Hello,

I birded Deal Island WMA at the end of the day on
Thursday.  It is a beautiful place.  The road is short
enough that it can be a quick place to bird but it's a
great place to linger if you are so inclined.

I saw/heard some of the species that Walter, Nancy and
Ian had two days earlier.  I stopped along the dirt
road a handful of times.  Nothing rare seen but a
pleasant early evening in the marsh. 

I counted about 10 each of Seaside Sparrows and Marsh
Wrens but there were probably many more.  I had good
looks at some of each.  The Marsh Wrens that I saw
well were quite drab in coloration - no reddish tones.
 Red-winged Blackbird was abundant.  A couple of
Mallards were well into eclipse plumage.  A female
Blue-winged Teal flushed.  American Black Duck was the
other duck sp. that I saw.  Wading birds were limited
to just a few flyovers.  I heard 2 rails, one unId'd,
one Clapper.

The only shorebirds were 2 Willet.  One was off the
end of the road in the channel on the right side.  I
watched it swallow a fish, not sure if it caught the
fish or if it was already dead.  A large dead fish
floated nearby and the Willet did it's best to
scavenge it.  It seems to me that the Willet's bill
isn't designed to pick flesh off of a dead fish, it
didn't get a lot in the time that I was watching.

I heard a Catbird at the end of the road and a Downy
Woodpecker near the beginning.  Not much shrubbery in
the former place.  Not many trees in the latter.

The flies were annoying but I didn't get bit more than
a few times.

Scott Baron
Fairfax, Va.
brnpelicanATyahoo.com



       
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