On a warm & very humid morning 25 people found a total of 73 species on a joint Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy/Northern Virginia Bird Club walk at the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship.
We split into two groups, one led by Larry Meade, primarily birding the fields around the Education Annex, and the other group, led by Gerco Hoogeweg & Joe Coleman, covering the powercut and the dense forest on the southern part of the center at the end of Sawmill & Arnold Rd. While both groups observed many of the same species splitting up proved worthwhile.
The highlights of the two walks included 10 dif. warbler species including Cerulean, Blue-winged, Worm-eating, 7 Louisiana, 5 Kentucky, Chats, and lots of Ovenbirds.
Other highlights included 7 Yellow-billed Cuckoos, a Broad-winged Hawk, White-eyed & Yellow-throated Vireos, Grasshopper Sparrows, and both oriole species.We also found many butterflies in a variety of locations.
Information on the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship can be found at http://www.blueridgecenter.org. Information on the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy and the Northern Virginia Bird Club and their many free activities can be found at www.loudounwildlife.org & and www.nvabc.org/.
The complete list of sightings follows: Canada Goose 2, Wild Turkey 1, Great Blue Heron 3, Black Vulture 5, Turkey Vulture 22, Bald Eagle 1, Red-shouldered Hawk 1, Broad-winged Hawk 1, Red-tailed Hawk 4, Killdeer 1, Rock Pigeon 1, Mourning Dove 8, Yellow-billed Cuckoo 7, Chimney Swift 6, Ruby-throated Hummingbird 4, Red-bellied Woodpecker 13, Downy Woodpecker 2, Hairy Woodpecker 1, Northern Flicker 1, Pileated Woodpecker 3, Eastern Wood-Pewee 8, Acadian Flycatcher 6, Eastern Phoebe 4, Great Crested Flycatcher 4, Eastern Kingbird 6, White-eyed Vireo 8, Yellow-throated Vireo 3, Red-eyed Vireo 14, Blue Jay 2, American Crow 30, Purple Martin 2, Tree Swallow 14, Barn Swallow 12, Carolina Chickadee 5, Tufted Titmouse 3, White-breasted Nuthatch 3, Carolina Wren 1, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 11, Eastern Bluebird 20, Wood Thrush 4, American Robin 3, Gray Catbird 1, Northern Mockingbird 3, Brown Thrasher 1, European Starling 35, Cedar Waxwing 15, Ovenbird 13, Worm-eating Warbler 2, Louisiana Waterthrush 7, Blue-winged Warbler 4, Kentucky Warbler 5, Common Yellowthroat 8, American Redstart 1, Cerulean Warbler 4, Northern Parula 3, Yellow-breasted Chat 2, Eastern Towhee 8, Chipping Sparrow 10, Field Sparrow 25, Grasshopper Sparrow 2, Song Sparrow 1, Scarlet Tanager 5, Northern Cardinal 20, Indigo Bunting 19, Red-winged Blackbird 1, Eastern Meadowlark 3, Common Grackle 2, Brown-headed Cowbird 5, Orchard Oriole 2, Baltimore Oriole 4, House Finch 4, American Goldfinch 25, House Sparrow 1.