Happy New Year, all!
I led the annual New Year's Day "Earliest Bird" trip for the
Montgomery Bird Club this morning. This trip started at 8 a.m. at
Georgetown Reservoir (GR), and ended with a bit of a whimper after 11
a.m when heavy rain, low fog, and an inoperative vehicle brought the
group to a slightly premature stop.
Nonetheless we had some good sightings. I'm including all our
sightings below in case some of them turn out to be "first of the
year" for the District of Columbia.
Other DC locations visited included Constitution Gardens (CG), the DC
War Memorial WM), Washington Channel (WC), and Hains Point (HP).
Species seen:
CANADA GOOSE hundreds
MALLARD 60
RING-NECKED DUCK 4 (GR)
LESSER SCAUP 30 (GR, WC)
BUFFLEHEAD 7 (GR, Reflecting Pool)
COMMON MERGANSER 5 flyover
RED-BREASTED MERGANSER (WC) 1 drake
RUDDY DUCK 8 (GR)
PIED-BILLED GREBE 3 (CG, HP)
DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT 2 (CG)
BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON 6 (WC)
TURKEY VULTURE 2 (Macarthur Boulevard)
BALD EAGLE 5 adults, most near HP
RED-TAILED HAWK 1
PEREGRINE FALCON 1 (14th St. RR Bridge)
AMERICAN COOT 4 (CG)
RING-BILLED GULL '00s
HERRING GULL 50
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL 2 full adults, one at GR, one at HP
GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL 10
ROCK PIGEON 20
MOURNING DOVE 24
RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER 2
NORTHERN FLICKER 1
BLUE JAY 6
AMERICAN CROW few
FISH CROW few
CAROLINA WREN 2
WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH 1 (GR)
AMERICAN ROBIN 2
NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD 2
EUROPEAN STARLING 50+
SONG SPARROW 2
NORTHERN CARDINAL 2
BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD 2
HOUSE FINCH 1
HOUSE SPARROW 6
Tony and Cynthia Mead had an EASTERN PHOEBE somewhere along Macarthur
Blvd. before they joined the rest of the group.
Mike Bowen
Montgomery Bird Club
MD Ornithological Society
D.H.Michael Bowen
8609 Ewing Drive
Bethesda, MD 20817-3845
Telephone: (301) 530-5764
e-mail: dhmbowenATyahooDOTcom |