Ten people showed up on Saturday for the regular (every 4th Saturday except December) bird walk at the Blue Ridge Center. While we began the walk with umbrellas, the rain quickly dropped off to a light drizzle, and then quit altogether. The walk was led by Joe Coleman and Del Sargent, ably assisted by Laura McGranaghan, Nicole Hamilton, and Elliott & Nancy Kirschbaum as well several other good birders.
Our first few minutes were spent birding around the main parking lot and the close-by pond but we then drove over to Arnold Road where we spent the next two and a half hours in the woods except for a short walk along the power cut. Our most exciting sightings were two very vocal males and one female Cerulean Warbler in an area where they have nested for several years. While driving down Arnold Road we first heard, and then saw, perched on the fence right next to the road, a Grasshopper Sparrow; two Eastern Meadowlarks were also singing in the fields along Arnold Road. Though all of us saw them, as is often the case with Cerulean Warblers, the looks weren’t great because they were high in the canopy. Our other highlights included a vocal White-eyed Vireo at the pond, a vocal Yellow-throated Vireo, a Wood Thrush, and several Ovenbirds along the Sweet Run Loop as well as two singing Scarlet Tanagers. We also found and watched for several minutes a Rose-breasted Grosbeak in a location where one has been observed several years in the spring.
For a complete list of the birds see the eBird list below.
Information on the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship can be found at http://www.blueridgecenter.org
Joe Coleman
Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship, Loudoun, Virginia, US Apr 23, 2016 8:00 AM – 11:15 AM
Protocol: Traveling
1.5 mile(s) walking, three miles driving
Comments: FOS & other Highlights: White-eyed Vireo, Yellow-throated Vireo, Wood Thrush, Ovenbird, Cerulean Warbler, Grasshopper Sparrow, Scarlet Tanager, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and Eastern Meadowlark.
49 species (+1 other taxa)
Canada Goose 2
Black Vulture 4
Turkey Vulture 2
Cooper’s Hawk 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 1
Mourning Dove 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 5
Downy Woodpecker 5
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 1
Pileated Woodpecker 2
Eastern Phoebe 2
White-eyed Vireo 1
Yellow-throated Vireo 1
Blue Jay 15
American Crow 15
Tree Swallow 6
Barn Swallow 5
Carolina Chickadee 12
Tufted Titmouse 8
White-breasted Nuthatch 4
Carolina Wren 4
wren sp. 1 brief glimpse of a small brown wren; not seen well enough to determine whether House or Winter
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 12
Eastern Bluebird 6
Wood Thrush 1
Brown Thrasher 6
Northern Mockingbird 5
European Starling 10
Ovenbird 4
Louisiana Waterthrush 1
Common Yellowthroat 3
Cerulean Warbler 3
Northern Parula 1
Grasshopper Sparrow 2
Chipping Sparrow 8
Field Sparrow 3
White-throated Sparrow 8
Song Sparrow 6
Eastern Towhee 2
Scarlet Tanager 2
Northern Cardinal 12
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1
Red-winged Blackbird 2
Eastern Meadowlark 2
Common Grackle 2
Brown-headed Cowbird 20 One of the the most common birds on the walk
American Goldfinch 25
House Sparrow 1
View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/