Date: 4/7/26 10:13 am From: David M via groups.io <davidpmassa...> Subject: [hmbirds] Vischer Ferry Birdwalk Recap
Eight birders showed up Sunday morning at Vischer Ferry under a solid blanket of gray, one of those dark, gloomy mornings where you half expect to get soaked any minute. A fearless crew, and a really nice mix of newer folks and more experienced birders, which made for a lot of good sharing along the way. We started at the bridge and flooded field and for a while it was just wall to wall Ring-necked Ducks, scan after scan with not much else mixed in. Then about halfway through things finally started to shift when I believe it was new member Andrew who picked out a Lesser Scaup tucked in with the Ring-necks. Great find and a good group effort getting everyone on it.
After that, the variety started to open up a bit with Wood Duck, Green-winged Teal, American Wigeon, Mallard, and even a Blue-winged Teal so we ended up with both Teals on the morning. No Mergansers/Bufflehead, but we did have a flyby Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagle overhead, and one or two Osprey cruising through. Along the trail we picked up Eastern Bluebirds, Northern Cardinals, and Red-bellied Woodpeckers. Grackles and Red Winged Blackbirds dominated the towpath scene and were everywhere. The light was rather flat so most birds were silhouettes until you got on them with binoculars, which led to some good optics talk along the way.
On the walk back we got one of the highlights of the morning, a beautiful pair of Northern Shovelers dropping in with a dramatic splashdown. Big shoutout to the new members who joined us, great to have you out. Somehow we threaded the needle with the weather and made it through the whole walk dry, with the rain finally starting right as we wrapped up.
