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This morning I returned to Poplar Point with Rob Hilton to explore the area further. (Rob had kindly offered to show me some areas I missed last week.) It was a beautiful day to be out, if cool with winds increasing throughout the morning. When we arrived, field sparrows were singing in the meadow, and several willow flycatchers were calling. (I did not get a look at any of the willow flycatchers - not that it would have made much difference for identification purposes.) Yellow warblers and Baltimore orioles were plentiful, as they were last week. A few savannah sparrows were still present.
Savannah Sparrow / Photo by Donna Dewhurst (USFWS)Further back, we encountered a northern waterthrush and a veery. (Both were firsts-of-the-year for me.) Rob spotted a wild turkey that I missed. As with the meadow, there were a lot of orioles and yellow warblers singing and flying back and forth across the paths. The nursery area appears to be catbird heaven as we saw and heard numerous gray catbirds mewing and singing. A few brown thrashers were skulking in the underbrush as well.
Unfortunately, the water birds from last week did not show themselves today. The Poplar Point wetlands area had a couple more northern waterthrushes. Once again, the grassy strips along Anacostia Drive had some bobolinks among the more common starlings and brown-headed cowbirds. One poked his head above the weeds to sing a few complex songs before flying off.
A stop at Kenilworth Park turned up a spotted sandpiper and soaring osprey and red-tailed hawks. An indigo bunting and warbling vireo sang for short stretches. Otherwise the park was pretty quiet.
BIRD SPECIES: 43
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Canada Goose
Mallard
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Red-tailed Hawk
Spotted Sandpiper
Ring-billed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Willow Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Kingbird
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
House Wren
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
Veery
American Robin
Fish Crow
European Starling
Warbling Vireo
American Goldfinch
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Field Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Indigo Bunting
Bobolink
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Baltimore Oriole
