Baby snapping turtle
Fourteen people showed up for Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy’s regular bird walk at the Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve on September 12. Because of Covid-19, this was our first bird walk since March. We required registration, split into two groups of 7 people each, one led by Joe Coleman and Mary Ann Good and one led by Michael Sciortino and Mike Scott, so we could more easily practice social distancing. We also wore masks when we gathered together though some of us did not while actually walking the trails.
Between the two groups we found 45 species with the highlights of the walks: two Red-headed Woodpeckers, a Blue Grosbeak, a Northern Harrier, an American Kestrel, several White-eyed Vireos and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, and five different warbler species.
The non-avian highlight of the walk was a baby snapping turtle about the size of a silver dollar.
For a complete list of all the birds observed at Banshee Reeks today see the eBird reports below.
The 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.You can also join LWC, after registering, for our regular every third Sunday walk at Bles Park and our every fourth Saturday walk at the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship in northwestern Loudoun County near Harper’s Ferry.
eBird Report – Group 1
2 Yellow-billed Cuckoo
4 Ruby-throated Hummingbird
1 Great Blue Heron
4 Turkey Vulture
1 Osprey
1 Northern Harrier
1 Sharp-shinned/Cooper’s Hawk
2 Bald Eagle
2 Red-shouldered Hawk
2 Red-headed Woodpecker
3 Red-bellied Woodpecker
3 Downy Woodpecker
1 Downy/Hairy Woodpecker
1 Northern Flicker
1 American Kestrel
5 Eastern Wood-Pewee
2 Great Crested Flycatcher
5 White-eyed Vireo
1 Red-eyed Vireo
5 Blue Jay
4 American Crow
1 Fish Crow
4 crow sp.
6 Carolina Chickadee
5 Tufted Titmouse
1 White-breasted Nuthatch
11 Carolina Wren
4 European Starling
13 Gray Catbird
1 Northern Mockingbird
1 American Robin
2 American Goldfinch
3 Eastern Towhee
1 Ovenbird
2 Black-and-white Warbler
2 Common Yellowthroat
3 American Redstart
1 Northern Parula
1 Magnolia Warbler
1 Prairie Warbler
7 Northern Cardinal
eBird Report – Group 2
Mourning Dove 1
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 3
Turkey Vulture 8
Bald Eagle 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Downy Woodpecker 2
Pileated Woodpecker 2
Eastern Wood-Pewee 3
Great Crested Flycatcher 1
White-eyed Vireo 4
Red-eyed Vireo 1
Blue Jay 6
American Crow 2
crow sp. 13
Tufted Titmouse 1
Carolina Wren 6
Gray Catbird 8
Northern Mockingbird 2
Eastern Bluebird 1
American Robin 3
House Finch 2
American Goldfinch 4
Common Yellowthroat 2
Magnolia Warbler 1
Northern Cardinal 3
Blue Grosbeak 1
Indigo Bunting 3
Prairie Warbler
Photo by Mike Sciortino