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. The Red-winged Blackbirds were calling from the bushes and trees and the Eastern Meadowlarks from the fields. At the end of the walk, three members were fortunate to see both the Baltimore and Orchard Orioles.
Pileated Woodpecker with young.
Photo by Gerco Hoogeweg
After a break for lunch, we met at Phillips Farm in Waterford to walk the lovely trail there. Early on the walk, we noticed a Pileated Woodpecker taking food to its babies high up in a dead tree. They were so cute, sticking their heads out and begging for their food. We actually saw a Barred Owl sitting in a tree in the hedgerow — a pretty rare site for mid-afternoon! The Barn and Tree Swallows were swooping, the Song Sparrows and Northern Cardinals were singing and the Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers were buzzing. The most amazing sight, however, was not of birds, but of maybe 90 to 100 large trout swimming and jumping in the creek!
We continued our quest for birds the next day at the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship. We were fortunate that the bugs were not too bad. We enjoyed watching pairs of Indigo Buntings gather bugs for their offspring and spotted a Green Heron at the pond. The most satisfying sighting was of a Least Flycatcher. We could hear it and searched for some time before one of us laid eyes on it. Then it was so accommodating to allow everyone in the group to get a good look and watch it sing. We heard the loud calls of numerous Ovenbirds and the melodious calls of the Wood Thrush. We caught a glimpse of the speckled breast of a thrush, but it moved off before it could be identified – Wood or Hermit?
We finished out our 48 hours by stopping at Brandon and Old Izaak Walton Parks in Leesburg. Although we didn’t add any species, we were pleased with the fact that these parks provide much-needed green space within an urban setting. Maybe they will encourage some young people to take up the great hobby of birding!
Species List (69 species):
55 Canada Goose
1 Mallard
9 Wild Turkey
4 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)
10 Mourning Dove
4 Chimney Swift
2 Great Blue Heron
2 Killdeer
1 Greater Yellowlegs
1 Great Egret
1 Green Heron
13 Turkey Vulture
3 Black Vulture
3 Barred Owl
1 Red-shouldered Hawk
1 Red-tailed Hawk
1 Belted Kingfisher
1 Northern Flicker
1 Red-headed Woodpecker
8 Red-bellied Woodpecker
4 Downy Woodpecker
3 Pileated Woodpecker
3 Eastern Wood-Pewee
1 Willow Flycatcher
1 Least Flycatcher
3 Eastern Phoebe
5 Great Crested Flycatcher
5 Eastern Kingbird
3 Red-eyed Vireo
7 Blue Jay
3 American Crow
5 Carolina Chickadee
4 Tufted Titmouse
14 Tree Swallow
4 Barn Swallow
2 White-breasted Nuthatch
9 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
4 House Wren
5 Carolina Wren
12 European Starling
15 Gray Catbird
2 Brown Thrasher
5 Northern Mockingbird
14 Eastern Bluebird
1 Wood Thrush
8 American Robin
2 House Sparrow
8 House Finch
6 Cedar Waxwing
9 American Goldfinch
1 Pine Siskin
9 Chipping Sparrow
7 Field Sparrow
2 White-throated Sparrow
8 Song Sparrow
3 Eastern Towhee
1 Eastern Meadowlark
2 Orchard Oriole
2 Baltimore Oriole
12 Red-winged Blackbird
6 Common Grackle
1 Brown-headed Cowbird
2 Ovenbird
5 Common Yellowthroat
2 American Redstart
5 Yellow Warbler
19 Northern Cardinal
7 Indigo Bunting
1 Ruby-throated Hummingbird