Sightings on the MOS/MCC "Earliest Bird" Outing
Steve Pretl (Spretl@erols.com)
Fri, 1 Jan 1999 20:27:03 -0500 (EST)
The Montgomery County chapter of the MOS got an early start on the year's
birding activities this morning. The seven participants were able to prime
our year lists (and add to our DC lists) with some excellent bird sightings.
The following writeup was written by Mike Bowen and sent to the Voice of the
Naturalist:
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Here are some observations made by the Montgomery County (MOS) Chapter
"early-bird" field trip to DC-area spots on the morning of Friday, January
1, 1999:
A Merlin was perched in an oak tree at the play area just south of the golf
course, Hains Point, DC. A flight of 9 Canvasbacks flew over the channel
between Ft. McNair and Hains Point, around 9 a.m.
A small group of passerines in pine trees in the LBJ Memorial Grove,
Columbia Island, DC contained at least 3 Pine Warblers and an Orange-crowned
Warbler in addition to 2 Golden-crowned Kinglets. A Winter Wren and a large
(ca. 100) flock of American Robins were in the same vicinity. 11
Black-crowned Night-herons, one an immature, were on the rocks on the
Pentagon side of the marina.
Georgetown Reservoir is starting to ice up and ducks are absent; however,
there were 3 Bonaparte's Gulls in with the usual assortment of Herring,
Ring-billed and Great Black-backed.
Small groups of Hooded Mergansers were seen on the Tidal Basin, in Roaches
Run near National Airport, and at Columbia Island Marina. Roaches Run also
had Gadwall, American Wigeon, Ruddy Duck and 3 Greater Yellowlegs, along
with a Belted Kingfisher.
There were 8 Bald Eagles, all but one of them immature birds, on the Potomac
southwest of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, seen from Bellehaven, Fairfax Co., VA.
Mike Bowen, Bethesda MD
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Steve Pretl
Potomac, MD