Dutch Gap, VA 8/3/17

All photos are © Marshall Faintich

Prothonotary Warblers are one of my favorite avian species, and they breed in the Dutch Gap Conservation Area south of Richmond. I hadn't seen this species in 2017, and they start migrating south during the first half of August, so it was now or wait until next year to see one. There also were reports of one or more Least Bitterns at Dutch Gap, and I had seen this species only once before, so I asked Walt Childs if he wanted to go with me to look for these two species and whatever else we might find there. We stopped at the first observation platform in the large marsh along the road into Dutch Gap to look for the Least Bitterns as they were reported seen there 10 days ago, but only saw a few Wood Ducks, some woodland birds, and a large turtle. Most of the marsh was packed with dense vegetation, and quite different from the winter when ducks are seen there by the hundreds.

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Wood Duck

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Turtle

We decided to hike along the pioneer village after parking in the main lot, saw a few woodland birds, and a juvenile Bald Eagle was circling with a flock of vultures.

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Northern Cardinal

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Juvenile Bald Eagle

We then hiked along the main path behind the visitor center, and stopped along the path to the first fishing dock where we saw the first of three Great Crested Flycatchers. I also heard a Common Yellowthroat singing from across the pond south of that path, but could not see it.

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Great Crested Flycatcher

There's a small path a bit farther down the main trail that leads to a park bench along one of the large water bodies. We saw two Great Egrets far across the water, On the way out, we heard what sounded like the k-kerrr call of a King Rail in the tall grasses by the water. I saw some of the grasses move, but never saw the rail for a positive ID. We continued down the main trail until it forks toward the red iron bridge, and we headed toward the bridge. We soon saw our second Great Blue Heron of the day there.

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Great Egrets

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Great Blue Heron

Our hopes to see a Prothonotary Warbler were fading quickly, and other than hearing another Common Yellowthroat, the only other warbler we saw before reaching the bridge was a juvenile Pine Warbler.

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Juvenile Pine Warbler

We met and chatted with a Richmond area birder near that bridge, and a few minutes after he left, we got lucky. Four Prothonotary Warblers flew in along with a Yellow-throated Warbler. It looked like only one of the Prothonotary Warblers was an adult.

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Yellow-throated Warbler