A dozen of us walked along the Shenandoah River area of Harpers Ferry this morning in the beautiful cold. The walk started out promisingly – 2 adult BALD EAGLES flying playfully above where we gathered in the 340 parking lot. There was a lot of songbird activity in the trees along the wetlands – our biggest surprise was perhaps 3 (definitely 2, maybe 3 – all seen in different areas) EASTERN PHOEBES; Bill Hale spotted a BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER along the railroad tracks as he straggled way behind the rest of us. Bill & Jim Farley saw a WINTER WREN on the old canal. 3 DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS flew up high heading downriver. We were rewarded by 3 BROWN CREEPERS finally towards the end of the walk.
Also of interest: a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW with a breast ‘dot’ similar to a Tree Sparrow’s, and a pair of MALLARDS fully diving down into the water for spells at a time – must have been some tasty treats down there!

Full list of 34 species:

Canada Goose
American Black Duck
Mallard
Double-crested Cormorant 3 flying high, heading downstream
Great Blue Heron
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle 2 adults flying together playfully – they were above the 340 bridge and our parking lot when we first spotted them.
Rock Pigeon
Belted Kingfisher 1- heard only
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Blue Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Winter Wren
Carolina Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – Bill Hale swore he saw him in trees along the rr track at the end of the wetlands walk – Bill was the straggler of the group, bringing up the rear.
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
American Goldfinch

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