I Believe in a Thing Called Dove Team Finds 52 Species

For the second year in a row, the team I Believe in a Thing Called Dove (Eric Auld and Stasia Kemp) participated in the Birdathon. On May 11 and 12, we left to explore local avian species, leaving our own birds (a cockatiel and two budgies) behind at home.

We ventured out on Saturday morning to Claude Moore Park, one of our favorite walking and birding spots in Sterling. Stopping by one of the ponds first, we noticed both a Spotted Sandpiper and Green Heron on the shoreline to our right, presumably hunting for their next meals, as well as gaggles of boisterous Canada Geese swimming with their young nearby. We then realized a 5K run was in progress at the park, so we moved to a more distant wooded location away from the improvised race path. Deep in the woods, as expected, we heard a variety of warblers, including Wilson’s Warblers, Chestnut-sided Warblers, Cape May Warblers, American Redstarts and Tennessee Warblers (a new lifer for us). Near the Visitor Center, we also happened upon an Indigo Bunting singing sweetly from the reeds, an Eastern Bluebird getting the early worm and two Tree Swallows mating atop a nestbox–right before a Red-shouldered Hawk broke up the romance and chased them away.

Early Sunday morning, while driving to Hal and Berni Hanson Regional Park in Aldie for more birding, we noticed an enormous Bald Eagle resting atop a telephone pole, adding an unexpected sighting to our list. Not long after, a Killdeer greeted us from the middle of the road near the park’s Nature Center, as if saying “hello” as we pulled into the parking lot.

As we stepped out of the car, a cacophony of Common Grackles and more Canada Geese overwhelmed us by the pond behind the Nature Center, where we also caught a glimpse of an Eastern Cottontail hopping in and out of view. We then moved onto the labyrinthine wooded paths behind the pond, where we heard more warblers, including a Prairie Warbler ascending its signature scale. What caught our ears’ attention the most, though, were a Great-crested Flycatcher yelling from afar and a Red-bellied Woodpecker trilling as we wound our way up and down the trails. We even had a splendid encounter with a friendly, but timid Box Turtle along the way. In fact, we became so engrossed in the deciduous scene that we soon found ourselves at the wrong end of the park and had to walk longer than we intended back to the car.

Overall, we identified a total of 52 bird species and spent several lovely hours among beautiful Loudoun County wildlife. The complete list of species can be viewed on eBird at: https://ebird.org/tripreport/237770

Read about the adventures of the other teams on the 2024 Birdathon Team Summaries page.