Celebrate Birds Walk at Banshee Reeks Yields 58 Species

Fourteen people joined leaders Mike Sciortino, Jane Yocum, Mary Ann Good,  and John and Kevin Denice at Banshee Reeks for the monthly walk on May 10.  The walk was one of over a dozen Celebrate Birds walks taking place from April 19 to May 18.

We had good start with a Common Raven giving us a great look in the parking lot.  We headed back up the the road to take the Raspberry Trail hoping that the early sun on the trees there would yield warblers.  We were not disappointed.  Halfway down the trail, we had great looks at multiple Cape May Warblers and a quick look at a Northern Parula.  As we continued down the trail, we heard Red-eyed Vireos, our only Great Crested Flycatcher and a Yellow-throated Vireo.  Along the back of the Raspberry Trail, we heard a Pileated Woodpecker, Prairie Warblers, Yellow-breasted Chats and Common Yellowthroats.  We turned back towards the pond, and there saw Orchard Orioles, a Brown Thrasher and a variety of swallows.  Coming back up to the the visitor center, we got very nice looks a Blue Grosbeaks and Indigo Buntings.

We found a total of 58 species, and the complete list can be viewed on eBird at: https://ebird.org/checklist/S235994939.