On Nov 19, 11 of us went on a driving & walking bird trip led by Jim McWalters and Mary Ann Good and sponsored by the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy in northeastern Loudoun County near Lucketts on Limestone School Rd & Hibler Rd. [For more photos visit our Facebook album]
It was a pleasant (no wind) 23 degrees when we met at Temple Hall Farm on Limestone School Rd and almost 50 degrees when we finished at noon at the alpaca farm at the other end of Limestone School Rd where we not only saw a Horned Lark but several sulphur butterflies.
One of the best sightings of the day was of two coyotes along some back roads as well as the Horned Lark on Limestone School Rd.
We also had great views of White-crowned Sparrows at a couple of locations and an American Tree Sparrow along Hibler Rd.
Grasshoppers were still out in numbers in the field but were not moving too fast so we got some nice photos and admired their colors and patterns.
We also had a great time checking out a really old oak tree on the property. First, we stood and looked at it and talked about how grand it was and then, we decided we needed to know how large around it was.
So, our tree hugging participants jumped into action and made a human measuring tape around the tree. We will need to get a real measuing tape (and those same participants back) to get the measurement but it’s probably a good 20+ feet around.
We also had a good variety of raptors. Many of us saw our first of season Northern Harrier as it harrassed a Turkey Vulture. And, a kestrel sat patiently on a telephone wire as we all got great views from the car.
A complete list of the species seen follows:
39 species
Canada Goose, Mallard, Great Blue Heron, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Cooper’s Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Mourning Dove, Great Horned Owl, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Blue Jay, American Crow, Fish Crow, Horned Lark, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Carolina Wren, Eastern Bluebird, American Robin, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, Cedar Waxwing, Yellow-rumped Warbler, American Tree Sparrow, Song Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Northern Cardinal, American Goldfinch