Field Sparrow
Photo (c) Jim Clark
After heavy rains and thunderstorms in the very early morning Saturday, the 10 birders at the Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve found, first in heavy fog and then under beautiful sunny skies, 42 species. The species included 6 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers (First of Season for most of us), a Barred Owl, 3 Hermit Thrushes, a Louisiana Waterthrush (also a FOS bird for most of us), 2 Common Yellowthroats (FOS), numerous singing Field Sparrows, and 10 Eastern Towhees (mostly males), the latter both singing and quarreling with one another.
The many different wildflowers as well as a single Zebra Swallowtail also contributed to a very pleasant spring walk.
A Blue-headed Vireo was a nice FOS that I first heard as I was leaving the nature center after the walk. I would have probably missed it if I hadn’t been listening to More Birding by Ear yesterday.
For a complete list of the birds observed at Banshee Reeks Saturday see the eBird report below.
The regular monthly free bird walk (every 2nd Saturday) at the Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve is sponsored by the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy and the Friends of Banshee Reeks.
To Celebrate Spring migration the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy has scheduled a program and a number of bird walks from the end of April to mid-May – all are free and they can be found here.
Joe Coleman, Mary Ann Good and Jane Yocom
Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve, Loudoun, Virginia, US
Apr 13, 2019 7:47 AM – 10:36 AM
Protocol: Traveling
2.0 mile(s)
42 species
Canada Goose 5
Mourning Dove 2
Barred Owl
Photo by Larry Meade
Great Blue Heron 1
Black Vulture 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 2
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Barred Owl 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 5
Downy Woodpecker 3
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 2
Eastern Phoebe 1
Eastern Phoebe
Photo (c) Jim Clark
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Blue Jay 8
American Crow 2
Fish Crow 2
Tree Swallow 5
Carolina Chickadee 1
Tufted Titmouse 2
White-breasted Nuthatch 2
Carolina Wren 3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 6
Bluebird
Photo by Lisa McKew
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 4
Eastern Bluebird 2
Hermit Thrush 3
American Robin 6
Brown Thrasher 3
Northern Mockingbird 2
American Goldfinch 3
Chipping Sparrow 2
Field Sparrow 6
Dark-eyed Junco 1
White-throated Sparrow 15
Song Sparrow 4
Swamp Sparrow 1
Eastern Towhee 10
Red-winged Blackbird 1
Brown-headed Cowbird 3
Louisiana Waterthrush 1
Common Yellowthroat 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1
Northern Cardinal 8
View this checklist at https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S54898069
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)