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Green Heron

Green Heron at Dyke Marsh - photo by Ed Eder

Sunday Morning Bird Walks

The weekly Sunday morning bird walks are held every Sunday morning all year. Meet at 8 a.m. in the south parking lot of the Belle Haven picnic area. Walks are led by experienced birders and all are welcome.

 

Birds Recently Seen at Dyke Marsh

The most recent reports are found at the top of the page; be sure to scroll through the reports to view the earlier sightings.

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Sightings

Nearly 30 people joined me today for the Sunday morning walk at Dyke Marsh, starting at 8:00 and open to everyone free of charge. The morning began with the receding mudflats hosting Bonaparte's Gulls and Caspian Terns as a Northern Parula burst into song in the picnic area. A small flock of Spotted Sandpipers flew down river along the shoreline, giving decent views. Ospreys and Bald Eagles soared in the clear blue skies as we walked down Haul Road with evidence all around us that spring is here. Yellow-rumped Warblers were numerous with many males in song. Palm Warblers foraged for insects at the end of Haul Road as they continued their migration. We saw or heard half a dozen Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. We osberved 7 active Osprey nests. Fish Crows were working on a nest in the picnic area while Tree Swallows did the same in one of the nest boxes in the channel north of Haul Road. As the walk concluded, an Eastern Phoebe began to vocalize in the picnic area. It was a beautiful day with great company. Today's totals: Canada Goose 4 Mallard 16 Double-crested Cormorant 40 Turkey Vulture 2 Osprey 18 ( 7 active nests) Bald Eagle 7 Spotted Sandpiper 6 Bonaparte's Gull 8 Ring-billed Gull 30 Herring Gull 5 Great Black-backed Gull 2 Caspian Tern 23 Mourning Dove 5 Red-bellied Woodpecker 7 Downy Woodpecker 5 Northern Flicker 1 Pileated Woodpecker 1 Eastern Phoebe 1 Blue Jay 1 Fish Crow 7 (pair nest building: NB) Tree Swallow 35 (pair NB) Northern Rough-winged Swallow 2 Barn Swallow 2 Carolina Chickadee 5 Tufted Titmouse 5 Carolina Wren 9 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 5 American Robin 10 Northern Mockingbird 1 European Starling 20 (NB) Northern Parula 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler 40 Palm Warbler 3 Eastern Towhee 1 Chipping Sparrow 3 Song Sparrow 2 Swamp Sparrow 2 White-throated Sparrow 25 Northern Cardinal 18 Red-winged Blackbird 14 Common Grackle 8 Brown-headed Cowbird 6 House Finch 1 American Goldfinch 4 House Sparrow 8 (NB). -- Larry Cartwright, April 14, 2013.

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Sightings

Well, we had a great crowd for this mornings' walk at Dyke Marsh, Alexandria. Lots of first timers mixed w. the regulars. It was fairly active in the picnic area w. YELLOW RUMP WARBLERS, a few PALM WARBLERS and at least 2 EASTERN PHOEBES giving us some good looks in the bright sunshine. Activity slowed down as we made our way thru the marina and down Haul Road in a stiff breeze that kept the temperature on the chilly side. Two GOLDEN CROWNED KINGLETS and more YELLOW RUMPERS were entertaining - a myriad of CAROLINA WRENS were in full song, one WINTER WREN made a very brief appearance but some hoped for arrivals failed to materialize....small numbers of waterfowl were tallied and we managed 44 species for the day... list follows. C Goose 14 Mallard 16 L. Scaup 6 Bufflehead 1 RB Merg 4 PB Grebe 1 Horned Grebe 1 DC Corm 4 Osprey 8 Bald Eagle 1 RB Gull 30 Herring Gull 4 Caspian Tern 6 Foresters Tern 1 MoDo 4 (one pair nest building) RB WP 7 Downy WP 5 No. Flicker 2 E. Phoebe 3 Blue Jay 8 (carrying nest material) Fish Crow 6 Tree Swallow 30 No. RW Swallow 10 Car. Chick 5 Tuft. Titmouse 2 Carolina Wren 16 winter Wren 1 GC Kinglet 3 RC Kinglet 1 Robin 24 Starling x YR Warbler 12 Palm Warbler 2 Towhee 1 Song Sparrow 6 Swamp Sparrow 2 WT Sparrow 10 DE Junco 3 No. CArdinal 8 RW Blackbird 24 C Grackle 1 BH Cowbird 2 House Finch 1 House Sparrow 2. -- Rich Rieger, April 7, 2013.

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Sightings

Fellow birders, Eight persons, including for most of the time regular field trip leader Ed Eder, joined me for the regular Sunday morning walk at Dyke Marsh Nature Preserve in Alexandria, VA. During the walk we visited the Belle Haven picnic area and the nearby marina before walking to the end of Haul Road. Highlights on this very birdy morning included five Horned Grebes in the Potomac River, several Bonaparte¹s Gulls on the Hunting Creek mudflats, Tree, Barn and at least a couple of Northern Rough-winged Swallows, a Brown Thrasher in the area between the picnic area and the marina, three Tundra Swans in flight above us, singing Yellow-rumped Warblers along Haul Road, four Winter Wrens along Haul Road, Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets along Haul Road, five Eastern Phoebes in the picnic area and along Haul Road, a Sharp-shinned Hawk being harassed by a crow near the boardwalk at the end of Haul Road, and three Wilson¹s Snipe in flight shortly after we started walking back along Haul Road. The numerous nesting Osprey and Bald Eagles in this area were prominent during the walk. For those interested, a list of the 57 species encountered during the walk is set forth below. Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve, Alex., VA, Fairfax, US-VA Mar 31, 2013 7:45 AM - 11:15 AM Protocol: Traveling 1.2 mile(s) Comments: This list records the birds encountered by me and eight participants during the regular, Sunday morning walk at Dyke Marsh Nature Preserve. Submitted from BirdLog NA for iOS, version 1.5.2 57 species (+1 other taxa) Canada Goose 35 Tundra Swan 3 Mallard 12 Northern Shoveler 5 Green-winged Teal 8 Lesser Scaup 35 Bufflehead 6 Red-breasted Merganser 2 Pied-billed Grebe 1 Horned Grebe 5 Double-crested Cormorant 35 Great Blue Heron 4 Turkey Vulture 1 Osprey 12 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Bald Eagle 5 all adults Killdeer 4 Wilson's Snipe 3 Bonaparte's Gull 8 Ring-billed Gull 125 Herring Gull (American) 15 Great Black-backed Gull 4 Caspian Tern 1 seen in flight over the Potomac River by Ed Eder Rock Pigeon 3 Mourning Dove 4 Red-bellied Woodpecker 5 Downy Woodpecker 7 Northern Flicker 3 Eastern Phoebe 5 Blue Jay 5 American Crow 6 Fish Crow 3 crow sp. 6 Northern Rough-winged Swallow 2 Tree Swallow 75 Barn Swallow 10 Carolina Chickadee 14 Tufted Titmouse 4 Winter Wren 4 Carolina Wren 12 Golden-crowned Kinglet 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2 Eastern Bluebird 1 American Robin 25 Brown Thrasher 1 European Starling 30 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 6 Eastern Towhee 3 Field Sparrow 3 Song Sparrow 25 Swamp Sparrow 5 White-throated Sparrow 20 Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 4 Northern Cardinal 16 Red-winged Blackbird 25 Brown-headed Cowbird 5 American Goldfinch 4 House Sparrow 5. -- Gerry Hawkins, Arlington, VA, March 31, 2013.

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Sightings

Eleven birders joined me on the weekly walk at Dyke Marsh, sponsored by the Friends of Dyke Marsh. It was quite gray and chilly, but signs of spring were still apparent with lots of song and the appearance of a few migrants. We got off to a good start with a distant view of a peregrine on the Wilson Bridge (thanks, Ray), 4 Bonaparte's gulls out in the channel, one sporting a partial hood, and a large flock of tree swallows milling just over the surface. The picnic area and bordering brushy area yielded singing phoebe and fox sparrow, a yellow-rumped warbler, and flyover cedar waxwings. The marina held a couple of pied-billed grebes, and we got great views of the resident ospreys. The Dyke Marsh trails were pretty quiet, with groups of song and white-throated sparrows providing most of the action. We did hear 2 winter wrens (one gave us a brief look) and a golden-crowned kinglet. At the boardwalk we got great looks at a pair of greater scaup associating with several lesser scaup. We could easily compare the relevant field marks. In the vicinity were a pair of female red-breasted mergansers. One horned grebe was spotted flying up the river. Despite the chill wind the sky seemed full of ospreys, with several males flying high overhead giving their high-pitched courting cries. Dyke Marsh, Fairfax, US-VA Mar 24, 2013 8:00 AM - 10:45 AM Protocol: Traveling 1.5 mile(s) 50 species Canada Goose 8 Mallard 12 Greater Scaup 2 Lesser Scaup 22 Bufflehead 12 Red-breasted Merganser 2 Ruddy Duck 3 Pied-billed Grebe 3 Horned Grebe 1 Double-crested Cormorant 14 Great Blue Heron 3 Osprey 18 Cooper's Hawk 1 Bald Eagle 3 Bonaparte's Gull 4 Ring-billed Gull 100 Herring Gull 10 Great Black-backed Gull 3 Mourning Dove 6 Red-bellied Woodpecker 6 Downy Woodpecker 8 Northern Flicker 2 Peregrine Falcon 1 Eastern Phoebe 1 Blue Jay 6 American Crow 1 Fish Crow 10 Tree Swallow 60 Carolina Chickadee 8 Tufted Titmouse 2 White-breasted Nuthatch 1 Winter Wren 2 Carolina Wren 18 Golden-crowned Kinglet 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2 American Robin 35 European Starling 15 Cedar Waxwing 2 Yellow-rumped Warbler 1 Eastern Towhee 2 Fox Sparrow 1 Song Sparrow 20 Swamp Sparrow 3 White-throated Sparrow 18 Dark-eyed Junco 14 Northern Cardinal 12 Red-winged Blackbird 25 Common Grackle 2 House Finch 1 House Sparrow 8. -- Marc Ribaudo, March 24, 2013.

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Sightings

Twelve enthusiastic birders joined the weekly bird walk this morning sponsored by Friends of Dyke Marsh. We convene at 8:00 every Sunday except during Christmas Bird Count season at the Belle Haven picnic area. All are welcome, including neophytes. We scan the Potomac and the Marina, then Haul Road. Weather raw (40F and overcast) but dry. I started at dawn at the beginning of Haul Road in hopes of a sighting of Screech Owls. I dipped on these but enjoyed a delightful dawn chorus including singing Winter Wren. Highlight was a raft of 15 Horned Grebes in various stages of molt. We also had great looks at always-charismatic Red-breasted Mergansers. Numerous Tree Swallows and a single Eastern Phoebe were welcome harbingers of spring. The list: Dyke Marsh - CMN02, Fairfax, US-VA Mar 17, 2013 7:00 AM - 11:00 AM Protocol: Traveling 3.0 mile(s) 47 species (+1 other taxa) Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 10 Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) 2 Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 6 Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) 40 Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) 4 Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) 4 Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator) 16 Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) 2 Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) 1 Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus) 22 Several off Belle Haven picnic area, all in basic plumage. Raft of 15 in various stages of molt south of Haul Road near its terminus. Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) 10 Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 1 Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) 8 Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) 4 Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) 1 Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 40 Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) 10 Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) 8 Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 8 Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) 5 Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) 2 Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 4 Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) 1 Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) 8 American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) 4 Fish Crow (Corvus ossifragus) 4 crow sp. (Corvus sp. (crow sp.)) 6 Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) 40 Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) 8 Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) 4 White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) 1 Winter Wren (Troglodytes hiemalis) 2 Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) 8 Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) 3 Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula) 1 American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 10 Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) 1 European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 10 Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) 1 Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 50 Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana) 3 White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) 8 Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) 1 Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 12 Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 30 House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) 2 House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) 6. -- Peter Ross, Arlington, March 17, 2013.

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Sightings

Thirteen birders came out this morning for the weekly bird walk at Dyke Marsh. The walk is sponsored by the friends of Dyke Marsh and is held every Sunday morning at 8:00. It's free and open to all. We started out by scanning the river for ducks and other birds and found a pair of Gadwall, Northern Pintails and Ruddy Ducks. Before the walk, some participants in our group found a Lesser Black-backed Gull and a Merlin at Hunting Creek. We continued to the marina and found a nice collection of Common Mergansers, Red-breasted mergansers and Pied-billed Grebes. There was also a perched Red-shouldered Hawk. On Haul Road, we found a Hairy Woodpecker, a calling Winter Wren, a Belted Kingfisher, a small group of Lesser Scaup, more Ruddy Ducks, and some Bald Eagles. Dyke Marsh, Fairfax, US-VA Mar 3, 2013 8:00 AM - 10:45 AM Protocol: Traveling 1.0 mile(s) 45 species Canada Goose 450 Gadwall 2 Mallard 30 Northern Pintail 8 Lesser Scaup 10 Bufflehead 6 Common Merganser 14 Red-breasted Merganser 7 Ruddy Duck 17 Pied-billed Grebe 3 Double-crested Cormorant 1 Great Blue Heron 2 Bald Eagle 4 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 Red-tailed Hawk 1 American Coot 2 Ring-billed Gull 300 Herring Gull 10 Lesser Black-backed Gull 1 Great Black-backed Gull 10 Mourning Dove 6 Belted Kingfisher 2 Red-bellied Woodpecker 7 Downy Woodpecker 5 Hairy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 3 Merlin 1 Blue Jay 4 Fish Crow 12 Carolina Chickadee 10 Tufted Titmouse 3 White-breasted Nuthatch 2 Winter Wren 1 Carolina Wren 8 Eastern Bluebird 2 American Robin 25 Northern Mockingbird 2 European Starling 15 Song Sparrow 14 Swamp Sparrow 5 White-throated Sparrow 20 Dark-eyed Junco 7 Northern Cardinal 16 Red-winged Blackbird 30 House Sparrow 6. -- Larry Meade, Vienna, VA, March 3, 2013.

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Seven participants enjoyed nice weather and a view of some waterfowl migrants. We had close views of a female and male Red Breasted Mergansers and 80 DC Cormorants chasing a school of fish. total 50 species... Species count is as follows; Horned Grebe 2 Pied -billed Grebe 2 Double rested Cormorant 82 Great Blue Heron 3 Canada Geese 180 Green Winged Teal 1 American Black Duck 1 Mallard 32 Lesser Scaup 20 Bufflehead 2 Common Merganser 6 Red Breasted Merganser 3 Ruddy duck 5 Turkey vulture 3 black Vulture 2 Bald Eagle Sapsucker 1 American Coot 1 Kildeer 1 Ring-billed Gull 210 Herring Gull 8 Greater BB Gull 5 Rock Dove 3 Mourning dove 6 Red-bellied woodpecker4 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1 Northern Flicker 2 downy Woodpecker 2 Hairy Woodpecker 1 American Crow 2 Fish Crow 3 Blue Jay 6 Belted Kingfisher 1 Carolina Chickadee 5 Tufted Titmouse 4 White-breasted Nuthatch 2 Carolina Wren 4 Winter Wren 2 Golden-crowned Kinglet 4 Ruby-crowned kinglet 1 American Robin 30 Northern Mockingbird 1 European Starling 50 Northern Cardinal 5 Song Sparrow 12 White-throated sparrow 10 Swamp sp 3 Dark-eyed Junco 15 House Sparrow 6 House Finch 2 Goldfinch 1. -- Myriam Eder, February 24, 2013.

