Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy

Just received a great sighting report from Joe Coleman from Saturday, Dec 27:

While scouting my Central Loudoun CBC sector a female SHORT-EARED OWL flew north right over my head about 5:15 pm in the fields to the south of Mountain View Elementary which is a little northwest of Purcellville.  This is where these birds have been found previous winters.

Today on the way home from scouting the CBC sector I’m in tomorrow I saw a probable 1st-year NORTHERN GOSHAWK on Ebenezer Church Rd near its intersection with Yellow Schoolhouse (a couple of miles from Bluemont in western Lo Co).  I didn’t get long looks at it before it flew but it was the size of or a little larger than a Red-shouldered Hawk (several nest in this area) and had a very obvious white supercilious, a Buffy breast with dense streaking, and a specked back with a fair amount of white (a strong highlight) on the wing coverts.  When I first saw it I thought large juvenile Cooper’s Hawk but when it perched changed my mind.  It was not in the Central Loudoun count area but the Calmes Neck CBC area which is on Jan 4.

Joe Coleman, near Bluemont, Loudoun Co

I received some great photos from Betty and Bill Ebert yesterday of the Pine Siskins that are in their yard simply gobbling up the thistle seeds!  The photo included here was taken by Bill and it certainly shows how active they are.

I sat outside for a good while yesterday watching them myself.  They’re a feisty group and they seem to have a lot to say. Watching the thistle feeder, it was easy to tell the difference between the Pine Siskins and the Goldfinches. While they’re about the same size, the Pine Siskins have a lot of streaking on their bodies.  This is a bird that we only have during the winter, as they spend their breeding periods primarily up north through Canada.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has a great species account on Pine Siskins and you can also listen to their calls.

Are you seeing Pine Siskins in your yard? If so, click on the comment button above and let us know about your sightings.