From Joe Coleman: Twenty-two people showed up yesterday for our regular (4th Saturday) bird walk at the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship. After starting together and birding for about 2 hours from the end of Sawmill Road to the trail to where Sweet Run intersects with Arnold, we split into two groups.
Del Sargent took one of the groups and looped back to where we parked and I took the other group to Gordon Pond and the old dry lakebed along Piney Run. While it was a beautiful, sunny day it started out cold (25 degrees) and was about 38 when the second group finished at 11:45 am.
The highlight of the trip was a BARRED OWL who silently flew over us at about 10:30 am and then briefly perched in a tree. A few people caught a glimpse of a Turkey and an Osprey flew directly overhead as we were returning to the cars. What was most notable were the birds we did not see such as swallows and mimids. And while there were a lot of sparrows there weren’t nearly as many different species as I had expected.
Number of species: 41
While the trails at BRCES are normally open to the public 7 days a week from dawn to dusk there are controlled deer hunts there this time of year so check the BRCES website for dates and times of when parts of BRCES are closed.
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 activities can be found at www.loudounwildlife.org.
Joe Coleman, near Bluemont, Loudoun Co
Canada Goose, American Black Duck, Mallard, Ring-necked Duck, Wild Turkey, Great Blue Heron, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk (Eastern), American Kestrel, Mourning Dove, Barred Owl, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted), Pileated Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, Blue Jay, American Crow, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Eastern Bluebird, American Robin, European Starling, Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle), Eastern Towhee, Field Sparrow, Fox Sparrow (Red), Song Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored), Northern Cardinal, Brown-headed Cowbird, American Goldfinch, House Sparrow.