
Executive Director Tom Kercheval meets Smoke the Screech Owl. Photo by Allison Gallo
The October 12, 2024 Big Sit at Algonkian Regional Park was another successful day of birding, engagement and fun with other birders. If you aren’t familiar with The Big Sit, it’s a global birding event. Participants aim to see and/or hear as many bird species as possible from within a circle 17 feet in diameter. Participants can leave the circle to identify a bird, but must first spot it from within.
This event was sponsored by Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy and NOVA Parks. Loudoun Wildlife volunteers helped out with spotting and identifying birds from the circle and staffed our booth to chat with visitors. The frog jump game that was set up next to the booth was a hit with both kids and adults. The ambassador animals brought by Matt Felperin, NOVA Parks Roving Naturalist, were also very popular with visitors. You can see Smoke the Eastern Screech Owl and learn more about him in this Facebook video.
Bird highlights of the day included a Great Horned Owl, two Cooper’s Hawks and one Gadwall. We had a total of 48 species. The complete list can be viewed on eBird at: https://ebird.org/checklist/S198739050.

Loudoun Wildlife booth and count circle. Photo by Patrick Lewis