Field Ornithology Journal #3

On Wednesday, May 26th I went to Fort Dupont Park in Anacostia DC from 6:45 AM - 12:05 PM. The weather was 90 degrees, and the morning began as cloudy but by 9:30 AM it was very sunny and there was no wind. The park a large expanse of deciduous forest with intermixed grasslands that were about 50 yards long and ran parallel to the walking path. The grass was was shin height and full of grasshopper, crickets, and cicadas. The forest was mostly over story trees with very little understory species. There was a small stream that ran through the forest but it was mostly dried up. In the forest, I heard multiple species of flycatcher (Acadian, Least, Great Crested), as well as Wood Thrush, Red-eyed Vireo, and song birds like the American Goldfinch and Yellow Warbler. These species were all on the tops of trees in the forest and were rarely seen on the ground. In the forest I saw a Black Rat Snake which was very exciting, and I also heard an Eastern Wood-Pewee which I've never heard in person before! In the grassland area, I saw species like the Indigo Bunting which was flying through the grass and landing on shrubs, and the a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and Eastern Kingbird which were perched on trees at the edge of the grassland. I wasn't expecting to see the Downy Woodpecker I was just leaving the forest and there it was which was exciting. I didn't recognize the call at first but then I saw it hopping up and down the tree which was interesting to see. There was a mowed area just before you enter the forest where I saw more general species like Blue Jays, Northern Cardinals, Chimney Swifts and American Robins. The cicadas gave me some trouble because their non stop noises muted some of the bird calls but if I walked far enough away from the grasslands it was more manageable to discern the different calls.

Posted on May 26, 2021 09:06 PM by iadeslaw