Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy

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In this episode we talk about one of our local amphibians, the Gray Tree Frog, as a group of them provide a chorus in the background.

To listen to this episode, click the play button at the top of this post and it will play now or Right Click Here to Download (select “Save as Target”). You can also subscribe through iTunes to have it delivered directly to your computer each time we post a new episode. If you want to subscribe using iTunes, just do a search on Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy and it should come right up.

Once downloaded, you can listen to the podcast on your computer or on any mp3 player (like an ipod).

We had a wonderful walk at Banshee on Saturday. Fifteen people came out for the walk and we were delighted by the sights and sounds of 51 species in our couple of hours of walking along the trails. A Summer Tanager that sang and gave us great views was definitely a highlight. Our walk leader, Mary Ann Good, who is an amazing birder, noted that that was the first Summer Tanager that she’s seen at Banshee in 12 years.

There was also a possible Vesper Sparrow which is exciting.

Here’s a listing of the bird species seen:
Great Blue Heron, Green Heron, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Cooper’s Hawk, Red-Shouldered Hawk, Killdeer, Mourning Dover, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Pileated, Eastern Wood-PeWee, Acadian Flycatcher, Eastern Phoebe, Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, Crow, Tree Swallow, Barn Swallow, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Carolina Wren, House Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Bluebird, Wood Thrush, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, Brown Thrasher, Starling, Ovenbird, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Summer Tanager, Eastern Towhee, Field Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow (probable), Song Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Indigo Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Baltimore Oriole, American Goldfinch, House Finch.

Join us next month for another great adventure in birding at Banshee – all experience levels are welcome, and you never know what wildlife will show up so it’s always fun.

When we ran out of tshirts, we decided to both redesign them and order more styles and colors. In all there are 17 different t-shirts to choose from in 6 different styles that range from basic tees to youth to toddlers. Three of the styles are in organic cotton too!

Our website shows each style and you can choose the color and size that you like from the drop-down menus. Visit the LWC Store to check them out! Be sure to roll over the images so you can see the backs and fronts.

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Woo Hoo! We’ve lauched our LWC Podcast/Audio Newsletter. Through this new media, we plan to bring you all sorts of interesting news and information that we can’t put in print….like interviews with local naturalists, recordings from the field as well as special species accounts, activities for you and your family to get out into our wild places, and more.

For those who are new to podcasts/audio newsletters, they are simply audio files that are delivered to you via a “feed”. You can download the episode from the blog by doing a “right click” on the link below or you can subscribe through iTunes (or similar service) to have it delivered directly to your computer each time we post a new episode. If you want to subscribe using iTunes, just do a search on Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy and it should come right up.

Once downloaded, you can listen to the podcast/audio newsletter on your computer or on any mp3 player (like an ipod).

In this introductory episode, we provide an overview of what to expect from this podcast/audio newsletter.

To listen to this episode, click the play button at the top of this post and it will play now or Right Click Here to Download (select “Save as Target”).

 This is a great time to head over to Algonkian Park. There’s a great walking trail that runs along the river (park near the boat ramp) but there’s also this amazing field of flowers in bloom right now as well. 

You’ll see a variety of flowers (bergamot, rudbeckia, milkweed, cardinal flower, thistle, mullein) as well as some grasses mixed in.  When I was there this morning, the goldfinches, song sparrows and tree swallows were darting all through it, perching on stems and hunting insects.  Dragonflies, butterflies and a variety of bees were enjoying all the vibrance.

It’s definitely worth a look. It’s a great example of what we can do in our yards to covert lawns into wildlife habitat.

If you haven’t been to Algonkian before, you can check out our google map for location, directions and more information about Algonkian Park.  Enjoy!