Check out what’s happening with the 2021 Birdathon teams and other Celebrate Birds events.
The Flying Kites were back for their third Birdathon and found 105 species! At Thunder Road they saw a flock of over 20 Bobolinks at fairly close range, with a few males even perched on the fences. On the river along the Algonkian Sanctuary Trail, a Common Merganser hen quickly shuffled six young ones away as they stepped out onto the bank. Just down river, dozens of Double-Crested Cormorants, Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons mingled together in a layer of light fog, a painting-worthy image.
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Bird photos by Eric Anderson
Flying Kites Team photo by Kiersten Anderson
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An Osprey perched on top of a cell tower and a pair of Barn Swallows were among the species recorded by the Larkolinks Birdathon team.
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Bird photos by Dale Ball
Group photo by Dolores Goodson
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The Fully-palmated Birders Birdathon Team recorded 116 species after visiting 12 different locations throughout the county (one of them twice) and hiked over 14.5 miles in search of Loudoun bird species over the two-day period.
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Photo by Michael Sciortino
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The All Gull Band Birdathon team set aside their air guitars and fake mics to go out and do a little birding. They recorded 71 species of birds (not counting the chickens) in just 7 hours! Read about their birding here: https://loudounwildlife.org/2024/05/all-gull-band-hits-the-charts/
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Photo by John Ellis
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Shrike Force Birdathon Team visited 17 locations and found 106 species of birds and fox squirrels. One of the two Bald Eagles they saw was a juvenile that when it saw them, tried to carry off a small, dead Red Fox. When it didn’t succeed, it chose to ignore them and continued to devour it while they watched.
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Squirrel and Eagle photos by Joe Coleman
Group photo by Laura McGranghan
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Tanagers at Heart logged 20 miles and 100 species for their first Birdathon. White-crowned Sparrow, Black-bellied Plover and House Wren were among their sightings.
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Bird photos by Pat Whittle
Group photo by Birdie Pla
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#lwcbirdathon #lwcbirdathon2024 #whitecrownedsparrow #blackbelliedplover #housewren
The Fearsome Fledglings’, a group of friends ages 7-11, third Birdathon was their best yet, with a new team member, new locations to explore and new birds. The team watched birds (and played) at Algonkian Park, Claude Moore Park ,and Broadlands Wetlands Preserve. They had a great time and beat their previous record by one, for a total of 47 species identified during the weekend.
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The Ligi Nestlings found 55 bird species during their 16th annual Birdathon! They visited the places below and have so far raised $900 for Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy! Thank you Ligi Nestlings!
Sweet Run State Park
Olde Izaak Walton Pond
Meadowbrook Farm Pond
Broadlands Wetlands Nature Preserve
Sweet Frog for ice cream
And their favorite spot, Piscataway Crossing Regional Park
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Group photo by McKenzie Ligi
Barred Owl photo by Addison Ligi
Bird watching photo by Spring Ligi
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#virginia
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#vabirds
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#lwcbirdathon #lwcbirdathon2024
Reports from the Field: Team Summaries
High Temperatures Don’t Stop the Grumpy Old Men Team From Having Fun
The Grumpy Old Men birdathon team (Paul Miller, Dave Van Tassel, Phil Daley and Ernie Carnevale) withered under clear skies and high temperatures on May 18 and 19, but had a lot of fun despite the heat. On our first day out we covered most of our favorite locations in western Loudoun, spending the morning north of Rt. 7 and west of Rt. 15. Read More…
Larkolinks Luck Out with Trout as Well as Birds
The Larkolinks met at 8:30 on the morning of May 17th to begin our Birdathon search. Since most members are residents of Lovettsville, we decided to bird our own patch, walking Rehobeth Church Road and Ash George Road. The area contains woods, fields and a lovely pond, where we were lucky enough to see both a Greater Yellowlegs and a Killdeer. Read More…
Fully-palmated Birders Logged Many Miles and 115 Species of Birds
The Fully-palmated Birders began our spring 2021 birdathon activities bright and early on Saturday, May 15. The team is comprised of Christine Boeckel and the four Mikes: Michael Myers, Michael Sciortino, Mike Mercincavage and Mike Scott. We started promptly at 6:00 a.m. at the Algonkian Park boat ramp and began our odyssey. Read More…
Gone Pishing’s Excellent Birdathon Adventure
Gone Pishing (Allison Gallo, Bryan Henson and Jane Yocom) started at one of the loveliest parks in Loudoun County, the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship (BRCES). On the far northwestern side of the county, the tranquil country feel of the park contrasts dramatically from the hustle and bustle (cars, airplanes, boaters, etc.) surrounding some of the more eastern part of the park. Read More…
Ligi Nestlings Enjoy Their 13th Birdathon
The Ligi Nestlings (Spring, McKenzie, Addison and Catherine Ligi) kicked off their 13th Birdathon at the Blue Ridge Center, where we were treated to an adult and immature Bald Eagle slowly circling above us. Wow! Read More…
Shrike Force Finds 113 Avian Species, a River Otter, a Beaver and a Monarch butterfly
Shrike Force, comprised of Laura and Liam McGranaghan, Mary Ann Good, and Joe Coleman, began its 48 hours of birding at 4 p.m. on May 6. We wrapped up about 3:30 p.m. on May 8 after finding 113 species of birds, a River Otter, a Beaver, Red Foxes, a Monarch butterfly, and feasting on a chocolate birthday cake. Read More…
Raven Loonatics’ Birdathon Is a Windy Affair
The 2021 Birdathon was probably the most challenging one to date for the Raven Loonatics (Donna Quinn, Bruce Hill, Gerco Hoogeweg and Larry Meade) because of the weather. Wind and rain dominated the skies and thus bird activity. Our 5:00 a.m. start at Bles Park on May 8 was dry, and we quickly picked up a few species before heading on to Algonkian. Read More…