The Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy has begun surveying the flora & fauna at the future White’s Ford Park in the Lucketts area of Loudoun County and paid a visit to the property this past Monday and Saturday.
Most of the property is being farmed at this time and there are cattle on part of it and crops on other parts. In an area far back from the road that had recently been hayed there were large weedy patches that had not been cut.
We were excited to find at least four DICKCISSELS. Two of them were a pair who checked out two different possible nesting sites in large patches of thistle that were surrounded by a recently bush-hogged and baled (round) hay.
We also had a number of GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS (8 to 10). In one case we inadvertently got too close to a Grasshopper Sparrow’s nest & it darted out the weeds and led us away with a distraction display.
We also watched a TURKEY VULTURE leaving a small entrance in one of the old farm buildings and two different WILD TURKEYS in the fields of grain along the river. We also saw three different immature BALD EAGLES, two of which were approx. the same age while the other was much younger. Our other highlights included a calling WILLOW FLYCATCHER and both oriole species.
Eight birders, led by Sharon Kearns & assisted by Joe Coleman, visited the 1,000-acre Morven Park on Monday morning for one of the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy’s International Migratory Bird walks.
Morven Park is a large property which is not only the historic home of Governor Westmoreland Davis but includes several hundred acres of mature forest along the Catoctin Ridge. Sharon has lived next door to Morven Park for years & is very familiar with its trails.
While the highlight of the walk was a butterfly, the White M Hairstreak (which I will post about separately), we also found over 50 species of birds including several thrush species, a 1/2 dozen warblers, and had dynamite looks at eye-level Scarlet Tanagers. Before the walk started, Sharon had a Great-horned Owl calling at her house.
We observed:
Canada Goose, Mallard, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Killdeer, Mourning Dove, Chimney Swifts, Red-bellied WP, Downy WP, Pileated WP, Eastern Wood-pewee, Acadian Flycatcher, Eastern Phoebe, Great Crested Flycatcher, Yellow-throated Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, American Crow, Common Raven, Tree, Swallow, Barn Swallow, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Carolina Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Eastern Bluebird, GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH at least one, maybe two, Swainson’s Thrush – at least three, Wood Thrush, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, Brown Thrasher, European Starling, Northern Parula, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Ovenbird, Chipping Sparrow, Scarlet Tanager, Northern Cardinal, Indigo Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Orchard Oriole, Baltimore Oriole, American Goldfinch, House Sparrow