A Beautiful Morning for Birding After a Stormy Night

The May 6 Celebrate Birds walk took place on a beautiful spring morning after a night of heavy rain that came from the south. Joe Coleman, Mary Ann Good and Pat Whittle led eight birders and found 63 species at the Goodstone Inn (located a few miles north of Middleburg). Because of the previous night’s heavy rain, the group did not take the regular loop route along the Goose Creek, instead walking on trails through, and bordering, the property’s meadows.

Within a few minutes of beginning the walk, the group had great views of a beautiful Blue Grosbeak and concluded the walk with a Ruby-throated Hummingbird perched high in the trees above our cars. In between, we were happy to find two Green Herons, three Red-headed Woodpeckers, six Purple Martins, three Grasshopper Sparrows (one of which perched close by and sang its beautiful twinkling song for us), a late White-crowned Sparrow, a dozen Eastern Meadowlarks and six warbler species. Some of the group were also fortunate enough to see a Bobolink perched high in a tree.

For the complete list of birds, see below or view on eBird at: https://ebird.org/checklist/S233813213.

Species List:
Canada Goose 3
Mourning Dove 2
Chimney Swift 8
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Killdeer 1
Green Heron 2
Black Vulture 8
Turkey Vulture 12
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Red-headed Woodpecker 3
Red-bellied Woodpecker 4
Downy Woodpecker 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee 3
Acadian Flycatcher 1
Great Crested Flycatcher 1
Eastern Kingbird 3
Red-eyed Vireo 3
Blue Jay 3
American Crow 5
Fish Crow 5
Common Raven 2
Carolina Chickadee 1
Tufted Titmouse 3
Tree Swallow 3
Purple Martin 6
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 2
Barn Swallow 5
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
Northern House Wren 1
Carolina Wren 5
European Starling 3
Gray Catbird 5
Brown Thrasher 7
Northern Mockingbird 8
Eastern Bluebird 8
Wood Thrush 3
American Robin 6
Cedar Waxwing 2
House Sparrow 2
American Goldfinch 10
Grasshopper Sparrow 3
Chipping Sparrow 4
Field Sparrow 5
White-crowned Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 2
Eastern Towhee 3
Bobolink 1
Eastern Meadowlark 12
Red-winged Blackbird 4
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
Common Grackle 2
Ovenbird 1
Common Yellowthroat 2
American Redstart 1
Northern Parula 2
Yellow Warbler 2
Black-throated Green Warbler 1
Scarlet Tanager 1
Northern Cardinal 6
Blue Grosbeak 1
Indigo Bunting 1