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Sightings

Four birders braved the chilly weather and came out for the weekly Dyke Marsh bird walk. It's held every Sunday at 8:00 AM is is free and open to all. We started out from the picnic area and decided to walk to the Hunting Creek Bridge in search of warblers. We managed to find an Orange-crowned Warbler about halfway up the trail, but that was it. Along the way we found a Sharp-shinned Hawk and a Red-tailed Hawk. At Hunting Creek there were Buffleheads and Common Mergansers. We then walked back to the marina and then down Haul Road. Highlights included a singing Winter Wren, a posing female Belted Kingfisher, several Bald Eagles flying around overhead, a Pied-billed Grebe, a Hooded Merganser and a Red-breasted Merganser. Dyke Marsh, Fairfax, US-VA Feb 17, 2013 8:00 AM - 11:30 AM Protocol: Traveling 2.0 mile(s) Comments: Includes the path from the picnic area to Hunting Creek . 41 species. Canada Goose 450 American Black Duck 1 Mallard 25 Lesser Scaup 6 Bufflehead 7 Hooded Merganser 1 Common Merganser 3 Red-breasted Merganser 1 Ruddy Duck 4 Pied-billed Grebe 1 Double-crested Cormorant 1 Great Blue Heron 9 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Bald Eagle 8 Red-tailed Hawk 1 Ring-billed Gull 260 Herring Gull 15 Great Black-backed Gull 12 Rock Pigeon 5 Mourning Dove 15 Belted Kingfisher 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker 3 Northern Flicker 1 Blue Jay 8 Fish Crow 10 Carolina Chickadee 7 Tufted Titmouse 6 White-breasted Nuthatch 2 Winter Wren 1 Carolina Wren 10 American Robin 45 Northern Mockingbird 4 European Starling 60 Orange-crowned Warbler 1 Along the trail between the picnic area and the Hunting Creek Bridge. Song Sparrow 9 Swamp Sparrow 4 White-throated Sparrow 15 Dark-eyed Junco 30 Northern Cardinal 16 Red-winged Blackbird 40 Common Grackle 45. -- Larry Meade, Vienna, VA.

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Fourteen enthusiastic birders participated in this morning's survey of Belle Haven picnic area and Dyke Marsh. Sponsored by the Friends of Dyke Marsh and held weekly (except during CBC season) this walk is open to all. The highlight was great close up views from the picnic area of Common Loon. Waterfowl diversity was decent but numbers low. Passerines? Well here's the list. I added a single fly-by Kildeer at Hunting Creek (at high tide). I did not search the hike-bike trail between Belle Haven and Hunting Creek for winter warblers. Dyke Marsh - CMN02, Fairfax, US-VA Feb 10, 2013 8:00 AM - 10:30 AM Protocol: Traveling 2.0 mile(s) 41 species (+1 other taxa) Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 200 Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 10 Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) 4 Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) 4 Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) 1 Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) 10 Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) 2 Common Loon (Gavia immer) 2 Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) 2 Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 2 Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) 1 Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) 2 Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 200 Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) 10 Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) 10 Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 4 Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) 2 Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) 3 Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) 2 Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus) 1 Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) 10 American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) 2 Fish Crow (Corvus ossifragus) 1 crow sp. (Corvus sp. (crow sp.)) 8 Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) 4 Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) 4 White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) 2 Winter Wren (Troglodytes hiemalis) 3 Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) 10 Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula) 1 American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 1 Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) 1 European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 10 Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 12 Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana) 4 White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) 16 Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) 6 Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 6 Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 20 American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) 1 House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) 4. We added a single fly-by Killdeer at Hunting Creek (at high tide). I did not search the hike-bike trail between Belle Haven and Hunting Creek for winter warblers. Peter and Molly Ross, Arlington.

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Nine birders participated in the bird walk at Dyke Marsh this morning, sponsored weekly by the Friends of Dyke Marsh. We first headed north along the bike path to see if we could find any of the amazing warblers that have been present the past month and a half. We found the Tennessee prior to the Mile 8 marker. It gave us great looks. We were not able to find the Orange-crowned or Nashville later found by Kurt and Rich, but we did have a merlin perched at the top of a tree on the way back to Dyke Marsh proper. Dyke was pretty quiet. We did run into several groups of sparrows which included swamp, song, and white-crowned. We also found winter wren, yellow-rumped warbler, both kinglets, a very bright red-shouldered hawk, a flyover siskin, a small group of common mergansers, and a large flock of lesser scaup. Dyke Marsh, Fairfax, US-VA Feb 3, 2013 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM Protocol: Traveling 1.5 mile(s) 41 species: Canada Goose 1100 Mallard 40 Lesser Scaup 375 Bufflehead 8 Common Merganser 8 Double-crested Cormorant 4 Great Blue Heron 8 Bald Eagle 3 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 Killdeer 1 Ring-billed Gull 1 Herring Gull 1 Great Black-backed Gull 1 Rock Pigeon 5 Mourning Dove 3 Belted Kingfisher 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker 3 Downy Woodpecker 5 Northern Flicker 5 Merlin 1 Blue Jay 6 American Crow 3 Fish Crow 6 Carolina Chickadee 9 Tufted Titmouse 6 White-breasted Nuthatch 2 Winter Wren 2 Carolina Wren 12 Golden-crowned Kinglet 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2 Northern Mockingbird 1 European Starling 7 Tennessee Warbler 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler 2 Song Sparrow 18 Swamp Sparrow 10 White-throated Sparrow 1 15 Northern Cardinal 10 Red-winged Blackbird 20 House Finch 2 Pine Siskin 1 American Goldfinch 2. -- Marc Ribaudo, Woodbridge, February 3, 2013.

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By now you all know nearly all of the highlights today at Dyke Marsh, most of which were found at some point by the field trip participants - we missed Dave and Candice's Com. Yellowthroats. We started from the picnic area heading north to the Stone Bridge and found the Orange-crowned and Nashville Warblers. Great Egret in Hunting Creek and nearly 2 dozen Killdeer. Some waterfowl noted at the Stone Bridge including No. Shovelers, Am. Black Duck, Mallard, Bufflehead, Common Merganser, Hooded Merganser, Ruddy Duck and Am. Coot. We went back, passed a Sharpie, a Yellow-rumped Warbler, a few Cedar Waxwings and some irate bikers, and headed down Haul Rd with highlights of Horned Grebe, Red-shouldered Hawk, Hairy WP, a few Winter Wrens, both kinglets and more Hooded Mergansers. On the way back to the cars we heard that the Tennessee Warbler was being seen - so a few of us went back north of the picnic area along the hike-bike trail and quickly found the Tennessee which acted pretty much like a towhee buried in foliage. If you include Dave and Candice's warbler, the total for the day was 50 species (and 5 January warblers!). An excellent morning! -- Kurt. PS please post your additional Dyke sightings so I can add them to the Friends of Dyke Marsh database. Thank you! C. Goose 350 Am Black Duck 2 Mallard 50 No. Shoveler 13 Bufflehead 6 Hooded Merg 25 Com. Merg 12 Ruddy Duck 1 Horned Grebe 1 Great Blue Heron 3 Great Egret 1 Bald Eagle 4 Sharpie 1 Red-shouldered 1 Am. Coot 3 Killdeer 24 RB Gull 100 Herring Gull 20 Great Black-backed Gull 15 Rock Pig 14 Mourning Dove 2 Belted Kingfisher 1 Red-bellied WP 2 Down WP 1 Hairy WP 1 No. Flicker 2 Blue Jay 4 Am. Crow 2 Fish Crow 7 C. Chickadee 2 T. Titmouse 5 C. Wren 4 W. Wren 3 GC Kinglet 3 RC Kinglet 2 Am Robin 1 No. Mocker 1 E. Starling 10 Cedar Wax 3 Tennessee 1 Orange-crowned 1 Nashville 2 Yellow-rumped 1 Com. Yellowthroat 2 Song Sp 24 Swamp Sp 6 White-thr Sp 20 Junco 30 No. Cardinal 12 Red-winged BB 12 Am. Goldfinch 1. January 27, 2013.

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A breezy morning with abundant sunshine at Dyke Marsh was met by myself and 4 other birders Sunday. Instead of spending our time scanning for non present waterfowl, we headed for mile marker 8 in search of the reported Orange Crowned, Pine and Nashville warblers. Much to our chagrin, we found none. (Our friend, Charlotte Friend, crossed our path later in the morning and let me know she had seen it further north, across from the famous golf course Eagle nest). We retraced our steps back to the picnic area, saw a PIEDBILLED GREBE in the bay and headed down Haul Road, where the best bird was probably a BROWN CREEPER. We had a report that the Nashville Warbler had been seen earlier in the morning tho', so on the return trip, Dave Ludwith and I posted up and within 5 minutes or so, we were rewarded w. brilliant (but brief) looks at the bird. The NASHVILLE WARBLER has been seen just north of the infamous "Dead Beaver Beach" - the open area about 1/2 way down Haul Road that provides an open view of the Marina. Look for the root ball of a downed tree on the Parkway side of the trail and post up in that area. There are still some green leafy vines about. This is where the NAWA has been seen for the past two Sundays. It may be foraging on either side of the trail and its loud chip note can be easily heard when it is active. Ed Eder mentioned he had seen the Yellow Warbler on Saturday in the same area. We managed to find 38 species on this trip. Birds seemed to be unusually quiet all morning, even as the temp climbed toward 60 degrees! The Dyke Marsh walk happens every Sunday, 8am, weather permitting. Free and open to all. List Follows. C. Goose 500 Mallard 18 Bufflehead 1 Common Merg 2 PB Grebe 4 DC Corms 7 GB Heron 5 Bald Eagle 2 RedShoulder Hawk 2 Ring-Billed Gull 300 Mourning Dove 6 Belted Kingfisher 2 RebDeli WP 3 Downy WP 3 No. Flicker 1 Blue Jay 6 AM. Crow 4 Fish Crow 3 Car. Chick 8 Tufted Titmouse 2 Brown Creeper 1 Carolina Wren 9 Winter Wren 1 GC Kinglet 3 RC King 2 Am. Robin 1 No. Mockingbird 2 Euro Stars 15 Nashville Warb. 1 YR Warb 1 Song Sparrow 10 WhiteThroat Sparrow 20 Swamp Sparrow 3 DE Juncos 12 No. Cardinals 8 RW Blackbird 12 Common Grackles 12 Am Goldfinch 4. -- Rich Rieger, Alexandria, January 20, 2013.

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Sightings

The regular Sunday morning field trip to Dyke Marsh, sponsored by the Friends of Dyke Marsh and open to all, started in foggy conditions at 8 am and ended in foggy conditions. Top bird was a one second glimpse of the Nashville Warbler along Haul Rd, about 150 yds north of Dead Beaver Beach. Waterfowl were slim where we added Bufflehead and Hooded Mergansers plus a Pied-billed Grebe. We noted 4 adult Bald Eagles and had a nice look at a Sharpie fly over which then perched for about a minute. And 2 adult Red-shouldered posed for scope views. Winter Wrens continued the good show with 2 showing themselves and another singing. Both kinglets were noted and some White-throated Sparrows were joined by a Yellow-rumped Warbler half way down Haul Rd. Lots of Juncos in the picnic area plus a Brown Creeper and then down Haul Rd was another creeper. We ended the trip with 42 species. Later this afternoon, Phil Kenny visited the hike/bike trail to the Stone Bridge and picked up the Orange-crowned Warbler and noted 5 flyby Northern Shovelers. The field trip tally list is below. C. Goose 300 Mallard 6 Bufflehead 1 Hooded Merganser 5 Pied-billed Grebe 1 DC Cormorant 6 Great Blue Heron 9 Bald Eagle 4 Sharpie 1 Red-shouldered 2 Ring-billed Gull 10 Herring Gull 10 Great Black-backed Gull 4 Mourning Dove 5 Belted Kingfisher 2 Red-bellied WP 4 Downy WP 4 Hairy WP 1 No. Flicker 4 Blue Jay 5 Am. Crow 2 Fish Crow 2 C. Chickadee 7 T. Titmouse 6 White-breasted Nuthatch 2 Brown Creeper 2 C. Wren 7 W. Wren 6 GC Kinglet 2 RC Kinglet 4 No. Mocker 1 E. Starling 18 Nashville Warbler 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler 1 Song Sp 15 Swamp Sp 5 White-thr Sp 22 DE Junco 28 No. Cardinal 8 Red-winged BB 1 Am. Goldfinch 2 House Sp 12. -- Kurt Gaskill, January 13, 2013.

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A dozen birders joined me for the weekly survey of Belle Haven picnic area and Dyke Marsh, sponsored by Friends of Dyke Marsh, and free to all. Waterfowl were sparse, but Haul Road was quite birdy. The highlight was a Nashville Warbler cavorting with a Golden-Crowned Kinglet near the beginning of Haul Road. After the formal survey was completed, Scott Priebe and Kurt Gaskill found a Yellow Warbler, which Scott already reported. A walk up the Hike-Bike trail uncovered the Orange-Crowned Warbler previously reported by Kurt; 2 Pine Warblers earlier reported by Scott, and another Nashville Warbler. The list: Dyke Marsh - CMN02, Fairfax, US-VA Jan 6, 2013 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM Protocol: Traveling 1.5 mile(s) 36 species (+1 other taxa) Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 200 American Black Duck (Anas rubripes) 1 Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 20 Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) 2 Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) 3 Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) 5 Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 6 Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) 5 Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 200 Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) 10 Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) 8 Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 4 Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) 2 Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) 2 Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 2 Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) 8 American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) 3 Fish Crow (Corvus ossifragus) 10 crow sp. (Corvus sp. (crow sp.)) 2 Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) 4 Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) 1 Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) 1 Winter Wren (Troglodytes hiemalis) 8 Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) 6 Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) 3 Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula) 4 Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) 2 European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 40 Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 6 Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana) 4 White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) 20 Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) 16 Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 10 Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 4 House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) 1 American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) 5. -- Peter Ross, Arlington, January 6, 2013.

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Seven people joined me for the last Friends of Dyke Marsh-sponsored Sunday morning bird walk for the 2012 calendar year. We are now in a break for the Christmas Bird Count season and will resume the walks on Sunday, January 6. 2013. The walk experienced periods of silence and then a great flurry of activity as we preceded down Haul Road. We had a nice showing of kinglets, 2 Brown Creepers, a Winter Wren, and a handful of Yellow-rumped Warblers within a 15 feet stretch north of the overlook we call Dead Beaver Beach. In contrast to all these little guys, a female Pileated Woodpecker worked on an old snag in search of a meal. At least one of the Red-shouldered Hawks reliably seen in previous weeks remains in place. The boardwalk area was quiet perhaps because of the wind, but a Northern Flicker convention going on in the neighboring small island generated a lot of interest. On the return trip, a vocalizing Hermit Thrush, not seen much along the Haul Road, brought a nice end to 2012's concluding walk. Today's List: Canada Goose 450 American Black Duck 6 Mallard 54 Common Merganser 1 Pied-billed Grebe 4 Double-crested Cormorant 12 Great Blue Heron 5 Bald Eagle 6 Red-shouldered hawk 1 Killdeer 1 Laughing Gull 5 Ring-billed Gull 270 Herring Gull 16 Great Black-backed Gull 11 Rock Pigeon 1 Mourning Dove 46 Belted Kingfisher 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker 9 Downy Woodpecker 7 Northern Flicker 13 Pileated Woodpecker 1 Blue Jay 10 American Crow 2 Fish Crow 6 Crow, sp. 4 Carolina Chickadee 15 Tufted Titmouse 8 White-breasted Nuthatch 1 Brown Creeper 2 Carolina Wren 11 Winter Wren 3 Golden-crowned Kinglet 3 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 7 Hermit Thrush 1 Northern Mockingbird 1 European Starling 15 Yellow-rumped Warbler 3 Song Sparrow 4 Swamp Sparrow 1 White-throated Sparrow 20 Dark-eyed Junco 16 Northern Cardinal 10 Red-winged blackbird 88 Common Grackle 1 American Goldfinch 40 House Sparrow 6. -- Larry Cartwright, December 9, 2012.

