What great weather we had last weekend – just perfect for the bird walk that we had planned at Sky Meadows State Park (not in Loudoun, but very close by). We did this walk in partnership with the Northern Virginia Bird Club and Gerco sent over a great report from the day.
Here is the field trip report from Gerco:
Last Saturday’s Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy and Northern Virginia Bird Club trip to Sky Meadows was a great success. 34 people showed and they enjoyed a beautiful morning in the Park.
The Red-headed Woodpeckers were out in force and we saw them just about everywhere. A lingering Yellow-bellied Sapsucker ensured that we had a 7 woodpecker day in the park. This is always very cool.
The normally shy and often elusive Brown Thrashers were busy pairing up. At least 7 bird were seen. A few Rusty Blackbirds were seen foraging along one of the creeks and all of us got some good looks of these birds.
Surprisingly, the number of warblers we saw was very low. Just a single Palm Warbler was found. This bird was either unaware of us and did not care. For several minutes he was singing his heart out and we all could see him well.
The first swallows were seen as well; including barn, tree and northern rough-winged. Altogether the group spotted 47 species.
Gerco
NVBC
Following is the list of species that the group saw:
Canada Goose, Wood Duck, Mallard, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Red-headed Woodpecker (12!),Red-bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, Blue Jay, American Crow, Fish Crow, Common Raven, Tree Swallow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Barn Swallow, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Eastern Bluebird, American Robin, Northern Mockingbird, Brown Thrasher, European Starling, Palm Warbler, Eastern Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Field Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Rusty Blackbird, Common Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, House Finch, American Goldfinch, House Sparrow