Birds of Dyke Marsh

Birds are by far the most numerous and easily observed marsh dwellers. Their variety and numbers are astounding, especially since the return of sub-aquatic vegetation that has paralleled recent improvements in Potomac River quality. One expert, Lt. Col. Jackson M. Abbott, compiled a list from over 40 years of recorded observations of 296 species seen in Dyke Marsh. Presented here are 225 of the more common ones with their seasonal abundance and breeding data. Please go to our Facebook page where you can read reports of birds recently seen at Dyke Marsh.

Relative Abundance
a	Abundant
v	Very Common
c	Common
u	Uncommon
vu	Very Uncommon
r	Rare
vr	Very Rare
*	Confirmed Breeder
I	Irruptive Species

Print Dyke Marsh Birds Checklist You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader®. Download a FREE Reader now by clicking on the icon below.

SPECIES	Spg	Sum	Fall	Wtr	SPECIES	Spg	Sum	Fall	Wtr
Red-throated Loon	vr			vr	Red-headed Woodpecker	vr		vr	vr
Common Loon	u		vu	vu	Red-bellied Woodpecker *	vc	vc	vc	vc
Pied-billed Grebe	u	r	c	c	Yellow-bellied Sapsucker			vu	vu
Horned Grebe	vu		vu	u	Downy Woodpecker *	vc	c	vc	vc
Double-crested Cormorant	vc	c	vc	vu	Hairy Woodpecker *	u	vu	u	vu
American Bittern	vu		vu		Northern Flicker *	c	c	c	u
Least Bittern *	u	u	vu		Pileated Woodpecker *	vu	vu	u	vu
Great Blue Heron	vc	vc	vc	vc	Eastern Wood-Pewee *	c	c	u
Great Egret	vu	u	vc	c	Yellow-bellied Flycatcher			vr
Snowy Egret	r	vu	u		Acadian Flycatcher *	u	u	vu
Little Blue Heron			r		Willow Flycatcher *	vu	vu
Tri-colored Heron	vr				Eastern Phoebe *	u	r	u	r
Cattle Egret	vr				Great Crested Flycatcher *	vu	vu	vu
Green Heron *	vu	vu	u	r	Eastern Kingbird *	vc	vc	c
Black-crowned Night Heron	r	vu	u	r	White-eyed Vireo *	u	vu	u
Yellow-crowned Night Heron		vr			Yellow-throated Vireo	vu		r
Glossy Ibis	r				Blue-headed Vireo	r
Black Vulture	vr	vr	r	r	Warbling Vireo *	vc	vc	vc
Turkey Vulture	vu	vu	vu	vr	Philadelphia Vireo			vr
Snow Goose			vu	vr	Red-eyed Vireo *	vc	vc	u
Canada Goose *	a	vc	vc	a	Blue Jay *	vc	c	vc	c
Mute Swan	vu	vu	r		American Crow *	a	a	a	a
Tundra Swan	vu			vu	Fish Crow *	vc	u	vu	c
Wood Duck *	u	vu	u	vu	Purple Martin *	c	u	c
Gadwall	r		vu	vu	Tree Swallow *	vc	vc	u	vr
American Wigeon	r		u	vu	Northern Rough-winged Swallow *	u	vu	vu
American Black Duck *	u	u	c	vc	Bank Swallow *	vu		r
Mallard *	vc	vc	vc	vc	Cliff Swallow	r		vu
Blue-winged Teal	r	r	u	r	Barn Swallow *	a	a	vc
Northern Shoveler	vu		u	vu	Carolina Chickadee *	vc	vc	vc	vc
Northern Pintail	r		c	u	Tufted Titmouse *	vc	vc	vc	vc
Green-winged Teal	u		c	u	White-breasted Nuthatch	u	u	vu	vu
Canvasback	r	vr	u	vu	Brown Creeper	u	vr	r	vu
Redhead			r	vu	Carolina Wren *	vc	vc	vc	vc
Ring-necked Duck	vu	vr	vu	vu	House Wren *	vu	vu	vu
Greater Scaup	vu	vr	r	vu	Winter Wren	vu			vu
Lesser Scaup	c	vr	vu	c	Marsh Wren *	vc	vc	u
Long-tailed Duck				vr	Golden-crowned Kinglet	u		u	u
Bufflehead	u	vr	u	c	Ruby-crowned Kinglet	c		u	u
Common Goldeneye			r	vu	Blue-gray Gnatcatcher *	c	c	u	vr
Hooded Merganser	vu	r	vu	u	Eastern Bluebird	vr	vr		r
Common Merganser	c			c	Veery	r
Red-breasted Merganser	c	vr	vu	u	Hermit Thrush	r
Ruddy Duck	u	vr	c	u	Wood Thrush *	vu	vu
Osprey *	vc	vc	vc	r	American Robin *	a	vc	vc	u
Bald Eagle	u	r	c	vc	Gray Catbird *	vc	vc	vc	vu
Northern Harrier	vr		u	vu	Northern Mockingbird *	vc	c	vc	vc