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Eight intrepid birders braved a dense morning fog to participate in the regular Sunday Field Trip to Dyke Marsh, sponsored by the Friends of Dyke Marsh and open to all. (As a reminder, the Field Trip schedule is interrupted for the CBC season: the next Trips are Dec 9 and then Jan 6.) Views from the picnic area across the river were fogged but still yielded expected cormorants, geese, gulls and some waterfowl. The fog slowly dissipated and we managed to have a nice morning after all. The group had good looks at both Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglet. A cooperative Winter Wren gave good views along the Haul Road trail. Two Red-shouldered Hawks posed for us and gave good scoped views. A group of about 8 Bufflehead were life birds for a couple of today's birders. After the trip, with the fog lifted, Bald Eagle and 8 Greater Black-backed Gull were seen. Here is a trip list with approximate counts of the birds seen or heard. Canada. Goose 200 Mallard 10 Bufflehead 8 Pied-billed Grebe 4 Double-crested Cormorant 15 Great Blue Heron 4 Great Egret 1, seen near the golf course marsh before the field trip Bald Eagle 1, adult Ring-billed Gull 250 Herring Gull 4 Great Black-backed Gull 8 Mourning Dove 25 Belted Kingfisher 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker 8 Downy Woodpecker 6 No. Flicker 10 Blue Jay 8 American Crow 2 Fish Crow 10 Crow (SP) 20 Carolina Chickadee 14 Tufted Titmouse 6 Brown Creeper 1 Carolina Wren 12 Winter Wren 1, maybe a second one or the first one seen farther down Haul Road Golden-crowned Kinglet 4 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 8 Am. Robin 4 No. Mockingbird 3 European Starling 25 Yellow-rumped Warbler 2 Song Sparrow 10 Swamp Sparrow 4 White-throated Sparrow 60 Dark-eyed Junco 8 Northern Cardinal 15 Red-winged Black-bird 25 House Finch 4 Cedar Waxwing 20 American Goldfinch 14 Eastern Bluebird 4 (one seen, others heard) House Sparrow 6. -- Bob Beard, Arlington, VA, December 2, 2012.

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Ten people showed up for the regular Sunday Field Trip to Dyke Marsh, sponsored by the Friends of Dyke Marsh and open to all. (Please note that the Field Trip schedule is interrupted for the CBC season: the next Trips are Dec 2, Dec 9 and then Jan 6.) A chilly morning with, fortunately, little wind. Typical winter birds were encountered with fine displays of mixed feeding flocks containing the kinglets and Yellow-rumped Warblers with one group containing a Brown Creeper and both groups had a Winter Wren sounding off or actually appearing for an instant or two. The surprise of the day was a raft of 41 Hooded Mergansers, apparently newly arrived, that held forth in the lagoon south of the marina. Wonderful posing by two Red-shouldered Hawks afforded all great scope looks where one participant exclaimed "you can practically count the feathers!" A single Pine Siskin vocalized above Ramp Road which another participant was able to dig out from nearby vines and gum-tree-balls. After nearly everyone had left, Larry Cartwright and I noted a small group of Juncos in the picnic area grass. The list of 46 species tallied today are listed below. C. Goose 75 Am. Black Duck 1 Mallard 24 Green-winged Teal 5 Bufflehead 4 Hooded Merganser 41 Pied-billed Grebe 4 DC Cormorant 15 Great Blue Heron 6 Great Egret 2, spotted near the golf course marsh before the field trip Bald Eagle 2, adults Cooper's Hawk 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 2 L. Gull 100 RB Gull 150 Herring Gull 6 Great Black-backed Gull 5 Mourning Dove 25 Belted Kingfisher 2, both females Red-bellied WP 4 Downy WP 8 No. Flicker 2 Blue Jay 8 Am. Crow 4 Fish Crow 3 C. Chickadee 14 T. Titmouse 6 Brown Creeper 1 C. Wren 12 W. Wren 5, one singing GC Kinglet 4 RC Kinglet 8 Am. Robin 4 No. Mocker 1 E. Starling 20 Yellow-rumped Warbler 10 Song Sp 20 Swamp Sp 4 White-thr Sp 48 DE Junco 8 No. Cardinal 15 Red-winged BB 7 House Finch 2 Pine Siskin 1 Am. Goldfinch 14 House Sparrow 6. -- Kurt Gaskill, November 25, 2012.

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About fifteen people showed up for the weekly walk at Dyke Marsh sponsored by the Friends of Dyke Marsh and held every Sunday at 8:00 AM. It is free and open to all. We are in a bit of a slow time of the year, so we saw only 36 species. Nevertheless we had some nice highlights including Dunlin and Bald Eagles out on the river, a Red-shouldered Hawk perched low in the woods, a flock of Cedar Waxwings in the picnic area, and a good opportunity to study some up close gulls. Dyke Marsh, Fairfax, US-VA Nov 18, 2012 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM Protocol: Traveling 0.6 mile(s) 36 species. Canada Goose 500 Mallard 12 Double-crested Cormorant 6 Great Blue Heron 4 Great Egret 1 Bald Eagle 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 Dunlin 4 Laughing Gull 600 Large flock on the river. Some of them started moving south later in the morning. Ring-billed Gull 300 Herring Gull 4 Great Black-backed Gull 8 Mourning Dove 10 Red-bellied Woodpecker 3 Downy Woodpecker 7 Northern Flicker 2 Blue Jay 14 Fish Crow 10 Carolina Chickadee 9 Tufted Titmouse 4 Carolina Wren 6 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2 American Robin 12 Northern Mockingbird 1 European Starling 40 Cedar Waxwing 30 Yellow-rumped Warbler 8 Song Sparrow 8 Swamp Sparrow 2 White-throated Sparrow 15 Dark-eyed Junco 1 Northern Cardinal 14 Red-winged Blackbird 20 House Finch 7 American Goldfinch 20 House Sparrow 15. -- Larry Meade, Vienna, VA.

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Twenty birders joined us for a nice and dry Sunday morning survey of Dyke Marsh this morning. This survey, sponsored by Friends of Dyke Marsh, meets every Sunday morning except during Christmas Bird counts at 8:00 at the Belle Haven picnic area. All are welcome. Highlights were Common Yellowthroat in the cattails at the end of Haul Road seen and heard calling from the boardwalk by most of the group and an unusually high count of very vocal Winter Wren. The Fox Sparrow was heard only; many thanks to Ed Eder for identifying it and finding several other species. The list follows: Dyke Marsh - CMN02, Fairfax, US-VA Nov 11, 2012 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM Protocol: Traveling 1.5 mile(s) 45 species (+1 other taxa). Canada Goose 150 Mallard 10 Ruddy Duck 2 Double-crested Cormorant 4 Great Blue Heron 5 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Bald Eagle 2 Laughing Gull 40 Ring-billed Gull 50 Herring Gull 20 Great Black-backed Gull 10 Mourning Dove 12 Belted Kingfisher 2 Red-bellied Woodpecker 4 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2 Downy Woodpecker 3 Northern Flicker 4 Blue Jay 8 American Crow 2 Fish Crow 12 crow sp. 10 Carolina Chickadee 4 Tufted Titmouse 3 White-breasted Nuthatch 1 Winter Wren 6 Carolina Wren 10 Golden-crowned Kinglet 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 4 Eastern Bluebird 6 American Robin 4 Northern Mockingbird 1 European Starling 20 Cedar Waxwing 6 Common Yellowthroat 1 (Female, calling and seen by most members of party in cattails from boardwalk at end of Haul Rd.) Yellow-rumped Warbler 10 Fox Sparrow 1 Song Sparrow 4 Swamp Sparrow 8 White-throated Sparrow 10 Dark-eyed Junco 2 Northern Cardinal 8 Red-winged Blackbird 10 Common Grackle 6 House Finch 8 American Goldfinch 12 House Sparrow 6. -- Peter and Molly Ross, Arlington.

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Around 20 people showed for the weekly Dyke Marsh walk today, an event hosted by the Friends of Dyke Marsh and conducted every Sunday except during the Christmas Bird Count season, beginning at 8:00 AM, and free to everyone. A Purple Finch (female/young male) was spotted in the southern picnic area and a small flock of Yellow-rumped warblers accompanied by both species of kinglets foraged on Haul Road south of the open area we call Dead Beaver Beach. We spotted a juvenile Yellow-bellied Sapsucker on the peninsula just short of the boardwalk. We saw a nice assortment of raptors, with one Cooper's Hawk mixing it up with 2 American Crows over the larger island across from the boardwalk. The only disappointment to this otherwise delightful day was the low waterfowl count. Today's list: Canada Goose 60 Mallard 16 Bufflehead 2 Hooded Merganser 1 Ruddy Duck 3 Double-crested Cormorant 5 Great Blue Heron 6 Great Egret 2 Bald Eagle 4 Cooper's Hawk 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 Red-tailed Hawk 1 Laughing Gull 70 Ring-billed Gull 200 Herring Gull 4 Great Black-backed Gull 7 Mourning Dove 10 Belted Kingfisher 3 Red-bellied woodpecker 2 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1 Downy Woodpecker 4 Hairy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 5 Blue Jay 15 American Crow 3 Fish Crow 11 Crow,sp. 3 Carolina Chickadee 8 Tufted Titmouse 5 White-breasted Nuthatch 1 Carolina Wren 13 Golden-crowned Kinglet 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 4 Eastern Bluebird 3 American Robin 2 Northern Mockingbird 1 European Starling 20 Cedar Waxwing 17 Yellow-rumped Warbler 22 Palm Warbler 1 Song Sparrow 13 Swamp Sparrow 4 White-throated Sparrow 30 Northern Cardinal 9 Red-winged Blackbird 10 Common Grackle 8 Purple Finch 1 House Finch 1 American Goldfinch 8 House Sparrow 16. -- Larry Cartwright, November 4, 2012.

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The weekly bird walk at Dyke Marsh, sponsored by the Friends of Dyke Marsh, was attended by 15 people this morning. We tallied 56 species. Notables were some latish migrants, including 2 northern parulas, 4 blackpoll warblers, 4 chimney swifts, and a red-eyed vireo, and a merlin that only part of the group saw. We heard 2 flyover pine siskins and ran into several nice kinglet flocks. Very little was seen in the way of waterfowl. Here is the complete list. Canada Goose - 30 Mallard - 14 Double-crested Cormorant - 22 Great Blue Heron - 3 Great Egret - 4 Black Vulture - 3 Turkey Vulture - 1 Bald Eagle - 5 Cooper's Hawk - 1 Red-tailed Hawk - 2 Merlin - 1 Laughing Gull - 75 Ring-billed Gull - 20 Herring Gull - 2 Great Black-backed Gull - 1 Forster's Tern - 12 Rock Pigeon - 1 Mourning Dove - 8 Chimney Swift - 4 Belted Kingfisher - 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker - 10 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 1 Downy Woodpecker - 12 Hairy Woodpecker - 1 Northern Flicker - 6 Pileated Woodpecker - 1 Eastern Phoebe - 2 Red-eyed Vireo - 1 Blue Jay - 12 American Crow - 2 Fish Crow - 10 Northern Rough-winged Swallow - 5 Carolina Chickadee - 14 Tufted Titmouse - 8 White-breasted Nuthatch - 2 Carolina Wren - 14 Golden-crowned Kinglet - 12 Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 10 American Robin - 8 Gray Catbird - 2 Northern Mockingbird - 2 European Starling - 150 Common Yellowthroat - 1 Northern Parula - 2 Blackpoll Warbler - 4 Yellow-rumped Warbler - 50 Song Sparrow - 5 Swamp Sparrow - 1 White-throated Sparrow - 4 Northern Cardinal - 12 Red-winged Blackbird - 30 Common Grackle - 10 House Finch - 9 Pine Siskin - 2 American Goldfinch - 25 House Sparrow - 9. -- Marc Ribaudo, October 14, 2012.

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An enthusiastic group of 18 birders joined me for the Sunday morning walk at Dyke Marsh, sponsored by the Friends of Dyke Marsh and free of charge, beginning every Sunday at 8:00 AM except during the Christmas Bird Count season. There was a pitiful assortment of waterfowl, but we did find both species of yellowlegs standing on a sliver of disappearing mudflat as the tide came in. Both Caspian and Forster's Tern were present. We saw a Bald Eagle catch a fish and then dine on it while using one of the Osprey nests as a dinner table. Most of the songbird activity was along the wood edge in the south picnic area and the marina. Highlight migrants included a Yellow-throated Vireo, Tennessee Warbler, Cape May Warbler, and 4 Pine Warblers. Chimney Swifts and a lone Purple Martin flew overhead as we observed the warbler activity in the picnic area. Haul Road was fairly unproductive, but I did see a male Purple Finch at the Dogleg. Today's observations: Canada Goose 12 Mallard 25 Double-crested Cormorant 40 Osprey 1 Bald Eagle 5 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 Great Blue Heron 3 Great Egret 4 Greater Yellowlegs 20 Lesser Yellowlegs 5 Laughing Gull 13 Ring-billed Gull 250 Herring Gull 1 Great Black-backed Gull 1 Caspian Tern 8 Forster's Tern 11 Rock Dove 2 Mourning Dove 1 Chimney Swift 7 Belted Kingfisher 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker 7 Downy Woodpecker 3 Northern Flicker 1 Pileated woodpecker 1 Eastern Wood-Pewee 2 Yellow-throated Vireo 1 Blue Jay 13 Fish Crow 2 Purple Martin 1 Carolina Chickadee 18 Tufted Titmouse 15 White-breasted Nuthatch 4 Carolina Wren 14 House Wren 1 American Robin 7 Gray Catbird 3 European Starling 40 Cedar Waxwing 5 Tennessee Warbler 1 Northern Parula 1 Magnolia Warbler 5 Cape May Warbler 1 Black-throated Blue Warbler 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler 2 Pine Warbler 4 Blackpoll Warbler 3 Song Sparrow 5 Northern Cardinal 20 Red-winged Blackbird 70 Common Grackle 22 Purple Finch 1 House Finch 9 American Goldfinch 12 House Sparrow 5. -- Larry Cartwright, September 30, 2012.

