The Swifties Team Finds 54 Species for Their First Birdathon

Four of The Swifties.
Photo by Liz Witmer.

The Swifties (Liz Witmer, Joshua, Sydney & Harper Dudman, Chada Davis, Nichole Thorton) team is composed of six birding newbies. For our Birdathon on April 20 and 21, we visited a total of six locations: our family’s yard in Leesburg, Morven Park, Ida Lee Park, Red Rocks Wilderness Overlook (Potomac Loop), Balls Bluff Regional Park and Janelia Farm Research Campus (part of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute on Rt. 7). We spotted and/or heard 54 species (595 individuals). We saw woodpeckers, warblers, wrens, swallows, jays, doves, finches, herons, vireos, swifts,  sparrows, cardinals, a Cedar Waxwing and a kingfisher! Many were species we had already seen in our travels and were on our “life lists.” But several birds were newly witnessed including a Ruby-crowned Kinglet found in a bush in Balls Bluff, Purple Martins and Tree Swallows that nested at Janelia Farm, and a Green Heron that was fishing in the Potomac near a group of turtles who were sunning themselves. Liz says her only regret is that the next day after the team finished their official 48 hours, she heard a beautiful Barred Owl calling (who cooks for you) in Balls Bluff Park. He called around 3:30 pm, which seemed so early, and unfortunately did not count in our tally