Snap! Grackle! Pop!
Photo by Karenna Awtry
The Birdathon began for Snap! Grackle! Pop! (Karenna Awtry, Steve Chance and Linda Colucci) on April 29th with the team exploring familiar territory: Algonkian Park. In addition to the common backyard birds, we saw and/or heard a few warblers including Black-throated Green, Northern Parula and Yellow Warbler. We got great visuals of a Warbling Vireo as we listened to its beautiful song. Someone must have posted a meetup for single orioles because there were so many Baltimore and Orchard Orioles — the males showing off their bright colors in the sunlight and repeatedly singing their cheerful songs.
After lunch, we headed to a park that we had not previously visited for the Birdathon: Ball’s Bluff. After a slow start to our search for birds to add to our list, we came across a Barn Owl while walking along the Potomac River! It was perched at the entrance of a big hole in a snag across the water from us. For Linda, it was the first time she had seen a Barn Owl in the wild. For all of us, it was certainly a highlight of our Birdathon experience.
Last stop of the day was the Broadlands Wetlands. There we saw a Mallard family with the cutest ducklings (OK, all ducklings are cute), several Solitary and Spotted Sandpipers, a Green Heron and several Barn Swallows. We also saw HUGE snapping turtles in the water. They must be used to people feeding them because they looked at us longingly for handouts (or for one of us to fall in — yikes). We ended Day 1 with 62 species.
We started Day 2 with another birding hotspot that we hadn’t visited during past Birdathons: Rust Nature Sanctuary. We identified several birds right from the parking lot. At the trailhead, we were overwhelmed by the jumble of warbler songs. The Merlin app was going crazy! Trying to find the birds high in the treetops really tested our patience. As we walked farther into the forest, things quieted down somewhat, and we were able to actually see birds. Some of our good visuals included Red-headed Woodpecker, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Black and White Warbler, Rose-breasted Grosbeak and Eastern Towhee. The one bird we heard over and over but could not find was a Wood Thrush. It’s song played repeatedly in our heads long after we left the sanctuary.
During a quick stop at Beaverdam Reservoir Park, we saw an Osprey flying overhead, but unfortunately nothing on the water.
Baltimore Oriole.
Photo by Linda Colucci
We spent the afternoon at Sweet Run State Park. The highlights at this hotspot were the Yellow-breasted Chat (one of our favorites), Eastern Meadowlark and the classic “who, who, who cooks for you?” call of the Barred Owl. Oh yeah, and three snakes.
Our team’s final total for Birdathon 2025 was 91 species and loads of fun!
Species List:
American Goldfinch
American Redstart
American Robin
Bald Eagle
Barn Owl
Barred Owl (heard)
Belted Kingfisher
Blue Jay
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Brown Thrasher
Brown-headed Cowbird
Canada Goose
Carolina Chickadee
Cedar Waxwing
Common Yellowthroat (heard)
Common Grackle
Common Raven
Crow, American
Crow, Fish
Double-crested Cormorant
Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Kingbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Towhee
European Starling
Flycatcher, Acadian (heard)
Flycatcher, Great Crested
Gray Catbird
Great Egret
Grosbeak, Blue
Grosbeak, Rose-breasted
Hawk, Cooper’s
Hawk, Red-shouldered
Hawk, Red-tailed
Heron, Great Bllue
Heron, Green
House Finch
Indigo Bunting
Louisiana Waterthrush (heard)
Mallard
Merganser, Red-breasted
Mourning Dove
Northern Cardinal
Northern Flicker (heard)
Northern Mockingbird
Northern Parula
Oriole, Baltimore
Oriole, Orchard
Osprey
Ovenbird (heard)
Purple Martin
Red-winged Blackbird
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Sandpiper, Solitary
Sandpiper, Spotted
Scarlet Tanager
Sparrow, Chipping
Sparrow, Field (heard)
Sparrow, House
Sparrow, Savannah
Sparrow, Song
Sparrow, White-throated
Swallow, Barn
Swallow, Rough-winged
Swallow, Tree
Tufted Titmouse
Vireo, Red-eyed
Vireo, Warbling
Vireo, Yellow-throated
Vireo, White-eyed
Vulture, Black
Vulture, Turkey
Warbler, Black & White
Warbler, Black-throated Blue
Warbler, Black-throated Green
Warbler, Chestnut-sided (heard)
Warbler, Prairie (heard)
Warbler, Yellow
Warbler, Yellow-rumped
White-breasted Nuthatch
Wood Thrush (heard)
Woodpecker, Downy
Woodpecker, Hairy (heard)
Woodpecker, Pileated
Woodpecker, Red-bellied
Woodpecker, Red-headed
Wren, Carolina
Wren, Northern House
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Yellow-breasted Chat
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