The TowHEE-HEEs Team Introduces Two Newbies to Marathon Birding

This was the first Birdathon for the TowHEE-HEEs (Sean and Porter Blackford, Danielle Wilkinson and Rachel Cates) and the first time birding for Danielle and Rachel. Sean and Porter began on May 9 with a just-after-sunset trip to Thunder Road in the hopes of some “peenting.” They were rewarded with three woodcocks calling 15 minutes later and even got to see one in silhouette fly high in the sky on a display flight. Then it was time for sleep for the marathon to follow the next morning.

Sean and Porter began Saturday morning with 6:00 am coffee on the back deck of their Leesburg home, recording 19 species. From there they moved to Rust Nature Sanctuary for an hour and a half sojourn through multiple habitat types. The warblers were the highlight with seven species recorded, but somehow we actually got eyes on six of them. Favorites were Porter’s first views of a Northern Parula and great looks by both at an American Redstart and a Cape May Warbler.

The team as a whole then convened at Algonkian Park in the Waterpark area at 9:00 am, a late start for warblers, and possibly why so few were seen. Lifers abounded for the newcomers Danielle and Rachel, but even Sean got a lifer with a pair of Mississippi Kites flying high overhead. The team then made their way toward the point at Sugarland Run, getting both oriole species along the way. The woods at the point were the real treat where Common Yellowthroat, Prothonotary Warbler and a surprisingly cooperative Yellow-Billed Cuckoo (a group favorite) were all observed. The team even stumbled upon a massive adult Skink in the same area sunbathing. Making their way back toward the waterpark area, the team joined up with the Big Sit and had the great fortune of arriving at the same time as NOVA Parks Naturalist Matt Felperin and his feathered friends. (If we’re being honest, meeting Smoke the Screech Owl and Squeakers the Red-Shouldered Hawk was the true highlight of the day for many in the group.)

After a brief but much needed lunch break, the team made their way to a neighborhood pond near Morven Park, then the park itself. Sean has had good luck at Morven Park, even in the evenings, but today was not that day. The woods were quiet! No new birds were recorded, but the group did get great looks at a nesting Red-Headed Woodpecker near the parking lot and a handful of Eastern Meadowlarks in the fields. Making a quick stop at Beaverdam Reservoir in hopes of some missed water birds, the team quickly picked up a trio of Osprey, seeing them dive a handful of times.

The TowHEE-HEEs wrapped up the day at the Algonkian Park Sanctuary Trail in the hopes of spotting Barred Owls. A pair was heard just before sunset, but were never seen through the dense trees. However, the team was rewarded with a singularly magical experience along Sugarland Run. We stumbled across a mother Common Merganser with 13 babies in tow, all in a single-file line. And passing them in the creek? A beaver! It was a great end to an exhausting day of exploring our county’s wildlife.

Would the TowHEE-HEEs recommend 11 straight hours of birding (which culminated in 90,000 total steps between team members) as an introductory outing for new birders? Probably not. But with a total of 82 species seen, good times were had, and all took home memories they’re not soon to forget.

The team’s complete list of Birdathon species can be viewed on eBird: https://ebird.org/tripreport/365831.