Date: 10/13/12 12:45 pm
From: Scott Loss <scottrloss...>
Subject: [MDBirding] Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens (Orange-crowned Warblers, Meadowlarks, Pipits, Siskins, etc.)


After checking the radar last night and early this morning I was expecting big things today. I wasn't disappointed as Kenilworth was incredible; possibly my best morning of birding in DC in the last year plus, considering diversity and numbers combined. I ended up with 78 species, including 10 sparrows and 7 warblers, plus some other good grassland birds.

I spent most of my time thoroughly combing the grasslands/shrublands at Kenilworth Park for sparrows. Highlights here included: 3 Eastern Meadowlarks foraging in the mowed grass of the athletic fields, 2 flyover American Pipits calling, 2 Orange-crowned Warblers - both in the shrubby back edge of the grasslands, 3 White-crowned Sparrows in the same area, 3 separate flyovers of Pine Siskins, including a group of 7, and a female Purple Finch with a group of Houses.

At KAG, things were much quieter, but I still managed a late Red-eyed Vireo, plus Blue-headed Vireo. A large number of Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers plus Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Sapsuckers, and tons of Song, Swamp, and White-throated Sparrows made for a very exciting morning. Between the uncommon birds there were always multiple birds to look at.

eBird list follows:

Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens, District of Columbia, US-DC
Oct 13, 2012 8:00 AM - 12:45 PM
Protocol: Traveling
4.8 mile(s)
78 species

Canada Goose 125
Wood Duck 4
American Black Duck 1
Mallard 18
Double-crested Cormorant 12
Great Blue Heron 4
Great Egret 3
Black Vulture 1
Turkey Vulture 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Bald Eagle 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 3
Killdeer 6
Ring-billed Gull 8
Herring Gull 1
Rock Pigeon 22
Mourning Dove 28
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 3
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 5
Downy Woodpecker 2
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 5
Pileated Woodpecker 1
American Kestrel 1
Eastern Phoebe 4
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Red-eyed Vireo 1 Near beginning of River trail; heard whiny alarm call and saw clearly. Gray-blue cap, eyeline, green-olive back, light underparts with slight yellow wash
Blue Jay 30
American Crow 2
Fish Crow 6
Tree Swallow 45 Flock flying over and then came down to forage over the soccer fields at Kenilworth Park
Carolina Chickadee 4
Tufted Titmouse 4
Red-breasted Nuthatch 2
White-breasted Nuthatch 2
House Wren 1
Carolina Wren 3
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 15
Eastern Bluebird 3
Swainson's Thrush 1
Hermit Thrush 1
American Robin 150
Gray Catbird 2
Northern Mockingbird 4
Brown Thrasher 4
European Starling 25
American Pipit 2 Heard 2 note pip-it (or slip-it) flight calls and looked up to see longish-tailed birds flying overhead at Kenilworth Park fields
Cedar Waxwing 5
Tennessee Warbler 4 Shrubby edge of Kenilworth Park fields
Orange-crowned Warbler 2 both along shrubby back edge of athletic fields at Kenilworth Park. Uniform olive-green back and belly, no wing bars and very faint eye ring and eye-line. Yellow undertail coverts, no light coloration in undertail-belly area (unlike Tennessees which have lighter vent area); saw Tennessees today for good comparisons
Nashville Warbler 1 Shrubby edge of Kenilworth Park fields
Northern Parula 1
Blackpoll Warbler 1 Shrubby edge of Kenilworth Park fields
Palm Warbler 25 Conservative number - not a big number for having covered over 4.5 miles; mostly around the edges of Kenilworth Park fields
Yellow-rumped Warbler 75 Everywhere
Eastern Towhee 3
Chipping Sparrow 5
Field Sparrow 3 2 in Kenilworth Park fields; 1 along boardwalk in KAG
Savannah Sparrow 4 Kenilworth Park fields
Song Sparrow 25
Lincoln's Sparrow 1 Past barrier at end of Kenilworth Park fields
Swamp Sparrow 14 Throughout Kenilworth Park fields and marsh in KAG
White-throated Sparrow 20
White-crowned Sparrow 4 3 in shrubby edge of Kenilworth Park fields; 1 along boardwalk
Dark-eyed Junco 1
Northern Cardinal 4
Indigo Bunting 2 Both on right spur of boardwalk in Kag - one all brown, one with indigo wing feathers remaining
Red-winged Blackbird 35
Eastern Meadowlark 3 Feeding in mowed grass near road in Kenilworth Park fields; robin-sized bird brown streeky back - light yellow wash on front - non-breeding plumage
Common Grackle 1
Brown-headed Cowbird 15
Purple Finch 1 With small group of House Finches past barrier at end of Kenilworth Fields road
House Finch 26
Pine Siskin 10 2 solo flyovers and a group of 7 flying over - all at Kenilworth Park fields. Two-note Klee-yer calls clearly heard. On at least a couple of the birds, I could see a lighter-colored stripe running along the wing between the primaries and wing coverts.
American Goldfinch 7
House Sparrow 7

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