Gravelly Point II -- Other Birds

This redwinged blackbird flew up to within about 10 feet from me in the little copse of pine trees we were sitting in, red epaulets ablazing. He picked at some trash he found, then posed obligingly for me, though his red was withdrawn by this time.

We also got a picture of a duck. Hey, we take what comes. Apparently Gravelly Point is a landing spot for the amphibian tour boat. Just a few minutes later, it went by on the George Washington Parkway behind us.

The first bird I saw at Gravelly Point (ok, some pigeons were first--I should say the first interesting bird) was this Eastern Kingbird. It was perched on the top of some pine trees when I first saw it. We later perched below the same pine trees to watch the bobolinks.

Bikers, walkers, joggers all were busily travelling on the Mt Vernon Bike trail behind us. It was a beautiful day!

Birding on the Border

We started out at a stables, where we saw Eurasian Collared Doves

and Yellow-Headed Blackbirds perched with female Great-tailed Grackles

Here's a closeup of the Yellow-Headed Blackbirds.

We watched this White-Tailed Kite eat his breakfast.

In addition to the birds pictured here and the following posts, I saw 58 species that day. The group saw 82, including a red-throated loon that I wish I had seen! Best birds for me were the Crested Caracara, the Eurasian Collared-Dove, the Burrowing Owl shown in a subsequent post, a Red-shafted Northern Flicker and the above Yellow-headed Blackbird. Thanks to Terry, Sue and the San Diego Bird Festival for a great day!