Came out just to see what might be around (maybe a long leg wader?) and
to look for field nesting birds. Much to my surprise there was halfway
decent shorebird habitat in the large impoundment because of the drought.
There are mudflats along the edges and a large area off the southwest side
of the islet. I found 4 KILLDEERS, 3 SOLITARY SANDPIPERS, and 4 LEAST
SANDPIPERS here. It has been quite awhile since there has been shorebird
habitat here. The few shorebirds I have seen in recent years usually just
fly over the impoundments and disappear when they can't find suitable
landing sites. I am not sure how long the area will remain but it will
interesting to check, although I doubt I'll find the 20 or so shorebirds I
have recorded in the past. Other waders I found were 5 GREAT BLUE HERONS
and 6 GREEN HERONS.
The other highlight was finding six swallow species. I counted 83
NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS and 2 BANK SWALLOWS on the wires along River
Road. At the impoundments I quickly found 30 or so TREE SWALLOWS foraging
over the water and perching on the swallow nest boxes. Eventually I had a
large group perching in the dead trees along the dike. Working my way
through these birds I added 4 BARN SWALLOWS, another BANK SWALLOW, 2 more
ROUGH-WINGS, 2 PURPLE MARTINS and to cap things off a CLIFF SWALLOW.
I found only one blue-green backed Tree Swallow. The rest of them
were brown backed with white underparts. I did see one Tree Swallow with a
broad brown patch across the breast.
Other birds of interest were my July OSPREY and a BELTED KINGFISHER,
probably attracted by the shallow water.
The walk along Hunting Quarter Rd and River Rd was relatively quiet
although there were 4 singing ACADIAN FLYCATCHERS and 5 FIELD SPARROWS.
Total for the day was 52 species.
Paul Woodward
Fairfax City, VA
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