This morning Mary Ann Good & I visited the Dulles Greenway Wetlands Mitigation
Project (DGWMP) at 6:00 a.m. and at 8:00 a.m. 23 people showed up for the
Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy and Friends of Banshee Reeks regular monthly bird
walk at the Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve, both in central Loudoun Co, near
Oatlands Plantation. This month's walk was also co-sponsored by the Audubon
Naturalist Society. About 67 species of birds were observed at the two
locations.
The highlights of the walk at Banshee included 7 PRAIRIE WARBLERS (many
well-seen, others only heard), a GRASSHOPPER SPARROW, a male BLUE GROSBEAK who
posed for us high on a snag over the pond, and RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS feeding
young in a cavity. At the DGWMP we saw 2 male GREEN-WINGED TEAL, both WOOD
DUCKS and MALLARDs with ducklings, 2 BALD EAGLE eaglets, 2 SPOTTED SANDPIPERS
(always a pleasure to find this time of year), and at least 3 WILLOW
FLYCATCHERS. On the way home on Lime Kiln Rd I saw a TURKEY with about 10 very
small poults on the side of the road.
Information on Banshee Reeks can be found at http://www.bansheereeks.org. ;
Information on the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy can be found at
www.loudounwildlife.org.
Birds seen (where there is a second check mark/number, it is for the Dulles
Wetlands):
Great Blue Heron 0/2
Green Heron 0/4
Black Vulture x/x
Turkey Vulture x/x
Canada Goose 0/30
Wood Duck 0/15 (mostly ducklings)
Mallard 0/20 (mostly ducklings)
Green winged-teal 0/2 drakes
Bald Eagle 1 adult /2 eaglets in nest
Red-shouldered Hawk 2
Red-tailed Hawk 2
American Kestrel 1
[Wild Turkey 0/10 mostly poults along side of Lime Kiln Rd about a mile west
of DGWMP]
Killdeer 0/15
Spotted Sandpiper 0/2
unidentified peep
Mourning Dove x/x
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 0/1
Chimney Swift 1
Belted Kingfisher 0/1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 3 adults, 2 feeding young in cavity/x
Downy Woodpecker 0/2
Northern Flicker 3/2
Pileated Woodpecker x
Eastern Wood-pewee 1/1
Acadian Flycatcher 1/2
Willow Flycatcher 0/3
Great Crested Flycatcher 1 (w/cavity nest next to visitor center)/1
Eastern Kingbird 1/1
White-eyed Vireo 2
Red-eyed Vireo x/1
Blue Jay x/x
American Crow x
Fish Crow x/x
Common Raven x
Tree Swallow x/x
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 0/5
Barn Swallow x/x
Carolina Chickadee x/x
Tufted Titmouse 2
White-breasted Nuthatch 2/1
Carolina Wren x/x
House Wren x/x
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher x/2
Eastern Bluebird x including fledglings/x
Wood Thrush abundant in wooded areas at Banshee/2
American Robin abundant x/x
Northern Mockingbird x/x
Brown Thrasher x/x
European Starling x/x
Yellow Warbler 0/4
PRAIRIE WARBLER 7
Ovenbird 2
Common Yellowthroat several at Banshee/3
Yellow-breasted Chat 2/1
Scarlet Tanager 2
Eastern Towhee several
Chipping Sparrow x
Field Sparrow abundant/abundant
GRASSHOPPER SPARROW 1
Song Sparrow x/x
Northern Cardinal x/x
Blue Grosbeak 1/1
Indigo Bunting x/x
Red-winged Blackbird 5/15
Common Grackle x/x
Brown-headed Cowbird x
Baltimore Oriole 0/1
Orchard Oriole abundant/4
House Finch x
Am Goldfinch x/8
Joe Coleman, near Bluemont, Loudoun Co
