With reports of an American Bittern at the Dutch Gap conservation area just south of Richmond, Virginia, Walt Childs and I headed there with plans to stop at Lake Anna and Zion Crossroads on the way home.
We arrived at Dutch Gap around 11:00, and there's about a mile long road to the entrance that is bounded on one side by a fence and a hill leading up to a reservoir or large retention pond, and on the other side by a very large freshwater marshy area with a couple of small parking areas and observation platforms.
As we started driving along the road, a very large swan flew in front of us and over the hill and out of sight. We could only see its silhouette against the sky, but from its size and very long neck we guessed that it was a Mute Swan. The American Bittern had been reported several times in the marshy area between the two viewing platforms, so we parked at the first one and walked along the road, checking as much of the weeded area as we could.
All of a sudden the American Bittern flew up from close to the road, and landed in some dense marsh vegetation. My camera was not set for birds in flight, but I was able to get a few decent photos of it - a new life bird for me!
Walt and I spent more than an hour along this road, and saw 37 avian species before even entering Dutch Gap. Although we got some some quick glimpses of the Bittern during this hour, and one view of it on the way out, none of them were long enough or of a clear enough view to get a photo of it standing in the weeds.
Some of the birds we saw very interesting - colorful ducks, the first reddish morph Savannah Sparrow for me, and we both saw and heard a Marsh Wren, but I couldn't get a photo of it - my second life bird of the morning!
Once inside Dutch Gap, we added another eight species, including a pair of Bald Eagles perched on the bank across the river. This is the fourth time since November 18 that I have seen a Bald Eagle, and all four times there have been two of them together.
American Bittern
American Bittern
American Bittern
American Coot
American Wigeons
Bald Eagles
Cooper's Hawk
Double-crested Cormorants
Gadwall
Gadwall
Gadwall
Gadwall
Gadwall
Hermit Thrush
Lesser Scaup
Mallards
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Northern Shovelers
Northern Shoveler
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Ring-billed Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Ring-necked Ducks
Savannah Sparrow
Reddish morph Savannah Sparrow
Reddish morph Savannah Sparrow
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Eastern Painted Turtles
We spent so much time at Dutch Gap that we scrubbed Lake Anna from today's trip, and headed to Zion Crossroads (Bracketts Farm area) to look for possible Short-eared Owls and Northern Harriers. Along the way we saw a Red-tailed Hawk, but all we saw at Zion Crossroads were a few Northern Harriers and some other smaller birds we had already seen today.
Northern Harrier
Today's list (47 species):
American Bittern Great Blue Heron Mute Swan Canada Goose American Wigeon Northern Shoveler Mallard Gadwall Lesser Scaup Ring-necked Duck Black Vulture Osprey Cooper's Hawk Northern Harrier Red-shouldered Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Bald Eagle American Kestrel American Coot Ring-billed Gull Mourning Dove Chimney Swift Red-bellied Woodpecker Eastern Phoebe Blue Jay American Crow Carolina Chickadee Tufted Titmouse Carolina Wren Marsh Wren Ruby-crowned Kinglet Golden-crowned Kinglet Eastern Bluebird Northern Mockingbird European Starling Yellow-rumped Warbler Northern Cardinal Swamp Sparrow Song Sparrow Savannah Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Brown-headed Cowbird |