else observed was fairly normal for the area. We did manage one
Scarlet Tanager feeding one very downy juvie - a good confirm for Farifax
County. Also, we came across one Worm-eating Warbler just as I fell and
injured my knee. (Out of action for a few weeks I would think.) Here's the
list of 37 species.
Kurt Gaskill
Common Loon - 1
Gr Blue Heron - 2
Wood Duck - 2
Mallard - 1
Turkey Vulture - 1
Red-shouldered Hawk - 1
MoDo - 1
Y.B. Cuckoo - 3
Red-belly Woodpecker - 3
Hairy Woodpecker - 1
Flicker - 1
Pileated Woodpecker - 1
E. Peewee - 5
Acadian Flycatcher - 7
Great Crested Fly - 1
Blue Jay - 4
Am. Crow - 7
C.Chicadee - 4
T. Titmouse - 3
White-breasted Nuthatch - 6
C. Wren - 5
Blue-gray Gnat - 1
Wood Thrush - 7
Starlings - 2
Yellow-throated V - 2
Red-eyed V - 6
No. Parula - 2
Yellow-throated Warbler - 1 (island in Maryland)
Worm-eating Warbler - 1
Ovenbird - 3
LA Waterthrush - 2
Scarket Tanager - 5
Indigo Bunting -2
No. Cardinal - 2
Com. Grackle - 2
Brn-headed Cowbird - 4
Am. Goldfinch - 3