The eighteen birders who came out on a beautiful day for the regular monthly bird walk at the Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve in central Loudoun Co found 49 species of birds. Several of the participants had FOS birds including YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER, BROWN CREEPER, HERMIT THRUSH, SWAMP SPARROWS, and WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS.
Other highlights of the walk included seeing such large numbers of Northern Flickers, Blue Jays, and American Robins, that we frequently had to sift through them to find other species. We also added several of our raptors and three COMMON RAVENS while tallying on the front porch of the Visitor Center.
The regular monthly free bird walk (every 2nd Sat) at the Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve is sponsored by the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy (www.loudounwildlife.org) and the Friends of Banshee Reeks (www.bansheereeks.org); information on both and their upcoming events can be found on their websites. On these Saturdays, depending on the weather & the time of the year, we often visit the Dulles Greenway Wetlands Mitigation Project either before or after the Banshee walk.
Good birding,
Joe Coleman, near Bluemont, Loudoun Co
Canada Goose, Wood Duck, Mallard, Great Blue Heron, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk (Eastern), American Kestrel, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Chimney Swift, Belted Kingfisher, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted), Pileated Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, Blue Jay, American Crow, Fish Crow, Common Raven, Tree Swallow, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Eastern Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, Cedar Waxwing, Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle), Black-throated Green Warbler, Eastern Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Field Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, House Finch, American Goldfinch.