At least 32 people participated in the bird walk at the Banshee Reeks Nature
Preserve this morning. The Dulles Wetlands Mitigation Project (DGWMP) was
birded from Oatland Mills Rd both before & after the walk. Because there were
so many people we broke into two groups at Banshee and saw 49 species there and
about 10 more at the Wetlands.
The highlights of the day included very noisy Wood Frogs, a BALD EAGLE on a
nest at the Wetlands, Turkeys (one very vocal), the first Eastern Phoebes
(lots!) and Tree Swallows, the first of the season for most of us, Savannah
Sparrows (which perched in a tree and let several of us intensively study them
for several minutes) , and two EASTERN MEADOWLARKS.
Don't forget that Banshee is open to the general public next week (the 3rd
weekend of the month) on Saturday & Sunday, March 18 & March 19, from 8 am to 4
pm. Several new trails have been opened in the past few months providing
access to a lot more of the preserve.
Don't forget that Banshee is open to the general public next week (the 3rd
weekend of the month) on Saturday & Sunday, April 16 & April 17, from 8 am to 4
pm. Several new trails have been opened in the past few months providing
access to a lot more of the preserve.
The complete list follows (the 2nd number, where there is one, is for the
Wetlands:
Great Blue Heron 2
Black Vulture 1/8
Turkey Vulture 12
Canada Goose 20/30
Wood Duck 2/2
American Wigeon 0/20
American Black Duck 0/8
Mallard 0/40
Northern Pintail 0/3
Green-winged Teal 0/50
Hooded Merganser 0/3
Bald Eagle 0/2 (on the nest)
Northern Harrier 0/2
Unidentified Accipiter 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 5
Red-tailed Hawk 5/2
Wild Turkey 2
Killdeer 1/3
Wilson's Snipe 0/10
Ring-billed Gull 100+
Rock Pigeon 6
Mourning Dove 12
Belted Kingfisher 2/1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 11
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker 3
Downy Woodpecker 6
Hairy Woodpecker 0/1
Pileated Woodpecker 2
Eastern Phoebe 12
Blue Jay 12
American Crow 8
Fish Crow 2/5
Tree Swallow 6
Carolina Chickadee 14
Tufted Titmouse 9
White-breasted Nuthatch 6
Carolina Wren 14
Golden-crowned Kinglet 12
Eastern Bluebird 18/6
Hermit Thrush 3
American Robin 46
Northern Mockingbird 10
European Starling 12
Yellow-rumped Warbler 32
Eastern Towhee 13
American Tree Sparrow 1
Field Sparrow 20
Savannah Sparrow 4
Song Sparrow 26
Swamp Sparrow 1
White-throated Sparrow 16
Dark-eyed Junco 42
Northern Cardinal 12
Red-winged Blackbird 3
Eastern Meadowlark 2
Brown-headed Cowbird 2
Purple Finch 1
House Finch 1
Am Goldfinch 3
Information on the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy can be found at
http://www.loudounwildlife.org. Information on the Banshee Reeks Nature ;
Preserve can be found at http://www.bansheereeks.org. ;
Good birding, Joe Coleman
jandkcoleman@xxxxxxxxx or 540-554-2542