Sightings at Banshee Reeks and the Dulles Wetlands

Five people showed up for our Wednesday morning bird walks at the Dulles Greenway Wetlands Mitigation Project (7 am) and the Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve (9 am).
 
There were several highlights among the 60+ species we observed.  It was a real pleasure to hear Virginia Rails almost as soon, about 6:30 am, as we parked our cars at the gate to the Dulles Greenway Wetlands Mitigation Project.  While they were pretty vocal all we were able to see was movement in the cattails.  However, in the same location Mary Ann Good, who got there earlier than the rest of us, did see two Green Herons, one of which carried a branch into a black willow.  There were numerous Willow Flycatchers and Yellow Warblers vocalizing.  On the back side of the wetlands we also found an Orchard Oriole nest.
 
As soon as we entered Banshee’s driveway at about 9 am we started hearing Wood Thrushes and Ovenbirds as well as some raucous Ravens.  As we parked at the Visitor Center two Yellow-breasted Chats flew by chasing each other & making all kinds of noise. While watching them and trying to figure out if they were a pair of males fighting over a female or two fighting males we noticed a male and female Blue Grosbeak.  Shortly later we watched two American Kestrels, a male and a female aggressively run off a couple of crows that got too close to a sycamore they appeared to be using as a base.  We also twice observed an Orchard Oriole carrying food though we couldn’t find its nest in spite of watching it for several minutes
 
Information on Banshee Reeks which is now open every weekends from 8 am to 4 pm can be found at http://www.bansheereeks.org.   Information on the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy can be found at www.loudounwildlife.org.  There is an 8 am bird walk at Banshee Reeks this Saturday morning.
 
The complete eBird listings follow:
Location:     Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve
Number of species:     44
Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Willow Flycatcher, Eastern Phoebe, Great Crested Flycatcher, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, American Crow, Fish Crow, Common Raven, Tree Swallow, Barn Swallow, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, House Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Eastern Bluebird, Wood Thrush, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, Brown Thrasher, European Starling, Northern Parula, Ovenbird, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Scarlet Tanager, Eastern Towhee, Field Sparrow , Song Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Blue Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Orchard Oriole, Baltimore Oriole, American Goldfinch
 
Location:     Dulles Greenway Wetlands Mitigation Project
Number of species:     49
Canada GooseWood Duck, Mallard, Great Blue Heron, Green Heron, Red-shouldered Hawk, Virginia Rail, Killdeer, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Chimney Swift, Belted Kingfisher, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Willow Flycatcher, Blue Jay, American Crow, Fish Crow, Tree Swallow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, House Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Eastern Bluebird, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, Brown Thrasher, European Starling, Cedar Waxwing, Northern Parula, Yellow Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Scarlet Tanager, Chipping Sparrow, Field Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Blue Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, Orchard Oriole, American Goldfinch