Folks
About the best bird Gwen and I found on the Ft. Belvoir CBC (MD side) were
four Rusty Blackbirds. These animals were at the Hard Bargain Farm in a low
wetland section near the Potomac River. There were two males and two
females. This is a species of concern for me since they seem to be harder
and harder to find. The large flock that spent last winter with me at the
house in Waldorf never returned. Only a couple fly bys so far.
Other birds of interest were a good collection of ducks on the river along
the boardwalk at Piscataway Park. Gwen and I had about 15 species of
waterfowl which included 32, if I remember correctly, Redhead Ducks. Other
waterfowl encountered during the walk to Mockley Point were two Tundra Swan,
~ 200 Canada Good, lots of Gadwall, good numbers of Mallards, perhaps 30
Black Duck, maybe 20 Canvasbacks, Am. Wigeon, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser
Scaup, Bufflehead, all three mergansers (only one Red-breasted and two
Hooded), and Ruddy Duck. Gwen can supplement the accurate numbers if she
wishes. We also had six American Coot. This would be a good spot for the
all county listers to visit for their waterfowl ticks. It is in P.G.
county.
We only had three Bald Eagles the whole day, which is astonishing along this
stretch of the river. A possible Merlin was quickly observed but not long
enough to put to species. It does not always pay to carry your tripod,
camera, and binoculars while hiking through the grass looking for sparrows.
Eye examination of a small, dark raptor, flying low away can leave doubts in
ones mind. We did have two Brown Creepers near Mockley Point and a Brown
Thrasher earlier on the trail. The sparrow numbers and species were real
low plus only eight Eastern Meadowlarks were found. Another species of
concern.
At the Parris Glendening State Park we encountered all seven species of
woodpeckers in the late afternoon. Most of our walk, starting from Rt. 224
toward the power line, was quiet, but the woodpeckers made the hike worth
while.
"Scratchy" the Fox Sparrow returned to the yard late last night for his
first visit of the year. He and his friends took a couple days off before
returning at dusk. A yard year tick.
George |