Dyke Marsh regular Sunday Bird Walk, 0800-1100, 20-30 F, sunny skies, light wind when near the Potomac What a great day! With sunny skies we began our walk watching ducks, eagles, and gulls on the river. Several Gadwall were mixed in with the 500 or so Canada Geese and a small group of Am. Widgeons took up the rear flank of the big raft. Soon, these fowl were joined by a lone Canvasback out for a nice swim. In the river channel both Bufflehead and Pied-billed Grebe were diving. An adult Bald Eagle perched on the icy mudflats and a first year bird flew over our heads at the picnic area, perching in a big sycamore. We moved down the marina, encountering first Rusty Blackbirds (a male and female pair) and then a single Tree Sparrow perched with House Sparrows near the boats! At the end of the marina drive we spied over a dozen Common Mergansers, several Hooded Mergansers and a single female/imm. Red-breasted Merg all actively diving. As we walked down Haul Road, we heard a Kingfisher nearby. At the "dogleg", many Song Sparrows and at least one Fox Sparrow delighted us. Nearby, many Swamp Sparrows were heard calling in the frozen marsh. As we turned the corner, pishing brought a few Swamps to light and one Winter Wren bounced about in the cattails. Watching this wren, I came across another wren which threw me - untill I noted the pale breast and lined pattern on the rear half - a House Wren! Soon, another Winter Wren joined in and everyone got great looks. At the end of the trail we chanced upon 5 Wood Ducks and saw Horned Grebe nearby with some more Common Mergs. With that we ended the day and tallied 46 species for a fine January winter day at the Dyke. Kurt Gaskill, kurtcapt87@aol.com