Blackwater NWR & Vicinity
Dex Hinckley (dhinckley@igc.apc.org)
Fri, 21 Nov 1997 18:02:15 -0800 (PST)
Joined a Fairfax Audubon Society expedition to Blackwater NWR today.
Weather was kind, starting to rain only after we emerged from McDonald's
on the way home.
At the NWR, saw huge numbers of SNOW GEESE (both color phases), as well as
NORTHERN PINTAIL and Canada Geese. Also, small flocks of KILLDEER, DUNLIN,
AMERICAN PIPET, MEADOWLARK, & CEDAR WAXWING (near vistor's center). There
also were a few TUNDRA SWAN, BLACK DUCKS, HOODED MERGANSER, & AMERICAN COOTS.
Raptors included 12 or more BALD EAGLES, several NORTHERN HARRIER, KESTREL,
RED-TAILED HAWK, & SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (one eating a sparrow on the ground
right across the canal).
Interesting, but less numerous, were the CAROLINA WREN, WINTER WREN, YELLOW-
RUMPED WARBLER, SAVANNAH SPARROW & FORSTER'S TERN.
On the way home, we saw COMMON LOON, HORNED GREBE, OLDSQUAW, COMMON GOLDENEYE,
MUTE SWAN, & GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL near the Narrows, past Queenstown.
All in all, a very successful trip with a highly congenial crew!