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I was so overwhelmed by the turnout on this striking very first full day of Autumn, 2012, that I forgot to take a head count of the participants. I would say we numbered in the mid teens and I think some of the participants thought that's how cold it was as I saw some gloves being pulled on as we gazed out over the bay. We managed to tally 44 species but had some fine birds throughout the walk to keep us alert and entertained. Two Adult BALD EAGLES in the bay - not that unusual - along w. GB HERONS and GREAT EGRETS. Best bird at that stop was a PEREGRINE FALCON that buzzed thru and agitated the gulls, did an aerial duel w. a couple of crows and then sped away to who knows where.. Moving on to the marina, we got great looks at a GREEN HERON that flew in and remained motionless on the mudflat for quite some time allowing some great looks. Two LESSER YELLOWLEGS flew in for a brief stop and we got some good looks at one, very close to the GRHE. Down Haul Road, past Dead Beaver Beach, we picked up a nice mixed flock that included N. PARULA, REDSTART and MAGNOLIA Warblers. As we watched from the last platform, we finally added BELTED KINGFISHER to the list and phriend Phil spotted not a Spotted, but solitary SOLITARY SANDPIPER for a nice conclusion to our morning. Come join the fun any Sunday (except during CBC season) starting at 8 a.m. Free to all but if you have an elevator for your cars, we all get to back to your house after the walk and ride up and down in it... Here's the list for today... C. GOOSE 12 MALLARD 60 DC CORMORANT 18 GB HERON 12 G. EGRET 18 GREEN HERON 1 (an unusual visitor, being seen more often) TURKEY VULTURE 4 OSPREY 3 BALD EAGLE 2 RS HAWK 1 RT HAWK 2 PEREGRINE FALCON 1 L. YELLOWLEGS 2 SOLITARY SANDPIPER 1 LAUGHING GULL yes RB GULL yes CASPIAN TERN 1 MO. DOVE 3 CHIMNEY SWIFT 4 RT HUMMER 1 BELTED KINGFISHER 1 RB WOODPECKER 6 DOWNY WP 2 NO. FLICKER 3 EASTERN PHOEBE 1 BLUE JAY 12 FISH CROW 1 CROW (sp) 2 CHICKADEE 8 TUFTED TITMOUSE 2 WB NUTHATCH 2 CAROLINA WREN 1 AM ROBIN 30 CATBIRD 1 EURO STARS yes NO. PARULA 1 MAGNOLIA WARB 2 AM REDSTART 1 COM. YELLOWTHROAT 1 NO. CARDINAL 16 RW BLACKBIRD 36 COM. GRACKLE 1 HOUSE FINCH 1 AM GOLDFINCH 8 HOUSE SPARROW a few. -- Rich Rieger, Alexandria, September 23, 2012.

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An Excellent day at Dyke as 17 satisfied participants got to see a few interesting birds and a lifer or two. Highlight was near the end of the day as we (the few that were left!) were returning along the dogleg about midway down. Located in the shrubs near where you can walk to the southern edge and view the little bay was a Mourning Warbler, chipping frequently, often to pishes. Looks were very poor, but between the 3 of us (Bob Beard, Larry Cartwright and myself) the field marks were yellow-ish throat, olive green back, yellow underneath to the vent, a grayish head and weak eyering. The chip notes sealed the ID. The Mourning joined 11 other warbler species today, most were in the southern section of the picnic area, next to the weedy/tree patch and the big sycamore. We tallied at least 6 Cape Mays today, a great showing, plus many good looks at Magnolia and Am. Redstarts. A Prothonotary also held forth (about a week before the late date up here). Lots of American Robins flying about and a flock of about dozen Cedar Waxwings. We did very good on raptors, spotting a high southbound American Kestrel early in the morning and then a Merlin flying down the Potomac near the marina at about 9am - it perched in a tree on the nearby island so we could scope it. 2 1st/2nd yr Bald Eagles and one adult on the mudflats, 2 Red-tails, a Red-shoulder plus the local Cooper's Hawk. Before everyone arrived, a Broad-winged was perched in the patch of trees to the south of the picnic area, but ducked out due to robin and Blue Jay activity. Curiously, no Osprey (nor flycatchers or swallows for that matter) were observed. The field trip netted 59 species. Later, at 6 pm, I visited the Stone Bridge; the tide was rising and past midway. I added a newly arrived Northern Shoveler plus a few more species for the day list of Lesser Yellowlegs, and Herring and Great Black-backed Gull. The full list is below. -- Kurt Gaskill. C. Goose 10 Mallard 55 (updated at 6 pm) No. Shoveler 1 DC Cormorant 10 Great Blue Heron 12 Great Egret 9 Bald Eagle 3, 2 imm and 1 adult Cooper's Hawk 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 Broad-winged Hawk 1 Red-tailed Hawk 2 Am. Kestrel 1 Merlin 1 Greater Yellowlegs 13 Lesser Yellowlegs 1 Laughing Gull 500 (updated at 6pm) Ring-billed Gull 100 (updated at 6 pm) Herring Gull 3 Great Black-backed Gull 1 Caspian Tern 33 (updated at 6 pm) Forster's Tern 1 Rock Pigeon 20 Mourning Dove 6 Chimney Swift 8 Ruby-thr Hummer 5 Belted Kingfisher 1, female Red-bellied WP 4 Downy WP 4 Hairy WP 1 No. Flicker 3 Pileated WP 1, show near Ramp Rd Red-eyed V 3 Blue Jay 6 Am. Crow 5 Fish Crow 1 C. Chickadee 8 T. Titmouse 12 White-br Nuthatch 2 C. Wren 6 H. Wren 2 Am. Robin 50 Gray Catbird 5 E. Starling 30 Cedar Waxwing 12 No. Parula 2 Chestnut-sided 3 Magnolia 7 Cape May 6 Black-thr Green 1 Palm 2 Bay-breasted 2 Am. Redstart 4 Prothonotary 1 No. Waterthrush 1, chipping along the river Mourning 1 Com. Yellowthroat 3 Chipping Sp 1, a common bird rarely found at Dyke Marsh Song Sp 1 No. Cardinal 10 Red-winged BB 120, about half moving north in the morning to other feeding locations Com. Grackle 6 House Finch 8 Am. Goldfinch 6 House Sp 2. -- September 16, 2012.

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Twenty-eight people participated in the weekly bird walk at Dyke Marsh in Alexandria, sponsored by the Friends of Dyke Marsh. It was a beautiful morning to be out and we had a nice walk, although the birding did not meet expectations given the cold front that pushed through the night before. We came across 2 small flocks of warblers birds, and much of the walk was pretty silent. Highlights were a soaring kestrel over the picnic area, a green heron that put on a real nice show, a peregrine that was hunting over the marsh past the dogleg (it stooped on something down low and did not reappear), several blackpoll warblers, including one that was singing, a couple of prothonotary warblers spotted by the group, and a Traill's type flycatcher. Here is the complete list of the 52 species seen. (Once again, no Canada geese). SPECIES SEEN From 9/9/2012 to 9/9/2012 - Mallard 26 Double-crested Cormorant 12 Great Blue Heron 8 Great Egret 1 Green Heron 1 Osprey 1 Bald Eagle 2 Cooper's Hawk 1 Red-tailed Hawk 1 American Kestrel 1 Peregrine Falcon 1 Lesser Yellowlegs 3 Laughing Gull x Ring-billed Gull x Caspian Tern 6 Forster's Tern 3 Mourning Dove 6 Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1 Chimney Swift 1 Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1 Belted Kingfisher 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker 1 Downy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 2 Eastern Wood-Pewee 4 Willow Flycatcher 1 Great Crested Flycatcher 1 Red-eyed Vireo 2 Blue Jay 6 Fish Crow 5 Carolina Chickadee 10 Tufted Titmouse 10 White-breasted Nuthatch 2 Carolina Wren 11 House Wren 1 American Robin 16 Gray Catbird 6 European Starling 20 Black-and-white Warbler 4 Prothonotary Warbler 3 Common Yellowthroat 1 American Redstart 4 Northern Parula 2 Magnolia Warbler 2 Yellow Warbler 2 Blackpoll Warbler 3 Northern Cardinal 12 Red-winged Blackbird 1 Common Grackle 1 House Finch 8 American Goldfinch 10 House Sparrow 4. -- Marc Ribaudo, Woodbridge, September 9, 2012.

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Nearly 20 people joined me for the Sunday morning Dyke Marsh walk. The walk starts at 8:00 AM every Sunday, except during Christmas Bird Count season, and is open to everyone. Today was humid and slow with a few isolated areas of warbler activity. We found a Bay-breasted (perhaps the bird of the day), a Magnolia, and 2 Yellow Warblers in the line of trees in the southern picnic area near the boat launch. Additional Yellow Warblers and a Magnolia were along Haul Road and the Boardwalk. A Warbling Vireo was present and singing near the bridge on the Haul Road Peninsula. A small bit of mudflats hosted Greater Yellowlegs and Caspian Terns and a few Ospreys were hanging around. Four Bald Eagles were flying northbound from the Haul Road Peninsula and we found 2 flying Spotted Sandpipers at Dead Beaver Beach. We were entertained by 2 hummingbirds fighting over a nectar source on the outer peninsula. Our list for the Dyke Marsh record: Canada Goose 22 Mallard 32 Double-crested Cormorant 8 Great Blue Heron 4 Great Egret 3 Osprey 3 Bald Eagle 4 Greater Yellowlegs 7 Spotted Sandpiper 2 Ring-billed Gull 50 Herring Gull 1 Great Black-backed Gull 1 Caspian Tern 15 Rock Pigeon 1 Mourning Dove 5 Chimney Swift 20 Ruby-throated Hummingbird 3 Red-bellied Woodpecker 6 Downy Woodpecker 6 Hairy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 4 Eastern Wood-Pewee 3 Warbling Vireo 1 Red-eyed Vireo 1 Blue Jay 7 Fish Crow 5 Carolina Chickadee 12 Tufted Titmouse 12 Carolina Wren 14 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2 American Robin 20 Gray Catbird 2 Northern Mockingbird 1 European Starling 30 Yellow Warbler 6 Magnolia Warbler 2 Bay-breasted Warbler 1 Common Yellowthroat 2 Song Sparrow 1 Northern Cardinal 18 Red-winged Blackbird 26 Common Grackle 25 American Goldfinch 14 House Sparrow 4. -- Larry Cartwright, September 2, 2012.

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A rather pleasant morning greeted 15 or so birders that gathered for our weekly Dyke Marsh Sunday walk, always free and always open to any and all comers... The dark clouds that hovered above us and a stiff breeze kept temps on the mild side, but added nothing to avian activity, which was muted to say the least. We managed to scope a PEREGRINE FALCON on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and Bob Beard spotted a B&W WARBLER along Haul Road for our only warbler of the day. No foraging mixed flocks were to be seen (or heard) and I was wondering if we would hit 30 species by the time we hit the end of the boardwalk. We did manage to break 40, w. small numbers of those we did see. It was a tremendous day for butterflies and we saw a few skinks as well. By the time we finished, the sun was shining and warming temps inspired some soaring vultures, Ospreys and Eagles. We managed to avoid the waterspout that was spotted near the Wicomico River in Charles Co., MD... hope you did as well. Here's the list...yours truly, Rich Rieger. C. Goose 4 (really?) Wood Duck 1 Mallard 10 (including one youngster - a late bloomer) DC Corms 12 GB Heron 3 Great Egret 3 Black Vulture 2 Turkey Vulture 8 Osprey 10 Bald Eagle 4 Peregrine Falcon 1 Yellowlegs sp 1 RB Gull 100 Great BlackBack 1 Caspian Tern 3 Forsters Tern 1 Rock Pigeon 3 (what! no MoDo's?0 Chimney Swift 6 RT Hummers 4 RedBellied WP 2 Downy WP 1 Eastern Kingbird 2 Blue Jay 1 Fish Crow 6 crow sp (non vocal) 12 Purple Martin 1 Tree Swallow 1 No. Rough Wing 1 Car. Chickadee 4 Tufted Titmouse 2 Carolina Wren 6 House Wren 1 Am. Robin 16 Catbird 1 Starling 8 Cedar Waxwing 6 B&W Warbler 1 Am. Redstart 1 - (second hand report) No. Cardinal 4 RW Blackbird 8 Common Grackle 1 Am. Goldfinch 10 House Sparrow 4. -- August 26, 2012.

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With lowered temperatures, a dozen birders turned out for the regular Sunday Field Trip to Dyke Marsh, sponsored by the Friends of Dyke Marsh and open to all. Some obvious migrants were the highlight today along with some of the regulars made for a busy morning. We started off along the river's edge and noted a Peregrine perched on the Wilson Bridge - maybe a local or maybe a returning bird? Bald Eagles, Forster's and Caspian Terns on the mudflats and a dozen Osprey flying all about. The vegetation at the southern edge of the picnic area held at least 16 very active Orchard Orioles plus a few Baltimores. And we spied a Northern Parula, American Redstart, and Yellow and Prothonotary Warblers as well as Eastern Kingbirds. Purple Martins still plied the skies over the boat ramp and nearby trees and a couple of Barn Swallows were noted. Ramp Road produced small separate groups of Great Crested Flycatchers and Cedar Waxwings. We saw a couple of Gray Catbirds at the beginning of Haul Road and the clearing near Dead Beaver Beach produced another redstart and a Trail's Flycatcher. As we turned down the dogleg a brief song of a Common Yellowthroat added a fifth warbler to our list and the boardwalk area produced an American Goldfinch nest with young. The trip netted 54 species. Before the Field Trip a visit to the Stone Bridge did not yield the hoped-for Franklin's Gull but added Wood Duck, Killdeer, Greater Yellowlegs, Semipalmated Sandpipers and Least Sandpipers to the day list. Another visit at 6 pm added only Herring Gull. Let me note that on Saturday I visited the Stone Bridge at 830, 1230 and 630pm to look for the Franklin's and netted goose egg. Consolation prize was a Royal Tern at 830 - there is Caspian Tern in the area that superficially resembles Royal, but Saturday's bird had the bill, the crown, the brow, the underwing pattern and the height for Royal. This latter species is rare at Dyke in August/September. Today's total list is below. C. Goose 6 Wood Duck 1 Mallard 36 DC Cormorant 12 Great Blue Heron 10 Great Egret 8 Osprey 12 Bald Eagle 4 Peregrine 1 Killdeer 1 Greater Yellowlegs 6 Spotted Sandpiper 1 Semipalmated Sandpiper 40 Least Sandpiper 3 L. Gull 200 (100 flycatching over the GW Parkway at 630pm) Ring-billed Gull 50 Herring Gull 1 Caspian Tern 10 Forster's Tern 10 Rock Pigeon 12 Mourning Dove 8 Chimney Swift 4 Ruby-thr Hum 3 Belted Kingfisher 1 Red-bellied WP 7 Down WP 4 No. Flicker 1 E. Wood Pewee 2 Trail's Flycatcher 1 Great Crested Flycatcher 3 E. Kingbird 5 Red-eyed V 1 (a brief downward "zheer") Blue Jay 4 Fish Cr 3 Purple Martin 12 Barn Sw 2 C. Chickadee 6 T.Titmouse 6 White-breasted Nuthatch 2 C. Wren 6 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1 Am. Robin 6 Gray Catbird 5 No. Mocker 1 E. Starling 80 Cedar Waxwing 3 No. Parula 1 Yellow 2 ( 1 at the Stone Bridge in the AM) Am. Redstart 2 Prothonotary 1 Com. Yellowthroat 1 No. Cardinal 8 Indigo Bunting 3, pair at Dead Beaver Beach but no other signs Red-winged BB 30 Com. Grackle 8 Orchard O 17, a wonderful spectacle for 10's of minutes! Baltimore O 3 House Finch 1 Am. Goldfinch 7, NY House Sp 2. -- Kurt Gaskill, August 12, 2012.

