Four of us showed up for the regular monthly bird walk at the Banshee Reeks
Nature Preserve this morning. In spite of the beginning (25) and ending (32)
temps it was a very pleasant morning for a bird walk. While there weren't a
lot of species, we did find a first-of-year (for most of us) Eastern Phoebe.
However, except for a few large mixed flocks there weren't a lot of birds.
After we finished at Banshee Reeks three of us went over to the private
(restricted access) Dulles Greenway Wetlands Mitigation Project to see what
work the bluebird trail (managed by the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy) might
need. It had warmed up to 35 by then but since the Wetlands is largely
sheltered from the west winds it wasn't bad. Because the beavers have been
very successful in building a dam at the Dulles Greenway Wetlands spillway
there is much more water on the wetlands than there used to be. Not only is
there little exposed mud for shorebirds, the ducks can easily hide in the
extensive scrub, much of which has its feet in water. The ducks that were
there were rather skittish, perhaps because of the active Bald Eagle nest
there or for some other reason. In addition to a Bald Eagle sitting in the
nest we saw a variety of ducks and 2 Am Coots (see below for the complete
list) and a number of ducks we were unable to ID as they darted this way &
that in the sky & the scrub.
For a complete list of the birds observed at Banshee Reeks and the Dulles
Greenway Wetlands pls see the eBird reports below.
The regular monthly free bird walk (every 2nd Sat) at the Banshee Reeks
Nature preserve is sponsored by the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy (
<http://www.loudounwildlife.org> www.loudounwildlife.org) & the Friends of
Banshee Reeks ( <http://www.bansheereeks.org> www.bansheereeks.org );
information on both and their upcoming events can be found on their
websites. While there are no regular walks at the private Dulles Greenway
Wetlands Mitigation Project which has restricted access we do periodically
survey the birds there and occasionally lead walks there - check out our
website for
Good birding (regardless of the weather)!
Joe Coleman for the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy
Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve, Loudoun, Virginia, US Mar 11, 2017 8:00 AM -
10:30 AM
Protocol: Traveling
2.4 mile(s)
34 species
Canada Goose 3
Great Blue Heron 1
Black Vulture 5
Turkey Vulture 3
Red-shouldered Hawk 3
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 35
Mourning Dove 4
Red-bellied Woodpecker 5
Downy Woodpecker 4
Hairy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 1
Pileated Woodpecker 3
Eastern Phoebe 1
Blue Jay 5
American Crow 6
Fish Crow 2
Carolina Chickadee 15
Tufted Titmouse 6
White-breasted Nuthatch 5
Brown Creeper 1
Carolina Wren 2
Eastern Bluebird 4
American Robin 50
Northern Mockingbird 2
European Starling 2
Field Sparrow 4
Dark-eyed Junco 30
White-throated Sparrow 20
Song Sparrow 6
Swamp Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 8
House Finch 2
American Goldfinch 2
View this checklist online at
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S35112630
Dulles Greenway Wetlands Mitigation Project, Loudoun, Virginia, US Mar 11,
2017 10:45 AM - 11:45 AM
Protocol: Traveling
0.8 mile(s)
30 species (+1 other taxa)
Canada Goose X
Wood Duck 2
Gadwall 8
Mallard 2
Green-winged Teal 12
Ring-necked Duck 2
Hooded Merganser 2
duck sp. 30
Wild Turkey 3 seen by one person earlier in the day before the Banshee
Reeks walk
Black Vulture 6
Turkey Vulture 6
Cooper's Hawk 1
Bald Eagle 1 on nest
Red-shouldered Hawk 2
American Coot 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 11
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Blue Jay 2
American Crow 4
Fish Crow 2
Carolina Chickadee 2
Tufted Titmouse 1
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Carolina Wren 2
Eastern Bluebird 2
American Robin 2
White-throated Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 2
Northern Cardinal 1
Red-winged Blackbird 1
View this checklist online at
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S35112908
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)
