Peregrine Falcon.
Photo by Jenny Erickson
Birds of prey (including a Peregrine Falcon, at least six Bald Eagles and a Northern Harrier ) were the highlights of a Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy bird walk at the beautiful and idyllic Goodstone Inn on September 23. The group of thirteen people (10 participants and three leaders), with permission from the Inn, had a wonderful early fall walk along the Goose Creek and through the Inn’s extensive meadows.
In addition to the Bald Eagles of all ages and a variety of other raptors (see the list below for all of them), we also found five woodpecker species, a few warblers and a couple of Eastern Meadowlarks.
In addition to walks at a variety of locations throughout the county during spring and fall migration, Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy schedules three regular monthly bird walks: Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve on the second Saturday of every month, Algonkian Regional Park on the third Sunday and Sweet Run State Park on the fourth Saturday.
The complete list of species recorded during the walk can be seen below or on eBird at: https://ebird.org/checklist/S275076905.
Species List:
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 8
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 2
Chimney Swift 1
Turkey Vulture 6
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Northern Harrier 1
Bald Eagle 6 Exact count
Broad-winged Hawk 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-headed Woodpecker 4
Red-bellied Woodpecker 4
Downy Woodpecker 2
Pileated Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 5
American Kestrel 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee 2
Eastern Phoebe 1
Blue Jay 8
American Crow 5
Fish Crow 1
Common Raven 2
Carolina Chickadee 6
Tufted Titmouse 5
White-breasted Nuthatch 4
Carolina Wren 3
Gray Catbird 6
Brown Thrasher 2
Northern Mockingbird 4
Eastern Bluebird 4
American Robin 2
American Goldfinch 8
Eastern Meadowlark 2
Magnolia Warbler 2
Chestnut-sided Warbler 1
new world warbler sp. 4
Northern Cardinal 10