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The strong breeze from the south kept the humid 80's bearable and 16 birders turned out for the regular Sunday morning field trip to Dyke Marsh starting at 8 am, sponsored by the Friends of Dyke Marsh and free to all comers. The group was not disappointed as a very birdy day was had with many species preparing for migration or moving through: the Cooper's Hawk being a fine highlight as well as 3 Prothonotary Warblers, a Yellow Warbler and a fantastic oriole show! We started off at the riverfront in the picnic area noting the hatch year Bald Eagle with 2 adults - probably from the nest in the steel pylon next to the beltway! Osprey were flying this way and that - most were likely hatch year birds becoming skilled in the art of fishing. We noted a few terns of the Forster's and Caspian variety. The apartment complex nest (Osprey, Purple Martin and House Sparrow) near the boat ramp was surrounded by a cloud of martins - all ages could be viewed. Nearby we noted many Orchard Orioles flying back and forth from the edge, into the woods and then over our heads. A couple of Baltimore's joined in as well as a fresh young Great Crested Flycatcher. Over the picnic area, 3 Cedar Waxwings flew out of the woods and an Indigo Bunting held forth. Ramp Road produced a Yellow Warbler high up and down below not one but 2 Prothonotary Warblers were found - immature and adult female. Later, an adult male was noted near the beginning of Haul Rd. I heard and briefly saw a waterthrush fly into the vicinity, but not 100% on the ID, so it goes down as "spuh". The start of Haul Rd added Hairy WP, another Great Crested, House Wren, a good look at Blue-gray, catbirds, the Prothonotaries, and then the Cooper's! - afterwards all went silent save for the local Eastern Wood Pewee. The dogleg area brought out singing Common Yellowthroats, Song Sparrow, many Eastern Kingbirds, and a Marsh Wren singing in the cattails. The regular trip ended with 56 species - Ed and Miriam Eder noted a Lesser Yellowlegs earlier at the Stone Bridge before the field trip. I went back at 530 pm (before the rain) and pretty much noted the same birds as yesterday - Wood Duck, Killdeer, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Least, Semipalmated and Western peeps - which brought the day's list to 64 species. Below are the estimated totals. See you next week! C. Goose 20 Wood Duck 4 Mallard 30 DC Cormorant 4 Great Blue Heron 5 Great Egret 4 Turkey Vulture 1 Osprey 12 Bald Eagle 3 Cooper's Hawk 1 Killdeer 4 Greater Yellowlegs 10 Lesser Yellowlegs 3 Spotted Sandpiper 1 Semipalmated peep 45 Western peep 1 Least peep 3 Laughing Gull 900 Ring-billed Gull 650 Forster's Tern 30-ish Caspian Tern 9 Rock Pigeon 2 Mourning Dove 8 Chimney Swift 4 Red-bellied WP 3 Downy WP 3 Hairy WP 1 No Flicker 1 E. Wood Pewee 2 Great Crested Fly 2 E. Kingbird 15 Red-eyed V 1 Blue Jay 3 Fish Crow 4 Purple Martin 36 Tree Sw 2 Northern Rough-winged Sw 2 Barn Sw 6 C Chickadee 5 T Titmouse 2 White-br Nut 1 C Wren 8 H Wren 1 M Wren 1 Blue-gray Gnat 2 Am. Robin 3 Gray Catbird 3 No Mocker 1 E. Starling 30 Cedar Wax 3 waterthrush sp 1 Prothonotary 3 Common Yellowthroat 2 Yellow Warbler 1 Song Sp 1 No Cardinal 12 Indigo Bunting 3 Red-winged BB 8 Com Grackle 6 Orchard O 12 Baltimore O 2 House Finch 1 Am. Goldfinch 5 House Sp 8. -- Kurt Gaskill, August 5, 2012.

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Ten birders joined us for a relatively cool and dry Sunday morning survey of Dyke Marsh this morning. This survey, sponsored by Friends of Dyke Marsh, meets every Sunday morning except during Christmas Bird counts at 8:00 at the Belle Haven picnic area. A lot of summer species failed to make an appearance. Highlight was a Yellow-billed Cuckoo on Haul Road. The list follows. (A brief stop at 7:30 at the Stone Bridge added Forster's Tern. There was also a flock of peeps flying around looking for someplace to feed a three hours after high tide.) Dyke Marsh - CMN02, Fairfax, US-VA Jul 29, 2012 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM Protocol: Traveling 1.5 mile(s) 45 species. Canada Goose 10 Mallard 30 Double-crested Cormorant 1 Great Blue Heron 2 Great Egret 4 Osprey 8 Bald Eagle 2 Spotted Sandpiper 2 Laughing Gull 3 Ring-billed Gull 10 Caspian Tern 2 Rock Pigeon 2 Mourning Dove 16 Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker 1 Downy Woodpecker 4 Northern Flicker 1 Eastern Wood-Pewee 2 Great Crested Flycatcher 1 Eastern Kingbird 4 Blue Jay 2 American Crow 2 Fish Crow 4 Purple Martin 20 Tree Swallow 2 Carolina Chickadee 8 Tufted Titmouse 6 White-breasted Nuthatch 2 Carolina Wren 20 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 4 American Robin 6 Gray Catbird 2 European Starling 20 Common Yellowthroat 3 Eastern Towhee 1 Song Sparrow 4 Northern Cardinal 6 Indigo Bunting 3 Red-winged Blackbird 60 Common Grackle 2 Orchard Oriole 8 Baltimore Oriole 2 House Finch 1 American Goldfinch 2 House Sparrow 4. -- Peter and Molly Ross, Arlington.

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Thirteen birders came out for the weekly bird walk at Dyke Marsh sponsored by the Friends of Dyke Marsh. The walk meets every Sunday at 8:00 AM and is free ans open to all. Today was gray and many of the birds were keeping fairly quiet. However, we did manage to tally 52 bird species for the morning. Highlights included families of Eastern Kingbirds and Orchard Orioles, a cooperative Northern Parula and Indigo Bunting. Caspian and Forster's Terns, and vocalizing Marsh Wrens. There were also many swallows in the area including a flock of 40 Purple Martins hanging out on a tree near the platform at the end of the boardwalk. There were a few butterflies around including Silver-spotted Skippers and Black Swallowtails. We noticed that the trail along Haul Road had significant flooding in a couple of spots. Dyke Marsh, Fairfax, US-VA Jul 22, 2012 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM Protocol: Traveling 0.8 mile(s) 52 species Canada Goose 22 Mallard 30 1 baby duck Double-crested Cormorant 5 Great Blue Heron 12 Great Egret 10 Osprey 7 Bald Eagle 2 Spotted Sandpiper 2 Ring-billed Gull 15 Caspian Tern 2 Forster's Tern 3 Rock Pigeon 2 Mourning Dove 4 Chimney Swift 14 Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker 3 Downy Woodpecker 2 Northern Flicker 3 Eastern Wood-Pewee 2 Great Crested Flycatcher 5 Eastern Kingbird 10 Blue Jay 4 American Crow 1 Fish Crow 12 Northern Rough-winged Swallow 6 Purple Martin 40 Tree Swallow 12 Barn Swallow 16 Carolina Chickadee 6 Tufted Titmouse 10 White-breasted Nuthatch 1 Carolina Wren 9 Marsh Wren 2 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1 American Robin 10 Gray Catbird 2 Northern Mockingbird 2 European Starling 10 Common Yellowthroat 4 Northern Parula 1 Yellow Warbler 1 Song Sparrow 1 Northern Cardinal 10 Indigo Bunting 2 Red-winged Blackbird 18 Common Grackle 4 Brown-headed Cowbird 5 Orchard Oriole 8 Baltimore Oriole 1 House Finch 2 American Goldfinch 14 House Sparrow 25. -- Larry Meade, Vienna, VA.

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Eleven people attended the weekly bird walk sponsored by Friends of Dyke Marsh. It was a pretty birdy morning. One highlight was a least bittern that flew in front of us just past the dogleg and landed in the marsh; a few minutes later it popped up again for a few lucky viewers. We came across several flocks of purple martins, a good number of orchard orioles, a very cooperative pair of great-crested flycatchers that gave us great views (which was a rarity today), and good numbers of eastern kingbirds. Lots of osprey were about, including many young birds perched up on posts and snags waiting to be fed. We tallied 51 species, including a couple I saw prior to the walk. Here is the complete list: Canada Goose – 150 (covering the picnic area) American Black Duck - 1 Mallard - 25 Least Bittern - 1 Great Blue Heron -12 Great Egret - 19 Green Heron - 2 Osprey - 24 Bald Eagle - 3 Killdeer -2 Ring-billed Gull - 4 Caspian Tern - 8 Forster's Tern - 4 Rock Pigeon - 2 Mourning Dove - 8 Chimney Swift - 18 Red-bellied Woodpecker - 5 Downy Woodpecker - 3 Hairy Woodpecker - 1 Northern Flicker - 3 Eastern Wood-Pewee - 2 Eastern Phoebe - 1 Great Crested Flycatcher - 2 Eastern Kingbird - 8 Warbling Vireo - 1 Blue Jay - 4 Fish Crow - 8 Northern Rough-winged Swallow - 3 Purple Martin - 28 Tree Swallow - 6 Barn Swallow - 15 Carolina Chickadee - 10 Tufted Titmouse - 8 White-breasted Nuthatch - 3 Carolina Wren - 10 House Wren - 1 Marsh Wren - 2 American Robin - 14 Gray Catbird - 3 Northern Mockingbird - 2 European Starling - 75 Common Yellowthroat - 3 Yellow Warbler - 1 Northern Cardinal - 14 Indigo Bunting - 3 Red-winged Blackbird - 25 Common Grackle - 16 Orchard Oriole - 8 House Finch - 10 American Goldfinch - 4 House Sparrow – 8. -- Marc Ribaudo, Woodbridge, July 15, 2012.

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Five hearty souls came out for the regular Sunday Field Trip to Dyke Marsh, open to all comers. Starting at 8am the temperature was about 80F rising to the low 90's when we ended at 1130. Highlight was a young Canvasback - it appears to be in juvenile plumage and changing - most unusual. Also noted was a single American Black Duck - not one white feather or partial on it. Curiously, no sign of the Tundra Swan. A fine showing of Great Egrets signaling their arrival to our area from northern breeding locations. Two adult Bald Eagles were accompanied by a hatch year bird. And the Ospreys were quite active and it appears most of the birds-of-the-years have fledged, albeit to nearby locations. The larids were mainly Ring-billed Gulls but a few Caspian Terns were about, one with a trailing juvie crying out with its shrill high pitched call behind the adult. We did reasonably well with the passerines with nearly all the regulars noted down Haul Road - hummers, pewees, a young Eastern Phoebe on the dogleg, several Eastern Kingbirds including one still on nest near the boat ramp Osprey nest (that sports one last juvies, Purple Martins and House Sparrows underneath), a single Warbling Vireo noted undera Yellow Warbler on the dogleg, the full complement of local swallows, Marsh Wrens singing out in the marsh, a few Common Yellowthroats, several Indigo Buntings, juvie Brown-headed Cowbirds bouncing in the picnic area grass, family groups of Orchard and Baltimore Orioles and young House Finch. The field trip netted 53 species - Russ and Sally Taylor noted Least Sandpipers and a Killdeer from the Stone Bridge before the field trip and later today at 6 pm I found 2 Greater Yellowlegs and 6 Laughing Gulls from this same locations which makes the day's tally 57 species, with tallies noted below. C. Goose 210 Am. Black Duck 1 Mallard 64 Canvasback 1 DC Cormorant 7 Great Blue Heron 18 Great Egret 12 Turkey Vulture 1 Osprey 14+ Bald Eagle 3 Killdeer 1 Greater Yellowlegs 2 Least Sandpiper 10 L. Gull 6 RB Gull 70 Caspian Tern 5 Rock Pigeon 2 Mourning Dove 10 Chimney Swift 20, most came out when it got hot near the end of the trip RT Hummer 2 Red-bellied WP 4 Downy WP 3 No. Flicker 2 E. Wood Pewee 2 E. Phoebe 1 E. Kingbird 7 Warbling V 1 Blue Jay 3 Fish Crow 5 Purple Martin 6 Tree Sw 4 No. Rough-winged Sw 4 Barn Sw 12 C. Chickadee 4 T. Titmouse 4 White-br Nuthatch 2 C. Wren 6 M. Wren 2 BG Gnatcatcher 1 Am. Robin 15 Gray Catbird 2 No. Mockingbird 1 E. Starling 50 No. Parula 1 Yellow Warbler 2 Com. Yellowthroat 3 Song Sp 3 No. Cardinal 12 Indigo Bunting 4 RW Blackbird 20 Com. Grackle 15 Brown-headed Cowbird 3 Orchard O 10 Balto O 3 House Finch 6 Am. Goldfinch 3 House Sp 4. -- Kurt Gaskill, July 8, 2012.

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It was family day at Dyke marsh this morning. Bird families that is! Nine people came out for the weekly walk at Dyke Marsh sponosred by the Friends of Dyke Marsh and free to all. The walk meets every Sunday at 8:00 AM. Our first family was a group of Orchard Orioles. They were high in a tree in the picnic area with a male singing and a female feeding a fledgling. Soon after this, a group of Great-crested Flycatchers showed up in the same area and put on a nice show for us. At the marina we watched "the condominium" with three Ospreys living in the top of the nest and Purple Martins and House Sparrows in the bottom. Warbling Vireos, Yellow Warblers and a Baltimore Oriole serenaded us as we made our way in the heat to the end of the boardwalk on Haul Road. Here we watched a family of Eastern Kingbirds fying around and feeding young birds. 47 species total were tallied. Good Birding! Larry Meade. Dyke Marsh, Fairfax, US-VA Jul 1, 2012 8:00 AM - 10:45 AM Protocol: Traveling 1.2 mile(s) 47 species Canada Goose 200 Mallard 14 Great Blue Heron 8 Great Egret 5 Osprey 9 Ring-billed Gull 25 Caspian Tern 2 Mourning Dove 6 Chimney Swift 4 Belted Kingfisher 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker 3 Downy Woodpecker 4 Northern Flicker 2 Eastern Phoebe 1 Great Crested Flycatcher 5 Eastern Kingbird 7 Warbling Vireo 3 Red-eyed Vireo 1 Blue Jay 1 Fish Crow 7 Northern Rough-winged Swallow 6 Purple Martin 1 Tree Swallow 8 Barn Swallow 5 Carolina Chickadee 4 Tufted Titmouse 5 White-breasted Nuthatch 4 Carolina Wren 6 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 4 American Robin 10 Gray Catbird 2 Northern Mockingbird 3 Brown Thrasher 1 European Starling 18 Common Yellowthroat 2 Northern Parula 1 Yellow Warbler 3 Song Sparrow 3 Northern Cardinal 8 Indigo Bunting 1 Red-winged Blackbird 12 Common Grackle 16 Brown-headed Cowbird 12 Orchard Oriole 6 Baltimore Oriole 1 American Goldfinch 15 House Sparrow 8.