Sharp-shinned Hawk	vu		u	vu	Brown Thrasher *	vu	vu	vu
Cooper's Hawk	vu	vr	r	vu	European Starling *	a	a	a	a
Red-shouldered Hawk	u		vu	u	Cedar Waxwing *	c	u	u	vu
Broad-winged Hawk	vu		vu		Blue-winged Warbler	vu		vu
Red-tailed Hawk	vu		vu	u	Tennessee Warbler	vr
American Kestrel	vu		vu	vu	Orange-crowned Warbler				vr
Merlin	r		vu		Nashville Warbler			vu
Peregrine Falcon	r		vu	r	Northern Parula *	vc	u	vu
Northern Bobwhite	vr	vr			Yellow Warbler *	vc	vc	c
King Rail		vr			Chestnut-sided Warbler			vu
Virginia Rail	r				Magnolia Warbler	u		u
Sora	r				Cape May Warbler	r		vu
Common Moorhen			r		Black-throated Blue Warbler	u		r
American Coot	u	vu	u	u	Yellow-rumped Warbler	c		c	u
Black-bellied Plover			vu		Black-throated Green Warbler	u		vu
American Golden Plover			vu		Blackburnian Warbler			r
Semipalmated Plover			u		Yellow-throated Warbler			vr
Killdeer	u	vc	c	u	Pine Warbler			vu	r
American Avocet			vr		Prarie Warbler			r
Greater Yellowlegs	c	vc	c	vu	Palm Warbler			vu
Lesser Yellowlegs	vu	u	vc		Bay-breasted Warbler	vr		r
Solitary Sandpiper	vu	r	vu		Blackpoll Warbler	c	vr
Willet			vr		Black-and-white Warbler	vu		u
Spotted Sandpiper	c	vu	u		American Redstart *	c	vu	vu
Hudsonian Godwit			vr		Prothonotary Warbler *	u	u	vu
Marbled Godwit			vr		Worm-eating Warbler	r
Ruddy Turnstone			vr		Ovenbird	vu		r
Red Knot			vr		Northern Waterthrush	vu		r
Sanderling			r		Louisiana Waterthrush		vr	vu
Semipalmated Sandpiper		c	u		Kentucky Warbler	vr
Western Sandpiper		vu	vu		Common Yellowthroat *	vc	vc	vc	r
Least Sandpiper	vu	c	vu	vr	Hooded Warbler *			vr
White-rumped Sandpiper			r		Wilson's Warbler	vu		vr
Baird's Sandpiper			vr		Canada Warbler	vu		vu
Pectoral Sandpiper	vu	r	u		Yellow-breasted Chat	vr			vr
Dunlin	r		r	vu	Scarlet Tanager *	vu	vu	vu
Stilt Sandpiper		r	vu		Eastern Towhee *	u	vu	vu	r
Short-billed Dowitcher		c	u		American Tree Sparrow				vu
Long-billed Dowitcher		r	vu	r	Chipping Sparrow *	r	vr	vr
Common Snipe	vu		vu	r	Field Sparrow *	u	vu	u	r
Wilson's Phalarope			vr		Savannah Sparrow	vu		vu	r
Red-necked Phalarope			vr		Seaside Sparrow	vr
Laughing Gull	u	vc	vc	u	Fox Sparrow			r	vu
Franklin's Gull			vr	vr	Song Sparrow	a	vc	a	vc
Bonapartes's Gull - I	u		vu	vu	Lincoln's Sparrow	vr		r
Ring-billed Gull	a	vc	a	a	Swamp Sparrow *	u	vu	u	u
Herring Gull	vc	c	vc	vc	White-throated Sparrow	a		a	a
Lesser Black-backed Gull			r	r	White-crowned Sparrow	r		r	r
Great Black-backed Gull	a	c	vc	vc	Dark-eyed Junco	vu		u	u
Caspian Tern	vc	vu	vc		Snow Bunting				vr
Royal Tern	vr				Northern Cardinal *	vc	vc	vc	vc
Common Tern		vu	vu		Rose-breasted Grosbeak	vu		r
Forster's Tern	u	c	vc	vu	Blue Grosbeak	vr
Black Tern		vr	r		Indigo Bunting *	u	vu	vu
Rock Dove *	a	a	a	vc	Bobolink			r
Mourning Dove *	vc	vc	vc	vc	Red-winged Blackbird *	c	a	a	u
Black-billed Cuckoo	r				Rusty Blackbird	u		vu	vu
Yellow-billed Cuckoo *	u	c	c		Common Grackle *	vc	vc	vc	u
Eastern Screech Owl *	vr			r	Brown-headed Cowbird *	vc	vc	u	vu
Great Horned Owl *	vr			r	Orchard Oriole *	vc	vc	u
Barred Owl *	vr	r		r	Baltimore Oriole *	vc	vc	u
Common Nighthawk	vu		vu		Purple Finch - I	vu			r
Whip-poor-will	vr				House Finch *	a	vc	vc	c
Chimney Swift *	vc	a	vc		Pine Siskin - I				r
Ruby-throated Hummingbird *	u	u	u		American Goldfinch - I *	a	vc	vc	c
Belted Kingfisher *	u	u	c	u	House Sparrow *	vc	vc	vc	c

Print Email