I’m very tardy in posting this but still wanted to send it out for those tracking our local and migrating birds.
From Joe Coleman:
Nine birders saw 54 species, including 8 species of warblers and one very large and distant flock of blackbirds, at the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship (BRCES) in northwestern Loudoun Co, near Harper’s Ferry, WV, this morning. We started at the large field at the end of Sawmill Rd where we not only watched a large and distant flock of blackbirds dance in mass over the ridge, a flock of Tree Swallows passed overhead. We walked both the Sweet Run Loop trail and the power line cut to the top of the ridge to the Appalachian Trail (and looked into West VA). Along the way we came across three or four groups of migrants. One group, where the power line crosses Sweet Run, included both our first RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET for the season (the first of at least six) and a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW. The other groups included a variety of warblers, esp. one along Sweet Run where we found at least 7 different species of warblers, including a FOS YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, as well as the Gray-cheeked Thrush and Swainson’s Thrush. The Bald Eagle, a juvenile, was seemed from the parking lot as well as the first of several flocks of Cedar Waxwings. A pair of Common Ravens flew over us on the power line cut near the ridge. While there were a number of Magnolia Warblers and Common Yellowthroats in the scrub under the power lines most of the warblers were in a heavily wooded stretch along Sweet Run where there were a lot of grapes. The Cedar Waxwing flocks popped up in a number of locations.
Information on the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship can be found at http://www.blueridgecenter.org. Information on the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy and its many free public activities can be found at www.loudounwildlife.org.
Joe Coleman, near Bluemont, Loudoun Co
Location: Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship – MFF01
Observation date: 9/26/09
Notes: We started at the large field at the end of Sawmill Rd and walked both the Sweet Run Loop trail and the power line cut to the top of the ridge to the Appalachian Trail. Along the way we came across three or four groups of migrants. One included both our first Ruby-crowned Kinglet for the season and White-throated Sparrow. The others included a variety of warblers, esp. one along Sweet Run loop where we found at least 7 different species of warblers as well as the Swainson’s & Gray-cheeked Thrushes. The Bald Eagle, a juvenile, was seemed from the parking lot as well as the first of several flocks of Cedar Waxwings.
Number of species: 54
Canada Goose, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Osprey 2, Bald Eagle 1, Sharp-shinned Hawk 1, Red-shouldered Hawk 2, Red-tailed Hawk 1, American Kestrel 2, Mourning Dove, Chimney Swift 1, Ruby-throated Hummingbird 2, Belted Kingfisher 1, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker 1, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Eastern Wood-Pewee 1, Eastern Phoebe 1, Red-eyed Vireo 1, Blue Jay, American Crow, Common Raven 2, Tree Swallow 30, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, House Wren 2, Ruby-crowned Kinglet 6, Eastern Bluebird, Gray-cheeked Thrush 1, Swainson’s Thrush 1, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, Brown Thrasher 1, European Starling, Cedar Waxwing, Chestnut-sided Warbler 1, Magnolia Warbler 8, Black-throated Blue Warbler 3, Yellow-rumped Warbler 1, Bay-breasted Warbler 1, Black-and-white Warbler 4, American Redstart 1, Common Yellowthroat 8, Eastern Towhee1, Song Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow 1, Northern Cardinal, Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1, Indigo Bunting 10, blackbird sp. 250, American Goldfinch