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Nine people came out for the weekly walk at Dyke Marsh sponsored by the Friends of Dyke Marsh and free to all. The walks meets every Sunday at 8:00 AM. The highlight of this trip had to be an Osprey eating a Snakehead Fish in the marina. We first saw the Osprey laboriously flying around with a weird looking fish in its talons. When it landed on a tree we got a better look and guessed that the fish was a Snakehead. A bit of quick research on a smartphone confirmed it. You can see some photos of the Osprey along with several of my other recent bird photos from other locations here: http://uberlarry.smugmug.com/Birds/Recent-Bird-Photos/1398269_z37gDP#!i=19244 65388&k=JQ3R8XT Other sights and sounds at Dyke Marsh this morning included both Oriole species, an Ovenbird heard in the woods, a couple of Caspian Terns on a sandbar in the river, a Spotted Sandpiper seen flying away near the platform at the end of the boardwalk, Yellow Warblers, and several species of butterflies and dragonflies. 49 bird species were tallied in all. -- Larry Meade, Vienna, VA. Dyke Marsh, Fairfax, US-VA Jun 24, 2012 8:00 AM - 11:05 AM Protocol: Traveling 1.0 mile(s) 49 species Canada Goose 50 Mallard 35 Double-crested Cormorant 1 Great Blue Heron 18 Great Egret 12 Osprey 8 Spotted Sandpiper 1 Ring-billed Gull 16 Herring Gull 10 Caspian Tern 2 Rock Pigeon 4 Mourning Dove 3 Chimney Swift 10 Belted Kingfisher 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker 3 Downy Woodpecker 4 Northern Flicker 2 Eastern Wood-Pewee 1 Great Crested Flycatcher 1 Eastern Kingbird 1 Warbling Vireo 1 Red-eyed Vireo 1 Blue Jay 2 American Crow 2 Fish Crow 5 Purple Martin 2 Tree Swallow 4 Barn Swallow 20 Carolina Chickadee 8 Tufted Titmouse 4 White-breasted Nuthatch 2 Carolina Wren 3 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 6 American Robin 4 Gray Catbird 2 Northern Mockingbird 1 European Starling 12 Ovenbird 1 Common Yellowthroat 2 Northern Parula 2 Yellow Warbler 3 Song Sparrow 1 Northern Cardinal 4 Red-winged Blackbird 15 Common Grackle 12 Orchard Oriole 2 Baltimore Oriole 2 American Goldfinch 9 House Sparrow 13.

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Three birders joined us for the weekly walking survey of Dyke Marsh (Haul Road) and the Belle Haven picnic area, sponsored by the Friends of Dyke Marsh, starting 47 minutes after high tide. This walk is held every Sunday of the year, except during Christmas Bird Counts; it meets at 8:00 at the Belle Haven picnic area, and all are welcome. The weather was gorgeous, the birding a herald of the summer doldrums. Highlights were a Wood Duck hen with four ducklings in tow in the Potomac and the Purple Martins hanging around the Osprey nest at the marina. Here is the list: Dyke Marsh - CMN02, Fairfax, US-VA Jun 17, 2012 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM Protocol: Traveling 1.5 mile(s) 41 species Canada Goose 80 Wood Duck 5 Mallard 4 Double-crested Cormorant 1 Least Bittern 1 Great Blue Heron 3 Osprey 6 Bald Eagle 1 Ring-billed Gull 2 Mourning Dove 1 Chimney Swift 30 Red-bellied Woodpecker 2 Downy Woodpecker 3 Northern Flicker 6 Eastern Kingbird 6 Warbling Vireo 2 Blue Jay 2 American Crow 4 Fish Crow 4 Northern Rough-winged Swallow 6 Purple Martin 6 Tree Swallow 4 Carolina Chickadee 2 Tufted Titmouse 3 Carolina Wren 4 Marsh Wren 1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 5 American Robin 20 European Starling 30 Northern Parula 2 Yellow Warbler 5 Song Sparrow 2 Northern Cardinal 10 Indigo Bunting 1 Red-winged Blackbird 20 Common Grackle 26 Orchard Oriole 8 Baltimore Oriole 2 House Finch 2 American Goldfinch 6 House Sparrow 10. A stop at the Stone Bridge, exactly at high tide, added only 3 Great Egrets and our resident Tundra Swan. -- Peter and Molly Ross, Arlington, VA.

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Eight birders attended the weekly walk at Dyke Marsh, sponsored by the Friends of Dyke Marsh. It was a beautiful morning, and we finished before the heat set in. For the most part birding was rather slow-paced. Some species were calling attention to themselves but many are busy with nestlings rather than doing a lot of singing. We did find some really good birds, however. Off the picnic area was a juvenile canvasback. Who knows where it came from. A black-bellied plover was on the sandbar off Hunting Towers. While we were one the boardwalk a least bittern flew overhead, crossed the channel and landed in the southern marsh. A nice sighting, pointed out by Larry Cartwright, was an easily viewed, eye-level yellow warbler nest with at least 3 young. We watched as the male visited with a beakful of insects, singing without missing a beat. We also heard one marsh wren. We tallied 51 species in all. Here is the list: Canada goose 250 tundra swan 1 (continuing on) wood duck 1 mallard 30 canvasback 1 least bittern 1 great blue heron 17 great egret 5 osprey 14 bald eagle 1 black-bellied plover 1 killdeer 1 ring-billed gull 9 mourning dove 3 chimney swift 5 belted kingfisher 1 red-bellied woodpecker 3 downy woodpecker 4 eastern wood-pewee 1 eastern phoebe 1 great crested flycatcher 1 eastern kingbird 6 warbling vireo 3 red-eyed vireo 1 blue jay 3 fish crow 6 northern rough-winged swallow 2 purple martin 12 (building nests under the osprey nest in the marina) tree swallow 2 barn swallow 7 Carolina chickadee 8 tufted titmouse 6 white-breasted nuthatch 5 Carolina wren 10 marsh wren 1 blue-gray gnatcatcher 1 American robin 10 northern mockingbird 1 European starling 10 yellow warbler 6 common yellowthroat 2 song sparrow 2 northern cardinal 8 indigo bunting 1 red-winged blackbird 20 common grackle 14 brown-headed cowbird 2 orchard oriole 3 house finch 4 American goldfinch 8 house sparrow 8. -- Marc Ribaudo, Woodbridge, June 10, 2012.

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Was my day to lead... and a beautiful day it was. Cool temps in the morning did not rise all that fast and 16 or so birders turned out for the regular walk starting at 8a.m. and ending at whenever. We mixed and mingled w. Larry Cartwright's Breeding Bird Censusing Crew throughout the morning and got a look at a few good birds. A singing EASTERN WOOD PEWEE greeted the early arrivers in the south parking lot. We were later told of one carrying food, possibly to an incubating female. We saw and heard one GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER as it moved around the picnic area. Scope views of the "power tower" BALD EAGLE nest revealed one adult (tending to one chick I saw later from a closer vantage point). OSPREYS are everywhere and the nest at the marina boat launch now has PURPLE MARTINS nesting right under the Osprey nest (as well as HOUSE SPARROWS) one flight down. WARBLING VIREOS near the marina rest room and further down Haul Road on the peninsula. Our group was able to confirm REDBELLIED WOODPECKERS bringing food to young in a cavity just off the marina road. One LEAST BITTERN put in a brief appearance as we stood on the last platform and as we headed back in, we watched a male and female YELLOW WARBLER forage together just off the boardwalk about halfway between the platforms. Screech Owls have either fledged young or the nest failed as we have not seen or heard them for maybe two weeks now....After the walk, I went up to the Stone Bridge and added GREAT EGRET, CASPIAN TERN, RB GULL to the list and located our pet TUNDRA SWAN on the inlet near the golf course... Complete list follows... C Goose 100 Tundra Swan 1 Mallard Duckies 10 DC Corms only 1 Least Bittern 1 GB Heron 3 Great Egret 6 Black Vulture 1 Turkey Vulture 4 Osprey (counting babies) 18 Bald Eagle (oneAd+oneimm) 2 RB Gull 18 Caspian Tern 1 Rock Pigeon 3 Mourning Dove 5 Chimney Swift only 1 RT Hummingbird 1 RedBellied WP 7 Downy WP 7 Eastern Wood-Pewee 1 GreatCr Flycatcher 1 Eastern Kingbird 5 Warbling Vireo 5 Blue Jay 2 Fish Crow 2 Purple Martin 5 Tree Swallow 10 Barn Swallow 8 Car. Chickadees 10 Tufted Titmouse 10 WhiteBreasted Nuthatch 4 Carolina Wren 6 Marsh Wren 1 BG Gnatcatcher 2 American Robin 28 Euro Stars more than enuf Northern Parula 1 Yellow Warbler 5 Common Yellowthroat 3 Song Sparrow 2 (one singing in Marina, one in vicinity of first platform) No Cards 18 Indigo Buntings 3 RW Blackbird 40 Common Gracks 12 Orchard Oriole 4 Baltimore Orioles 3 Am Goldenfinches 6 House Sparrow 6. -- Rich Rieger, Alexandria, June 3, 2012.

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I ventured down to Dyke Marsh to work on the breeding bird survey at sunrise only to find a few hours later that we were leaderless for the Sunday morning walk. So Bob Beard and I took on the role as leaders. Unfortunately I didn't have a checklist with me, so today's list is a creation from memory. And most of the highlights were breeding related since that is why I was there. Highlights included a pair of Purple Martins checking out a nest box at the end of the marina (no nesting material) and recently-hatched Osprey nestlings at the marina nest beside the boat launch. Before the walk I found a Northern Parula singing in the north picnic area where a nest had been discovered last week. Both Orchard and Baltimore Orioles are in full breeding mode and a pair of Cedar Waxwings appeared to be checking out potential nest locations near the bridge on the Haul Road peninsula. Two male Yellow Warblers appeared to be engaged in a territorial dispute and a recently fledged chickadee was being fed by its parents. In non-breeding news, the Ring-necked Duck seems to have been replaced by a Lesser Scaup. Canada Goose 87 (including 2 breeding pairs with 3 goslings and 1 pair with a single gosling -precocial young- PY) Mallard 63 (including a hen with 6 1 week-old ducklings and a hen with 7 ducklings a few days old- PY) Lesser Scaup 1 Double-crested Cormorant 1 Great Blue Heron 1 Osprey 14 (including 2 recently hatched nestlings in marina nest- Nest with Young- NY) Red-tailed Hawk 1 (before official walk) Spotted Sandpiper 2 Ring-billed Gull 1 (few gulls- high tide) Mourning Dove 6 Chimney Swift 4 Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker 5 Downy Woodpecker 6 Eastern Wood-Pewee 4 Great Crested Flycatcher 1 Eastern Kingbird 7 Warbling Vireo 8 Blue Jay 5 Fish Crow 6 Crow sp 2 Purple Martin 2 (investigating nest box at end of marina) Tree Swallow 2 Barn Swallow 4 Carolina Chickadee 7 (including fledged young being fed by parents- FY) Tufted Titmouse 5 Carolina Wren 7 Marsh Wren 1 American Robin 15 (nest building-NB, on nest- ON) Gray Catbird 1 European Starling 30 Cedar Waxwing 2 (possibly investigating nest sites) Northern Parula 3 (ON) Yellow Warbler 3 Chestnut-sided Warbler 1 (north picnic area before walk) American Redstart 1 Song Sparrow 1 Northern Cardinal 20 Indigo Bunting 5 (all on Haul Road) Red-winged Blackbird 30 (including birds carrying food- CF and fecal sacs- FS) Common Grackle 15 Brown-headed Cowbird 3 Orchard Oriole 7 (ON) Baltimore Oriole 5 (ON) House Finch 3 American Goldfinch 6 House Sparrow 4 (including a pair nesting in the base of the marina Osprey nest!). -- Larry Cartwright, May 20, 2012.

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A fine Mothers Day at Dyke Marsh, Alexandria. Sixteen or so birders wound thru the environs of Dyke Marsh this morning, starting around 8am and finishing up just before noon. The weather was shirt sleeve perfect w. a slight breeze that kept us in comfortable temps throughout the walk. Hit 50 species today but missed a few "gimmies" - hard to imagine a spring day w/o a Red-eyed Vireo! We were greeted in the parking lot by two singing EASTERN WOOD PEE-A- WEES that provided fine scope views as they were posted up on bare branches. BALDy type EAGLES and mucho OSPREYS dotted the bayscape, punctuated by CANADA GEESE, one lone RINGNECKEed DUCK and our everpresent, omnipotent TUNDRA SWAN. SPOTTED SANDPIPERS flitted about and BLACKPOLL WARBLERS played hide and seek in the treetops. Increasing leafiness kept us from getting a good look at the Eastern Screech Owl abode but ORIOLES of both types kept us entertained on our stroll down Haul Road. Ferrets on Leashes appeared - a first for many on the hike - and two types of SKINKS - Five Striped and one unidentified - were sunning themselves on the wooden bridge by the Little Gut. Here's the list... Rich Rieger C. Goose 20 Tundra Swan 1 Mallard (some w. babes) 12 RingNeck Duck 1 DC Corm (just) 1 ! GB Heron 3 Turkey Vulture 1 Osprey 12 Bald Eagle 2Ad, 2imm RedTail Hawk 1 yellowlegs (sp) 1 Spotted Sandpiper 5 RB Gull 30 MoDo 2 YB Cuckoo 1 Belted Kingfisher 1 Red belly Wp 4 Downy WP 2 Eastern WoodPeewee 4 Eastern Kingbird 6 Warbling Vireo 2 Blue Jay 6 Fish Crow 6 Tree Swallow 10 No. Rough Wing Swallow 4 Barn Swallow 4 Car. Chickadee 2 Tufted Titmouse 2 Carolina Wren 4 BlueGrayish Gnatcatcher 4 Robins 12 Gray Catbird 1 Blue Catbird 1 No. Mockingbird 1 (Larry C... saw one right where bike path crosses Marina Rd) Euro Stars x Cedar Waxwings 5 No. Parulas 4 Yellow Warbler 4 Yellow Rumps 2 Blackpolls 7 Common Yellowthroat 1 Song Sparrow 1 No. card 6 Indigo Bunting 2 RW Blackbird 30 C. Grackle 14 Orchard Oriole 12 Baltimore Oriole 6 House Finch 2 Am. Goldfinch 8 House sparrow 6. -- May 13, 2012.

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Approximately 14 birders, many of them neophytes, joined us this foggy morning for the weekly survey of Dyke Marsh. This walk, sponsored by Friends of Dyke Marsh, is held every Sunday of the year, except during Christmas Bird Counts; it meets at 8:00 at the Belle Haven picnic area, and all are welcome. Other than Blackpoll Warblers, passage migrants were scare. The highlight of the morning was the chance to observe three oriole nests in a single tree along Haul Road, two in early construction, to the delight of Larry Cartwright, tireless breeding bird surveyor of Dyke Marsh. Canada Goose 6 Mallard 6 Blue-winged Teal 2 Ring-necked Duck 1 Lesser Scaup 1 Double-crested Cormorant 18 Great Blue Heron 2 Osprey 8 Bald Eagle 1 Spotted Sandpiper 1 Laughing Gull 10 Ring-billed Gull 6 Mourning Dove 4 Eastern Screech-Owl 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker 8 Downy Woodpecker 3 Northern Flicker 1 Eastern Kingbird 8 Warbling Vireo 8 Red-eyed Vireo 1 Blue Jay 4 Fish Crow 4 crow sp. 8 Northern Rough-winged Swallow 12 Tree Swallow 8 Bank Swallow 1 Barn Swallow 8 Carolina Chickadee 6 Tufted Titmouse 2 Carolina Wren 6 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 4 American Robin 10 Gray Catbird 2 Northern Mockingbird 4 European Starling 20 Cedar Waxwing 30 Common Yellowthroat 10 Northern Parula 6 Yellow Warbler 10 Blackpoll Warbler 8 Black-throated Blue Warbler 1 Palm Warbler 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler 6 Eastern Towhee 1 Song Sparrow 3 White-throated Sparrow 2 Scarlet Tanager 1 Northern Cardinal 10 Indigo Bunting 4 Red-winged Blackbird 100 Common Grackle 60 Orchard Oriole 14 Baltimore Oriole 4 American Goldfinch 10 House Sparrow 6. An early stroll up the bike path and a brief stop at the Stone Bridge (90 minutes before high tide) added 2 Red-breasted Mergansers, 8 Caspian Terns, 4 Brown-headed Cowbirds, Red-tailed Hawk, and our resident Tundra Swan. -- Peter and Molly Ross, Arlington, May 6, 2012.

