Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens

This morning I visited the east side of the Anacostia in hopes of tracking down some winter migrants. The day began at Kenilworth Park. A bald eagle was visible across the river, perched on a snag above a large flock of Canada geese. A hooded merganser was also in the river. The brush along the edges of the park was loaded with birds. Many cedar waxwings were present in several flocks, along with house finches, robins, and white-throated sparrows. One lingering gray catbird was in the bushes near the recreation center.

The aquatic gardens was full of sparrows. Among the many song sparrows and white-throateds, there were swamp sparrows, dark-eyed juncos, and a single Lincoln's sparrow. The latter perched on a sapling at the bank of one of the ponds and allowed a good look. A small flock of red-winged blackbirds was in the trees along the boardwalk trail. The dominant black-colored birds, though, were crows, of which there may have been a hundred, all chattering noisily. Along the river trail, there were purple finches and yellow-rumped warblers, as well as more sparrows. Yellow-bellied sapsuckers were in good numbers in both parks.

SPECIES SEEN: 44

Canada Goose
Mallard
Hooded Merganser
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
Cooper's Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Killdeer
Ring-billed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
American Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Cedar Waxwing
Carolina Wren
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
American Robin
Carolina Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
European Starling
House Sparrow
Purple Finch
House Finch
American Goldfinch
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird