Seven people gathered for the regular (every 4th sat. except Dec.) bird walk
at the Blue Ridge Center on a beautiful late summer day. Bright & sunny with
temperatures beginning a little less than 60 & only rising into the 70's it
was a nice day for birding. The first hour or so was pretty birdy but
activity really dropped off after about 9:30 am. The highlights of the walk,
led by Joe Coleman, Mary Ann Good, & Del Sargent, at the end of Sawmill Rd
on the Sweet Run Loop & Butterfly Alley, included a number of Ruby-throated
Hummingbirds (at least 9) seen in a variety of locations, lots of Blue-Gray
Gnatcatchers (at least 12), several flycatchers including several quiet
Empidonax, and an early Swamp Sparrow. Mary Ann and I visited the open areas
of Arnold Lane after the walk proper and found two American Kestrels and a
Red-headed Woodpecker. A number of distant raptors we could not identify
were seen above the Short Hill Mountain on the other side of the valley as
well as a kettle of 4 Red-shouldered and one Red-tailed Hawks right above
our heads on the power line. And numerous butterflies were seen nectaring on
the many wildflowers.
For a complete list of the birds see the eBird list below.
There were also numerous butterfly species:
Zebra Swallowtail
Black Swallowtail
Eastern Tiger ST
Spicebush ST
Cabbage White
Clouded Sulphur
Orange Sulphur
Eastern Tailed Blue
Summer Azure
Great Spangled Fritillary
Meadow Fritillary
Pearl Crescent
American Lady
Red-spotted Purple (lots!)
Northern Pearly-eye
Monarch
Dun Skipper
Join us (Loudoun Wildlife & VNPS Chapter) for a 9 am walk on Sunday, Sept 6
to look for Birds, Butterflies, and Wildflowers in this same area (for more
information & to register <http://www.loudounwildlife.org/SignUp.htm> Sign
Up Online ).
Information on the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship can be
found at <http://www.blueridgecenter.org> http://www.blueridgecenter.org.
Information on the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy and its many free activities
can be found at <http://www.loudounwildlife.org> www.loudounwildlife.org.
Joe Coleman
Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship - MFF01, Loudoun, Virginia,
US Aug 22, 2015 8:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Protocol: Traveling
1.5 mile(s)
46 species (+2 other taxa)
Black Vulture 8
Turkey Vulture 20
Red-shouldered Hawk 5
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 8
Mourning Dove 3
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 5
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 9
Red-headed Woodpecker 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 3
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 1
Pileated Woodpecker 1
American Kestrel 2
Eastern Wood-Pewee 6
Acadian Flycatcher 2
Empidonax sp. 3
Eastern Phoebe 2
Great Crested Flycatcher 1
Eastern Kingbird 2
Red-eyed Vireo 7
American Crow 8
Fish Crow 1
Common Raven 1
swallow sp. 5
Carolina Chickadee 16
Tufted Titmouse 8
White-breasted Nuthatch 5
Carolina Wren 6
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 12
Eastern Bluebird 4
Gray Catbird 4
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling 7
Cedar Waxwing 1
Nashville Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 2
Chestnut-sided Warbler 1
Chipping Sparrow 5
Field Sparrow 7
Song Sparrow 1
Swamp Sparrow 1
Eastern Towhee 2
Northern Cardinal 6
Indigo Bunting 12
Common Grackle 1
American Goldfinch 18
House Sparrow 2
View this checklist online at
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S24720043
