Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy

As part of our Bird Atlas project, Spring sent over this list of tips on how to confirm that birds are breeding. It’s pretty interesting to slow down and watch birds and connect with what they’re up to. Nature can be pretty wild

She found these tips in the San Diego Bird Atlas:

• The first thing to focus on when you see a bird is the bill. Is the bird carrying nesting material or insects? For the majority of species, carrying nesting material or food for young is behavior confirming breeding. Watch the bird for a minute or two to see whether it’s carrying the prey back to a perch to be killed and eaten by the adult itself. If the bird carries the prey any distance or is accumulating insects in its bill, it’s likely the food is destined for young.

• Find a likely spot with a few birds flitting around, sit silently for 5 or 10 minutes, and see what pops up—often quite a lot. Hurried hiking and crashing through brush will generate almost nothing. Once you spot a bird, stay with it for a moment to see what it does.

• Seemingly odd behavior may be a clue to something interesting. For example, swallows don’t normally land on the ground except to pick up nesting material (grass for nest-lining in the case of Rough-winged Swallows as well as mud for Cliff Swallows).

• Listen for unfamiliar calls—especially if they sound like those of baby birds. Even if you don’t see the young, the adults usually give themselves away with alarm calls or distraction behavior. The calls of fledglings are just as distinctive to species as those of adults and can be learned with practice. If you do discover a nest, don’t linger too long – so not to stress out the birds or attract predators.

• Spread your effort throughout the day. In the first hour or two after dawn the adults are often too preoccupied with feeding themselves and advertising their territories to engage in much breeding-related behavior. Later in the day may present good opportunities to see behaviors such as nest-building and feeding of young.

If you or someone you know owns any land in Loudoun County that can be made accessible to atlasers please let Spring know: sligi@loudounwildlife.org

Spring Ligi, our Loudoun County Bird Atlas Coordinator, just sent over some great highlights from the data that rolled in from our atlas volunteers through June. We’re getting some really exciting information on birds that we didn’t realize nest here.

So far, 28 enthusiastic atlasers have spent 634 hours in the field documenting 7,539 sightings and have recorded 177 species, with 74 of these species having a confirmed nesting status. 

If you’d like to join in this important citizen science project, we could certainly use your help! More information can be found on our Bird Atlas Page. Every bit of data – from backyards to large untouched areas is important to this project.

June Highlights

• Little Blue Heron – observed a Little Blue Heron, a Species of Special Interest, at the Dulles Wetlands.

• Cerulean Warblers – heard 3 singing male Cerulean Warblers, another Species of Special Interest, singing from the same point in the Ashby Gap area and then heard another one nearby.

• Black-billed Cuckoo – documented this species as a Possible Breeder in separate parts of the county (Unison and Ashburn areas, respectively) – this species is not previously thought to nest in Loudoun County!

• Dickcissel – documented this species as a Possible Breeder in the Arcola area.  This is most likely the first reported Dickcissel in Loudoun County this year!

• Red-headed Woodpecker – observed a pair flycatching and then returning to a nest cavity in the Bluemont area to feed young.

• Screech Owlets – observed 2 curious owlets nesting in a cavity in a Black Locust tree on property in the Bluemont area.