Earlier this morning I made a stop at Greenbelt Lake hoping
to see the redheads that Mike Ostrowski had first reported
earlier in the week. I not only saw the redheads but also had
the good fortune of bumping into Warren Strobel who, in
turning to look at an unusual sparrow drew my attention to
a Y-B Sapsucker, my first! I'd been looking for a sapsucker
for quite some time... now just need an IBWO, ;). The lake
had had 6-7 redheads (4 in the open area on the west straight
side of the lake, 3 in the other large open area... so unless one
flew between the two, there were 7). I missed a few of the
species that Mike had found the other day, but they could well
have been there. Full list below
P-B Grebe (1)
American Wigeon (1)
N. Shoveler (2, 1 pr)
Canvasback (17+)
Redhead (6-7)
Ring-necked Duck (many)
Scaup sp. (2-3)
Hooded Merganser (2, 1 pr)
Coot (1-2)
Ruddy Duck (handfull)
Mallard (~50?)
Ring-Billed Gull (~50?)
Canada Goose (hundreds)
Missed: Wood Duck, Gadwall, Pintail.
Yesterday at nearby Lake Artemesia, while not too many unusual
birds, there were 11-12 Hooded Mergansers (5-6M, 6F), 2 drake
Ring-necked Ducks and 1 female Bufflehead. Also a Cooper's Hawk
and a Killdeer at the Paint Branch golf course/driving range. A
friend in College Park has had Fox Sparrows across the street
lately, saw 2-3 yesterday evening.
Good birding,
Ryan Farrell
College Park, MD |