At the crack of 7:30 am on May 10, the All Gull Band (Anne Ellis, Katy Offutt, Miriam Klein and Amy Ritter) grabbed travel mugs of coffee and set out to see a few birds. Our plan was to cover Kidwell Road, followed by a hike through Sweet Run State Park, scout the pond on Marathon Drive, stroll along the Springhouse Pond Trail at Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve, touch base with the Big Sit at Algonkian Regional Park, and finish with a walk along the Potomac River.
All Gull Band team. Photo by John Ellis
We were astounded at how many warblers we found during the day: American Redstart, Bay-breasted Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Cape May Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Kentucky Warbler, Northern Parula, Ovenbird, Prairie Warbler, Prothonotary Warble, and Yellow Warbler. That makes 14 Warblers!
Some other beautiful birds we noted: Indigo Buntings, Scarlet Tanagers, and Orchard and Baltimore Orioles. We gazed awhile at a Yellow-billed Cuckoo and spied a nesting Northern Cardinal just a few yards from the trail. We rounded out this perfect birding day with dinner in Sterling near a pond, graced by a Great Blue Heron and a Green Heron and, of course, House Sparrows. Our total take for the day: 79 species.
Species List:
Acadian Flycatcher
American Crow
American Goldfinch
American Redstart
American Robin
Bald Eagle
Baltimore Oriole
Barn Swallow
Bay-breasted Warbler
Belted Kingfisher
Black Vulture
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Blue Jay
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Brown Thrasher
Brown-headed Cowbird
Canada Goose
Cape May Warbler
Carolina Chickadee
Carolina Wren
Cedar Waxwing
Chipping Sparrow
Common Grackle
Common Yellowthroat
Double Crested Cormorant
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Kingbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Towhee
Eastern Wood-pewee
European Starling
Field Sparrow
Fish Crow
Gray Catbird
Great Blue Heron
Great Crested Flycatcher
Green Heron
House Finch
House Sparrow
House Wren
Indigo Bunting
Kentucky Warbler
Mallard
Mourning Dove
Northern Cardinal
Northern Mockingbird
Northern Parula
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Orchard Oriole
Ovenbird
Pileated Woodpecker
Prairie Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler
Purple Martin
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Red-eyed Vireo
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-winged Blackbird
Rock Pigeon
Scarlet Tanager
Solitary Sandpiper
Song Sparrow
Tree Swallow
Tufted Titmouse
Turkey Vulture
Warbling Vireo
White-breasted Nuthatch
White-eyed Vireo
White-throated Sparrow
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Yellow-breasted Chat
Yellow-throated Vireo
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