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Wonderful blue skies, slight breeze from the north and initially cool temperatures met the participants to the regular Sunday Field Trip to Dyke Marsh, sponsored by the Friends of Dyke Marsh (see website at www.fodm.org, esp. to learn about proposals by NPS to address Dyke Marsh's extraordinary decay) and open to all. The birds were not extremely cooperative, but the group got a few good looks in. Highlight was the large numbers of Spotted Sandpipers - we started off looking at a group of 5 flying in front of us and saw others whenever we were at the water's edge - I tallied eleven conservatively but one could easily had argued for 20. Also wonderful was the swallow spectacle - about 100 off the picnic area and most were Barn with a few Tree and Northern Rough-winged thrown in for good measure. At the end of Haul Road we kept seeing swallows flying past us going south to north - probably the huge groups locked into the bays to our south and now that the front has passed and weather conditions were better these birds continued their northward movement. Mixed in were a few Bank and at least one Cliff. The waterfowl situation off the picnic area was seasonally good - a male Ring-necked Duck was close to shore, a pair of Blue-winged Teals were mixed in with some Mallards off the mudflats. (Earlier I noted a pair of Wood Ducks on Pipeline Bay.) When we reached the end of Haul Rd, Larry Cartwright spots a flying Red-breasted Merganser in his scope and the bird proceeding to fly past us - nice! Of course the now year-long lingering Tundra Swan continued to hold forth off Hunting Creek. And a flock of Cedar Waxwings in the marina delighted all. Warblers and orioles were not so cooperative along Haul Rd yet along the dogleg everyone got on first a Baltimore and than an Orchard in the same tree (curiously, holding nests of both last year!). A Blue Jay carrying food flew past the orioles, implying a second nest nearby (the first is in the picnic area). Warbling Vireos were singing along the edge and then the pair came over to the same Sycamore holding the orioles and we quickly found the little sprites. In spring these songsters are not nearly as dull as they get by June or July - both had a wash of yellow on the lower breast and abdomen. The marsh produced the first Marsh Wren of the season, singing buried in the cattails. A nearby Yellow Warbler showed itself well and a Common Yellowthroat returned to a favored spot near the trail. Red-winged Blackbirds were wasting not time as 2 were spotted nest building in the marsh. We ended the trip with 64 species - my early morning visit down the Hike-bike Trail produced Prothonotary Warblers at the traditional spots where the trail crossed the Big Gut on a wooden bridge and near Pipeline Bay plus a the Wood Duck pair at the same bay; after the field trip a visit to the Stone Bridge added Greater Yellowlegs and Great Black-backed Gulls. The list is below. C. Goose 18 plus 5 goslings Tundra Swan 1 Wood Duck 2, pair Mallard 16 plus 2 ducklings (2-3 wks old) Blue-winged Teal 2, pair Ring-necked Duck 1, male RB Merganser 1, female DC Cormorant 12 Great Blue Heron 4 Osprey 8+ Bald Eagle 2, nest on metal beltway pylon still a going affair Red-tailed Hawk 1 Greater Yellowlegs 9 Lesser Yellowlegs 14 Spotted Sandpiper 11 L. Gull 70, groups passing back and forth all day Bonaparte's Gull 2, on the mudflats early am Ring-billed Gull 35 Herring Gull 12 Great Black-backed Gull 2 Caspian Tern 80 Mourning Dove 5 C. Swift 10 Belted Kingfisher 1 Red-bellied WP 4 Downy WP 3 Hairy WP 1 No. Flicker 1 Great Crested Flycatcher 2 E. Kingbird 3 Warbling V 5 (and, curiously, no other vireos!) Blue Jay 17, about a dozen migrating north and CF Fish Crow 5, silent in the picnic area where the nest is located Tree Sw 25 No. Rough-winged Sw 10 Bank Sw 2 Cliff Sw 1 Barn Sw 100 C. Chickadee 3 T. Titmouse 7 White-br Nuthatch 1 C. Wren 5 M. Wren 1 RC Kinglet 1 BG Gnatcatcher 3 Am. Robin 20, nest building, CF, etc. Gray Catbird 2 E. Starling 8 No. Parula 2 (sorry , old tax order) Yellow Warbler 2 Yellow-rumped Warbler 1 Black-thr Green Warbler 1 Prothonotary Warbler 2 No. Waterthrush 1 Com. Yellowthroat 5 E. Towhee 3 Song Sp 4 White-thr Sp 12 No. Cardinal 12 Red-winged BB 20 NB Com. Grackle 12 Brown-headed Cowbird 3 Orchard O 5 Baltimore O 4 House Finch 5 Am. Goldfinch 4 House Sp 3+. -- Kurt Gaskill, April 29, 2012.

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I led the Sunday morning walk at Dyke Marsh today. Because of the parkway closure, we pretty much had the place to ourselves. It was a bit chilly, dark and windy at times, but the rain held off until the end. A female mallard had 6 fluffy yellow chicks. Orchard Orioles were plentiful, with 2 or 3 first summer males, singing. 3 Common Loons were seen flying north up the river. Happy Earth Day! Phil Kenny -- Dyke Marsh, Fairfax, US-VA, Apr 22, 2012 7:45 AM - 10:15 AM. Protocol: Traveling 2.0 mile(s) Comments: Weekly walk sponsored by Friends of Dyke Marsh. 45 species - Canada Goose 20 Tundra Swan 1 Mallard 25 Red-breasted Merganser 2 Common Loon 3 Double-crested Cormorant 15 Great Blue Heron 2 Osprey 6 Spotted Sandpiper 1 Laughing Gull 30 2 flocks flying high overhead, heard and seen Ring-billed Gull 20 Caspian Tern 1 Rock Pigeon 2 Mourning Dove 8 Chimney Swift 15 Red-bellied Woodpecker 3 Downy Woodpecker 2 Northern Flicker 1 Blue Jay 4 Fish Crow 12 Northern Rough-winged Swallow 6 Tree Swallow 5 Barn Swallow 25 Carolina Chickadee 2 Tufted Titmouse 2 Carolina Wren 7 House Wren 1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2 American Robin 10 Northern Mockingbird 2 European Starling 12 Cedar Waxwing 2 Common Yellowthroat 2 Northern Parula 3 Yellow-rumped Warbler 6 Eastern Towhee 2 Song Sparrow 1 White-throated Sparrow 8 Northern Cardinal 8 Red-winged Blackbird 20 Common Grackle 4 Brown-headed Cowbird 1 Orchard Oriole 6 American Goldfinch 8 House Sparrow 4.

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I think the Dyke Marsh walkers peaked out around 18 birders this morning as some came and some went throughout the morning. SCREECH OWLS continue along Haul Road and this morning everyone got to see the Gray Morph thru a scope. Very cooperative as it stayed perched in the cavity entrance. Must be EASTERN TOWHEE week as we tallied 2 or 3 in the picnic area and another 6 or 7 as we strolled down Haul Road. LAUGHING GULLS were out in force with many groups of 20 - 30 flying over -mostly headed south. One BALD EAGLE was viewed thru the scope at the nest on the power pole just inside the beltway. Posture indicated that it was feeding a chick or chicks in the nest, so we will continue to monitor that site. Two NORTHERN PARULAS singing in the picnic area were the only warblers today. The group saw two SPOTTED SANDPIPERS and another slipped by, seen by only one person. Be on the lookout Tuesday, as the space shuttle DISCOVERY, will be flown in to Dulles on the back of a 747. Due to leave Kennedy Space Center around 7a.m., the shuttle will be visible over DC around 10am on a "victory lap" before touching down. Tentative flight plan is up the Potomac over National airport and the mall at 1500' then on to Dulles. More info available on the Smithsonian website. List of 41 species for today follows... C GOOSE - 16 WOOD DUCK - 4 MALLARD 12 RB MERGANSER 5 PB GREBE 2 DC CORMS 48 GB HERON 2 BLACK VULTURE 1 OSPREY 8 BALD EAGLE 1 COOPERS HAWK 1 SP. SANDPIPER 3 LAUGHING GULL 200 RB GULL 20 CASPIAN TERN 8 ROCK PIGEON 8 MO DO 12 E. SCREECH OWL 1 RB WOODPECKER 12 DOWNY WP 2 BLUE JAY 5 AM CROW 1 FISH CROW 4 TREE SWALLOW 15 BARN SWALLOW 1 CAR CHICKS 2 TUFTED TITMOUSE 2 CAROLINA WREN 4 BG GNATCATCHER 6 AM ROBIN 26 EURO STARS 5 NO. PARULA 2 E. TOWHEE 10 WTH. SPARROW 8 NO CARDINAL 10 RW BLACKBIRD 30 RUSTY BLACKBIRD 2 COMM GRACKLE 1 BH COWBIRD 2 AM GOLDFINCH 8 HOUSE SPARROW 4. -- Rich Rieger, Alexandria, April 15, 2012.

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A delightful spring day at Dyke Marsh with about a dozen arriving for the regular Sunday field trip; a bit chilly at first but warming nicely at the end. Highlights were the long continuing Tundra Swan, a Common Loon landing in Hunting Creek Bay as we watched Bonaparte's Gulls, Peregrine Falcon perched on a Wilson Bridge abutment, good size movements of DC Cormorants, Laughing Gulls and Caspian Terns, the 3 typical swallows, and Eastern Bluebird flying over the picnic area (a bit late to be a migrant?), Palm Warbler singing high in a tree along Haul Rd, and several singing Swamp Sparrows. And the Bald Eagle nest on the power pylon near the beltway is still progressing. The list of 54 species is below. The next two weeks (if the weather cooperates!) will open the big start of the spring migrant push. Come on down and enjoy! C. Goose 6 Tundra Swan 1 Wood Duck 2 Mallard 8 Bufflehead 3 RB Merganser 6 Common Loon 1 DC Cormorant 90 Great Blue Heron 3 Turkey Vulture 1, already molting Osprey 10, at least 5 nests in view Bald Eagle 1+ nest Peregrine Falcon 1, is it nesting under the Wilson Bridge? Am. Coot 1, just one? L. Gull 110, several groups flying overhead, calling... Bonaparte's Gull 15 Ring-billed Gull 200 Herring Gull 4 Great Black-backed Gull 3 Caspian Tern 52 - late pm count, amazing how this species just pours through Mourning Dove 3 E. Screech Owl 1 Chimney Swift 1 Belted Kingfisher 1, early am bird found by Larry Cartwright et al Red-bellied WP 3 Downy WP 2 No. Flicker 1 Blue Jay 4 Fish Crow 6, nice big nest in a Zelkovia tree Tree Sw 15 or more No. Rough-winged Sw 4 Barn Sw 2 C. Chickadee 6 T. Titmouse 12 White-br Nuthatch 1 C. Wren 10 RC Kinglet 2 (4 early by L.C.) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 4, starting a bit slow this year - I am sure this will change in just a day or two E. Bluebird 1 Am. Robin 12 E. Starling 8 Yellow-rumped Warbler 2 Palm Warbler 1 Field Sp 1 Song Sp 5 Swamp Sp 5 White-thr Sp 7 No. Cardinal 10 Red-winged BB 50 Com. Grackle 8 Brown-headed Cowbird 6 House Finch 3 Am. Goldfinch 9 House Sp 4. --- Kurt Gaskill, April 8, 2012.

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Must be spring! 22 walkers (more or less) were hosted by the Friends of Dyke Marsh on today's walk. We saw some good birds and some very good birds. Top bird of the day was a LITTLE BLUE HERON that was perched in a tree, found as we approached the last platform on the peninsula. Great scope looks and then it flew down the channel and foraged for a bit before flying off (across?) the river. Second bird would probably be the EASTERN SCREECH OWL that Larry Cartwright had located while doing a run for the Breeding Bird Survey. Near where the family was found last year at the beginning of Haul Road, a gray morph was perched in the opening of a cavity where it stayed for a good 10 minutes, allowing nice looks for all of a life bird for about 10 of the attendees. We tallied 54 species for the walk and four more after the crowd broke up. Kurt Gaskill and I grabbed a sandwich at the Italian Deli in Bellhaven Shopping Center and went back to the picnic area of Dyke to eat. Kurt picked up a pair of LONG TAILED DUCKS out in the river that eventually flew over VA waters. We watched a PEREGRINE FALCON on the Woodrow Wilson bridge, wondering if there might be a nesting pair. BALD EAGLES were seen on the power line pole just inside the beltway by the RT 1 south ramp, confirming a still active nest on the pole. Then we found 2 RED BREASTED MERGS swimming near the picnic area that we did not see at the beginning of the walk. List follows: C Goose - 20 Tundra Swan 1 (one year and counting) Wood Duck 2 Mallard 20 Longtailed Duck 2 RedBr. Merg 2 Ruddy Duck 4 Common Loon 1 PB Grebe 2 DC Corm 30 GB Heron 1 Little Blue Heron 1 Osprey 12 Bald Eagle 2 Red Sh. Hawk 1 Red Tail Hawk 1 Peregrine Falcon 1 (not in VA) Laughing Gull 30 Bonapartes Gull 30 RB Gull 80 Herring Gull 6 Lesser BLBACK 1 Gr BLBACK Gull 2 Caspian Tern 2 Rock Pigeon 6 MoDo 4 East SC OWL 1 Chimney Swift 4 Belt. Kingfisher 1 RedBelly WP 5 Downy WP 3 No. Flicker 2 Blue Jay 6 Am. Crow 1 Fish Crow 4 Tree Swallow 25 No RoughWing 1 Barn Swallow 4 Car. Chick. 6 Tufted Titmouse 6 WB Nuthatch 1 Carolina Wren 4 RC Kinglet 2 BlueGray Gnats 2 Am. Robin 16 Brown Thrasher 1 Towhee 1 Chippppping Sp 1 Field Sp 2 Song Sp 3 Swamp Sp 1 WhiteThroat Sp 12 Junco 8 No Cardinal 12 RW Blackbird 40 Cowbird 1 Am Goldfinch 4 House Sparrow 6. -- Rich Rieger, Alexandria, April 1, 2012

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Six birders joined me this morning for the Dyke Marsh survey. This walk is held every Sunday of the year, except during Christmas Bird Counts; it meets at 8:00 at the Belle Haven picnic area, and all are welcome. Weather was seasonal--overcast and cool. Highlights were two flocks of Red-breasted Mergansers flying north low over the Potomac; a singing Winter Wren in the picnic area; FOS (for most of us) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher; and at least one Horned Grebe well into breeding plumage. The list (the swan was actually at the Stone Bridge, and 13 of the 14 Horned Grebe were observed only by Kurt Gaskill). Dyke Marsh - CMN02, Fairfax, US-VA Mar 25, 2012 8:00 AM - 10:30 AM Protocol: Traveling 1.5 mile(s) Comments: High tide 40 species Canada Goose 15 Tundra Swan 1 Mallard 16 Red-breasted Merganser 60 Pied-billed Grebe 1 Horned Grebe 14 Double-crested Cormorant 8 Osprey 4 Bald Eagle 1 American Coot 2 Ring-billed Gull 20 Herring Gull 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull 0 Great Black-backed Gull 6 Mourning Dove 2 Red-bellied Woodpecker 3 Downy Woodpecker 4 Northern Flicker 1 Blue Jay 2 Fish Crow 20 Tree Swallow 2 Carolina Chickadee 5 Tufted Titmouse 3 Brown Creeper 1 Carolina Wren 8 Winter Wren 2 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2 American Robin 40 Northern Mockingbird 1 European Starling 30 Yellow-rumped Warbler 1 Eastern Towhee 2 Song Sparrow 6 Swamp Sparrow 3 White-throated Sparrow 8 Northern Cardinal 20 Red-winged Blackbird 100 Brown-headed Cowbird 2 American Goldfinch 8. Peter Ross, Arlington.

