A slightly belated Loudoun County BBA report. As many of you may know this
is the final season of the Loudoun County BBA. Within only a few more weeks
of breeding in the picture, several of us are busy filling the gaps, but
more help is always appreciated. With the fledglings and juveniles starting
to explore the areas, now a is good time to see what is going on in the
County. More BBA info can be found at:
http://www.loudounwildlife.org/Bird_Atlas.htm and block atlas status can be
found here: http://gis.waterborne-env.com/lwc1/Default.aspx. The status map
is a little out of date I have to admit.
Last Sunday, Donna, Joanne and I surveyed part of the Arcola 3 block,
specifically the new Willows Ford development. This area is restricted but
permission was given to happily explore the old farm lands and the active
sod farm. We had a lot of fun. We ended up with a fair number of confirmed
breeders and saw several fledgling/juvenile birds. At one point in time we
had at least 3-4 Ovenbirds counter singing and a Wood Thrush joined in. A
annoying Northern Mockingbird with a good repertoire kept fooling us by
imitating a Red-headed Woodpecker. As a result of Mr Mockingbird, we never
recorded a real Red-headed Woodpecker. A fun find was a juvenile Eastern
Meadowlark. This youngster was in presence of a few adults which made it
easier to see the difference. We found several juvenile wood peckers,
including Downy Woodpecker and Red-bellied. A juvenile Great-crested
Flycatcher was recorded too. A pair of Scarlet Tanager we kind enough to
site in a tree with a bare top. Similarly two Wild Turkey's pretty much
ignored us while they were foraging on the sod farm. We ended up seeing over
55 species in 4 hours of birding and over 20 confirmed breeders. With a
little luck the Arcola 3 block may be considered complete (cross fingers).
Happy birding
Gerco
Leesburg, VA.
Species Seen
NAME BBA Status
Canada Goose X - Possible
Mallard Confirmed - FL
Wild Turkey X - Possible
Great Blue Heron Observed - O
Green Heron Observed - O
Turkey Vulture X - Possible
Red-shouldered Hawk X - Possible
Killdeer Probable - A
Mourning Dove X - Possible
Yellow-billed Cuckoo Probable - T
Barred Owl X - Possible
Red-bellied Woodpecker Confirmed - FL
Downy Woodpecker Confirmed - FL
Hairy Woodpecker X - Possible
Pileated Woodpecker X - Possible
Eastern Wood-Pewee Confirmed - CF
Acadian Flycatcher X - Possible
Eastern Phoebe X - Possible
Great Crested Flycatcher Confirmed - FL
Eastern Kingbird X - Possible
White-eyed Vireo X - Possible
Red-eyed Vireo X - Possible
Blue Jay X - Possible
American Crow X - Possible
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow Observed - E
Carolina Chickadee Confirmed - FL
Tufted Titmouse Confirmed - FL
White-breasted Nuthatch X - Possible
Carolina Wren Probable - A
House Wren Confirmed - NE
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Confirmed - FL
Eastern Bluebird Confirmed - FL
Wood Thrush Probable - T
American Robin Confirmed - FL
Gray Catbird X - Possible
Northern Mockingbird Confirmed - CF
Brown Thrasher X - Possible
European Starling Confirmed - FL
Ovenbird Probable - T
Common Yellowthroat X - Possible
Prairie Warbler X - Possible
Eastern Towhee Probable - T
Chipping Sparrow Confirmed - CF
Field Sparrow X - Possible
Grasshopper Sparrow Probable - T
Song Sparrow Confirmed - FL
Scarlet Tanager Probable - P
Northern Cardinal Confirmed - FL
Indigo Bunting Confirmed - FL
Red-winged Blackbird Confirmed - FL
Eastern Meadowlark Confirmed - FL
Common Grackle Confirmed - FL
Brown-headed Cowbird Confirmed - FL
Orchard Oriole X - Possible
American Goldfinch X - Possible
House Sparrow Confirmed - NE
Birder's Diary - www.BirdersDiary.com - 6/30/2013
