Mary Ann Good and Laura Weidner led our bird walk this morning. Here’s their report 
of cool birds and other sightings:
Seven people enjoyed birding the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship, but due to the occasional misting rain, found ourselves looking down as much as up. We managed to find 35 species of birds, including our first spring Louisiana Waterthrush singing loudly, Brown Creeper, and Fox Sparrow. Just as fascinating on a non-birdy morning were the many egg masses of Spotted Salamander and Wood Frog, pointed out by biologist extraordinaire Liam McGranaghan, as well as an unusual variety of fungi helped along by the rains, including tiny Bird’s Nest, Witch’s Butter, and large numbers of a most interesting one most of us had never seen before: Lattice Puffball. We also spotted a Raccoon curled up in a tree hole keeping warm and dry.
The list of birds follows:
Canada Goose, Turkey Vulture, Mallard, Mourning Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker – 2, No. Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, E. Phoebe – 5, Blue Jay, Am. Crow, Fish Crow, Tree Swallow, C. Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Carolina Wren, E. Bluebird, Am. Robin, No. Mockingbird, E. Starling, Louisiana Waterthrush, Field Sparrow, Fox Sparrow – 2, Song Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, No. Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Am. Goldfinch, House Sparrow