Six Species of Warblers and a Snapping Turtle at Bles Park

On an overcast and muddy day on May 19, 18 birders visited Bles Park led by Bryan Henson, Allision Gallo, and Kevin and John Denice.  The walk started off with a large Snapping Turtle spotted on the soccer fields.  Brown Thrasher, Northern Mockingbirds and Red-winged Blackbirds welcomed us in the marshy area by the parking lot.

Down the trail, we found Indigo Buntings singing in the tops of the trees.  Around the bend, we found Cedar Waxwings eating  mulberries and feeding each other as a mating behavior.  It was quite a treat for them and for us!

We found a mama Wood Duck and babies on the marsh and Gray Catbirds nearby.  After turning down the Potomac Heritage Trail section of the park, we picked up a few warblers: Canada Warbler, Magnolia Warbler and American Redstart.  Nearby, we found a Cobra Clubtail dragonfly resting on an eye-level leaf.  Shortly after, we found a Great Crested Flycatcher singing and an Acadian Flycatcher doing its squeaky call.  Along the mature woods, we caught a brief glimpse of a Wilson’s Warbler at the top of the trees.  We heard a Barred Owl baby, but it must have been pretty well hidden, because we couldn’t find it.  As we headed away from the Potomac, we found one last warbler species: Northern Waterthrush.

All in all, not a bad walk through the park finding more than 50 species with six species of warbler including the sometimes elusive Wilson’s Warbler. The complete list of birds can be viewed on eBird at:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S175611762.