Our January 9th, the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy and Northern Virginia Birding Club teamed up to lead a walk at Banshee Reeks. While chilly, they did get in some good birding. Here’s the report from our leaders, Andy and Gerco:
Surprisingly, it was nice weather until about 10am when the winds picked up. We found several locations where the birds were very active–mostly sunny spots that were out of the wind. Many sparrows were foraging in the shrubs and the various hawks were calling and flying over. We were rather startled to see many mallards and a single black duck flying up from the ponds. Some open water was there. Once the wind picked up, we decided to leave.
Highlights of the walk included an Eastern Phoebe, American Black Duck, Field Sparrow, Brown Creeper, and Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers.
Our total tally was 39 species:
American Black Duck 1, Mallard 47, Great Blue Heron 1, Black Vulture 1, Turkey Vulture 2, Bald Eagle 1, Red-shouldered Hawk 2, Red-tailed Hawk 4, Ring-billed Gull 3, Mourning Dove 2, Red-bellied Woodpecker 3, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 3, Downy Woodpecker 4, Hairy Woodpecker 1, Northern Flicker 7, Pileated Woodpecker 1, Eastern Phoebe 1, Blue Jay 5, American Crow 11, Carolina Chickadee 2, Tufted Titmouse 4, White-breasted Nuthatch 3, Brown Creeper 1, Carolina Wren 2, Golden-crowned Kinglet 1, Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1, Eastern Bluebird 9, American Robin 30, Northern Mockingbird 2, European Starling 27, Yellow-rumped Warbler 2, Eastern Towhee 3, Field Sparrow 2, Song Sparrow 4, White-throated Sparrow 25, Dark-eyed Junco 20, Northern Cardinal 4, Brown-headed Cowbird 5, American Goldfinch 2
Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve is definitely one of Loudoun’s Great Places for wildlife and nature explorations. Hike the trails, breathe in the fresh air, enjoy the wild sights and sounds! More information can be found on our page highlighting Banshee Reeks.