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We led the Sunday morning walk at Dyke Marsh today, free to all every Sunday at 0800 sponsored by the Friends of Dyke Marsh. Was cool most of the morning with some fog and light drizzle early. Horned Grebes put on a nice show including one in full breeding plumage less than 2 feet off the shoreline in the picnic area. Northern Rough-winged and Barn Swallows, Caspian Terns were also found. Wood Ducks were seen checking out a possible nest hole which was a treat to all. Glenn Koppel and Mary Alice Koeneke gjkoppel AT cox.net Centreville, VA Sent: Sunday, March 18, 2012 7:39 PM Subject: eBird Report - Belle Haven--Picnic Area, Mar 18, 2012 Belle Haven--Picnic Area, Fairfax, US-VA Mar 18, 2012 7:38 AM - 9:20 AM Canada Goose 10 Tundra Swan 1 Wood Duck 5 Mallard 6 Common Merganser 2 Horned Grebe 3 Double-crested Cormorant 4 Great Blue Heron 1 Osprey 3 Bald Eagle 1 American Coot 1 Ring-billed Gull 5 Caspian Tern 2 Mourning Dove 3 Red-bellied Woodpecker 3 Downy Woodpecker 3 Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 1 Blue Jay 2 Fish Crow 4 crow sp. 3 Northern Rough-winged Swallow 3 Tree Swallow 12 Barn Swallow 1 Carolina Chickadee 4 Tufted Titmouse 1 White-breasted Nuthatch 2 American Robin 9 Northern Mockingbird 1 European Starling 7 Cedar Waxwing 3 White-throated Sparrow 1 Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 2 Northern Cardinal 9 Red-winged Blackbird 4 Brown-headed Cowbird 1 House Sparrow 6. Dyke Marsh - CMN02, Fairfax, US-VA Mar 18, 2012 9:20 AM - 11:10 AM.

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Twelve people remembered to set their clocks ahead and attended the weekly bird walk sponsored by the Friends of Dyke Marsh. We listed 52 species. Waterfowl off the picnic area were scarce, but we did see a horned grebe, the now-resident tundra swan, a greater scaup and a ruddy duck (common merganser and lesser scaup seen afterwards). Three bald eagles were sitting off Jones Point. A nice find in the picnic area was a brown creeper that appeared on a tree very close to the group, affording great views. In the marina we watched an osprey pair on the nesting platform, with a third trying to break up the party. Two pied billed grebes were tucked away along the shore and a coot was walking on the shore. A singing winter wren greeted us at the start of the trail. The rest of the trail was pretty quiet. We ran into several groups of song sparrows, a few white-throats, and a single swamp sparrow. We heard rusty blackbirds in the woods close to the parkway. There were 4 tree swallows over the marsh, and 2 wood duck flushed out of the marsh. A single bluebird flew overhead. After walking back to the parking several of the group were able to find 2 fox sparrows in the brushy area at the edge of the picnic area. Here is the list: Canada goose 12 tundra swan 1 wood duck 2 mallard 10 greater scaup 1 lesser scaup 1 common merganser 2 ruddy duck 1 pied-billed grebe 3 horned grebe 1 double-crested cormorant 3 great blue heron 3 black vulture 1 turkey vulture 3 osprey 5 bald eagle 5 red-tailed hawk 1 American coot 1 ring-billed gull 50 herring gull 2 great black-backed gull 2 mourning dove 1 belted kingfisher 1 red-bellied woodpecker 10 downy woodpecker 10 northern flicker 4 blue jay 4 American crow 2 fish crow 10 tree swallow 4 carolina chickadee 14 tufted titmouse 8 white-breasted nuthatch 3 brown creeper 1 carolina wren 12 winter wren 2 eastern bluebird 1 American robin 8 European starling 12 eastern towhee 1 fox sparrow 2 song sparrow 22 swamp sparrow 2 white-throated sparrow 8 dark-eyed junco 12 northern cardinal 10 red-winged blackbird 25 rusty blackbird 2 common grackle 3 house finch 2 American goldfinch 2 house sparrow 4. -- Marc Ribaudo, March 11, 2012.

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Eight people joined me today for a rather pleasant edition of the Sunday morning Dyke Marsh Bird Walk. Waterfowl diversity is low, and has been most of the winter, but we did get some nice contrasting views of Common and Red-breasted Mergansers in the inlet south of the Haul Road peninsula. A probable male Sharp-shinned Hawk perched low in a small tree along the peninsula and gave nice looks for the group. A few sparrows, including a Fox Sparrow, are beginning to push through.( I had three Fox Sparrows below my feeders at my Annandale home today. The first was seen last Thursday.) A cooperative Hairy Woodpecker foraged at eye level just south of the opening that we call Dead Beaver Beach. All in all, a nice day for both beginning and experienced birders. The complete list. Canada Goose 1050 Tundra Swan 2 American Black Duck 14 Mallard 175 Bufflehead 1 Common Merganser 6 Red-breasted Merganser 3 Pied-billed Grebe 2 Great Blue Heron 2 Great Egret 1 (Stone Bridge at Hunting Creek) Bald Eagle 2 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Red-tailed Hawk 1 Ring-billed Gull 400 Herring Gull 14 Great Black-backed Gull 17 Mourning Dove 1 Belted Kingfisher 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker 3 Downy Woodpecker 3 Hairy Woodpecker 2 Blue Jay 5 American Crow 4 Fish Crow 6 Carolina Chickadee 16 Tufted Titmouse 16 White-breasted Nuthatch 5 Carolina Wren 15 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1 American Robin 3 European Starling 10 Eastern Towhee 1 Fox Sparrow 1 Song Sparrow 25 White-throated Sparrow 15 Northern Cardinal 12 Red-winged Blackbird 23 House Finch 1 American Goldfinch 2 House Sparrow 2. -- Larry Cartwright, February 26, 2012.

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The weekly Friends of Dyke Marsh walk was pretty quiet but the 8 of us enjoyed the nice morning. Waterfowl diversity was very low. Not even one buffelhead... One early Tree Swallow flew past near the boat launch area, as did a Merlin. Here is the list as I recall it: Canada goose - 300 NB no sign of the Greater White-fronted Goose or hybrid reported earlier; tundra swan - 2 mallard - 12 black duck 1 lesser scaup 3 ring-necked duck 1 pied-billed grebe - 4 great blue heron - 6 bald eagle - 1 merlin (flyby near the boat ramps) ring-billed gull - 60 herring gull - 1 great black-backed gull - 15 mourning dove - 4 red-bellied woodpecker - 9 downy woodpecker - 4 hairy woodpecker - 2 northern flicker - 3 blue jay - 6 American crow - 4 fish crow - 20 carolina chickadee - 8 tufted titmouse -6 white-breasted nuthatch - 1 carolina wren - 10 winter wren - 2 American robin - 15 european starling - 12 song sparrow - 25 white-throated sparrow - 25 northern cardinal - 14 red-winged blackbird - 20 American goldfinch - 4 ruby-crowned kinglet 1 tree swallow (flyby at the boat ramps) house sparrow - 3 common grackle -15. -- Bob Beard, February 19, 2012.

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Well, the cold and wind deterred nearly all birders for showing up for the Friends of Dyke Marsh Field Trip today - and who can blame them? I used the opportunity to checked the river from the picnic area, the marina, the Stone Bridge and Pipeline Bay (all relatively close to my car) for a total of about an hour. Highlights of the 29 species were 7 Great Egrets huddled next to Hunting Creek west of the Stone Bridge; the water in this area is fed by the Alexandria sewage treatment plant which I am sure helps bring some food "to the table" for the egrets. Also noted was a nice sized flock of 30 Rusty Blackbirds in the grass along the parkway. Nothing else very notable, although 7 Bald Eagles (5 adults) on the extensive, windblown, low-tide riverside mudflats were easily seen; not surprising as there are 3 nests within 2 miles of the picnic area. -- Kurt Gaskill, February 12, 2012.

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The weekly Friends of Dyke Marsh walk was pretty quiet this morning. The two participants and I tallied only 37 species. Waterfowl diversity was very low. Woodpeckers put on a nice show. One interesting sighting prior to the walk was a bald eagle carrying nesting material flying south along the GW Parkway just north of the Riverside picnic area. Here is the list: Canada goose 400 tundra swan 2 mallard 12 bufflehead 1 common merganser 6 pied-billed grebe 2 great blue heron 6 great egret 2 bald eagle 1 red-shouldered hawk 1 ring-billed gull 60 herring gull 30 great black-backed gull 20 mourning dove 4 belted kingfisher 1 red-bellied woodpecker 9 downy woodpecker 2 hairy woodpecker 2 northern flicker 3 blue jay 6 American crow 4 fish crow 1 carolina chickadee 8 tufted titmouse 10 white-breasted nuthatch 3 carolina wren 10 winter wren 2 American robin 15 european starling 12 song sparrow 10 swamp sparrow 7 white-throated sparrow 25 dark-eyed junco 6 northern cardinal 14 red-winged blackbird 20 American goldfinch 1 house sparrow 1. -- Marc Ribaudo, February 5, 2012.

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Six birders joined me for the weekly Sunday morning bird walk, sponsored by the Friends of Dyke Marsh and open to everyone. The highlight was two Horned Grebes off the boardwalk platform, but the overall diversity and numbers of aquatic birds remains low. We found a single coot hanging out with Mallards at the marina, for example. Chickadees, titmice, and Carolina Wrens were active and quite vocal, but kinglets and Winter Wrens were nowhere to be found. Anyway, it was delightful company and a beautiful day. Today's List: Canada Goose 270 Tundra Swan 2 American Black Duck 7 Mallard 160 Bufflehead 3 Common Merganser 4 Bald Eagle 3 Red-shouldered Hawk 2 Pied-billed Grebe 2 Horned Grebe 2 Great Blue Heron 8 American Coot 1 Ring-billed Gull 350 Herring Gull 15 Great Black-backed Gull 32 Mourning Dove 3 Red-bellied Woodpecker 9 Downy Woodpecker 3 Northern Flicker 1 Blue jay 10 Fish Crow 14 Crow, sp 1 Carolina Chickadee 24 Tufted Titmouse 22 Carolina Wren 9 American Robin 13 European Starling 20 Song Sparrow 24 Swamp Sparrow 3 White-throated Sparrow 35 Northern Cardinal 16 Red-winged Blackbird 3 American Goldfinch 3 House Sparrow 2. -- Larry Cartwright, January 29, 2012.

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A chilly day, about 32F with a 5-10 mph breeze down the Potomac River, met the 3 intrepid souls for today's Field Trip to Dyke Marsh, sponsored by the Friends of Dyke Marsh and open to all each Sunday at 8 am. Highlight were the delightful numbers of sparrows carpeting Haul Rd in fine numbers. The icy crust on the forest and marsh floor pushed these small animals to the trail edges to forage. Mixed in with the more common sparrows were several Fox Sparrows and 3 American Tree Sparrows - Excellent! We also managed a few waterfowl sightings: the long running Tundra Swan and its recently acquired hatch year pal, a couple of Lesser Scaup south of the dogleg along with a Ruddy Duck, a few Common Mergansers and a pair of Hooded Mergansers. Other interesting sightings were a flyby Great Egret which joined 4 other Great Egrets on the inland side of the Stone Bridge; amazing! over 10 years ago a Great Egret in December was a wonder, now we have groups of them in January. No warblers this time but a single Ruby-crowned was spotted at the location that held the Tennessee & No. Parula two weeks ago. The list of 45 species is below. C. Goose 800, careful looking produced no additional hidden gems Tundra Swan 2 Am. Black Duck 1 Mallard 46 Lesser Scaup 2 Bufflehead 5 Hooded Merganser 2 Common Merganser 4 Ruddy Duck 1 Pied-billed Grebe 3 Great Blue Heron 5 Great Egret 5 Bald Eagle 2, adults Red-shouldered Hawk, a first winter hunting the marsh RB Gull 300 Herring Gull 140 Great Black-backed Gull 25 Mourning Dove 3 Belted Kingfisher 2 Red-bellied WP 3 Downy WP 3 No. Flicker 1 Blue Jay 3 Am. Crow 2 Fish Crow 1 C. Chickadee 4 T. Titmouse 4 White-breasted Nuthatch 1 C. Wren 6 W. Wren 1 RC Kinglet 1 Am. Robin 4 No. Mocker 1 E. Starling 50 E. Towhee 2 Am. Tree Sp 3 Fox Sp 4 Song Sp 33 Swamp Sp 25 White-thr Sp 70 DE Junco 8 No. Cardinal 16 Red-winged BB 4 Am. Goldfinch 1 House Sp 4. -- Kurt Gaskill, January 22, 2012.

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Three hardy souls joined me for a sunny but chilly morning. Hightlights included SCAUP (1), BUFFLEHEAD (10), HOODED MERGANSER (2), SHARPIE (1), and WINTER WREN (at least 2). Ben Jesup Alexandria Dyke Marsh, Fairfax, US-VA Jan 15, 2012 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM Protocol: Traveling 1.5 mile(s) 38 species Canada Goose 150 Tundra Swan 2 Long-term injured birds American Black Duck 15 Mallard 300 Lesser Scaup 1 /f Bufflehead 10 Hooded Merganser 2 Great Blue Heron 3 Bald Eagle 1 /i Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 /i Red-shouldered Hawk 1 /i Ring-billed Gull 100 Herring Gull 1 Great Black-backed Gull 12 Mourning Dove 3 Belted Kingfisher 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker 2 Downy Woodpecker 3 Blue Jay 2 American Crow 2 Fish Crow 10 Carolina Chickadee 6 Tufted Titmouse 3 White-breasted Nuthatch 1 Carolina Wren 3 Winter Wren 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1 American Robin 10 European Starling 1 75 Eastern Towhee 1 Song Sparrow 10 Swamp Sparrow 3 White-throated Sparrow 15 Dark-eyed Junco 5 Northern Cardinal 4 Brown-headed Cowbird 1 /m American Goldfinch 1 House Sparrow 2.

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Dyke Marsh Plant - Spatterdock

Friends of Dyke Marsh, Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.
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Last Revised: February 2, 2013