Good Weather Followed by Rain for Snap! Grackle! Pop!

Snap! Grackle! Pop! team.
Photo by Karenna Awtry

The Snap! Grackle! Pop! team (Linda Colucci, Karenna Awtry and Steve Chance) was one for two in nice days during this year’s Birdathon. May 13 was lovely, and we started at Algonkian Park at the normal awful hour of 6:00 am joined by Karenna’s daughter, Ally. We began at the boat ramp and headed right. After starting with a very vocal but uncooperative Warbling Vireo, we got nice views of a nearby Pileated Woodpecker on the ground and Cedar Waxwing in the trees. The river held an unidentifiable female merganser in the fog and a Spotted Sandpiper and two flyby Belted Kingfishers. The trees were hopping with both Baltimore and Orchard Orioles, Indigo Buntings and a Yellow-billed Cuckoo. The star, however, was a cooperative Merlin perched above the trail. Karenna got good photos of it. After a short break, we went left from the boat ramp. This area of “picnic table” forest was rather productive with Blackpoll and Black-throated Green Warblers and a Scarlet Tanager as well as a Ruby-throated Hummingbird that we all got to see well.

Unfortunately, Karenna and Ally had to leave after Algonkian, but Linda and Steve visited two more spots. The ponds at Verizon (Loudoun County Parkway) were quiet but had a few things including a Green Heron. The walk around the boardwalk at Broadlands Wetlands was fruitful for some of the common species missed earlier as well as a Solitary Sandpiper that Linda got a nice photo of. We called it a day around 3:00 pm.

Solitary Sandpiper.
Photo by Linda Collucci

On May 14 we met up at the crack of dawn at a suburban pond south of Leesburg on Marathon Drive. This produced a Pied-billed Grebe, a Killdeer and a couple of swallows, but the Lesser Scaup scouted two days before was a no-show. We proceeded toward Sweet Run Park. En route Karenna spotted a Bald Eagle over a road-side pond and a Wild Turkey we couldn’t count because the rest of us missed it. We also had Purple Martin at a martin house along the way.

We arrived at Sweet Run before the rain was supposed to set in, but nobody told the rain to wait, so it came early. It was an off-and-on drizzle throughout our walk there. It did not dampen the day for us though, and we had a fun time just the same. We birded from the Interpretive Center toward the pond and quickly had a White-eyed Vireo. Other cool birds in the forest along the trail out to Arnold Lane included Wood Duck, many Acadian Flycatchers, Yellow-throated Vireo (heard), Blackpoll Warblers, Ovenbird (heard) and Red-headed Woodpecker. On the way back, we got a Louisiana Waterthrush at the pond. The big field near the Interpretive Center produced Yellow-breasted Chat, Eastern Meadowlark and Eastern Towhee (heard).

We saved the best for last though. On the drive home Karenna again spotted a Wild Turkey that we all saw this time. To top that, just after Hillsboro we stopped at a bare field off the main road and were able to find Horned Lark in the field. This was a real highlight even if the looks were distant. Returning to the Marathon Drive pond, we added Northern Rough-winged Swallow to conclude the trip. During the two days, we found a total of 89 species of birds (see list below).

Thank you to everyone who sponsored our team. We really enjoy these days out together!

Pileated Woodpecker at Algonkian boat ramp.
Photo by Karenna Awtry

Species List
Acadian Flycatcher
American Crow
American Goldfinch
American Redstart
American Robin
Bald Eagle
Baltimore Oriole
Barn Swallow
Belted Kingfisher
Black Vulture
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Blue Jay
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Brown Thrasher
Brown-headed Cowbird
Canada Goose
Carolina Chickadee
Carolina Wren
Cedar Waxwing
Chimney Swift
Chipping Sparrow
Common Grackle
Common Yellowthroat
Double-crested Cormorant
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Kingbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Towhee
Eastern Wood-Pewee
European Starling
Field Sparrow
Fish Crow
Gray Catbird
Great Blue Heron
Great Crested Flycatcher
Great Egret
Green Heron
Hairy Woodpecker
Horned Lark
House Finch
House Sparrow
House Wren
Indigo Bunting
Killdeer
Louisiana Waterthrush
Mallard
Merganser sp.
Merlin
Mississippi Kite
Mourning Dove
Northern Cardinal
Northern Flicker
Northern Mockingbird
Northern Parula
Orchard Oriole
Osprey
Ovenbird
Pied-billed Grebe
Pileated Woodpecker
Purple Martin
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Red-eyed Vireo
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-winged Blackbird
Rock Pigeon
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Scarlet Tanager
Solitary Sandpiper
Song Sparrow
Spotted Sandpiper
Tree Swallow
Tufted Titmouse
Turkey Vulture
Warbling Vireo
White-breasted Nuthatch
White-crowned Sparrow
White-eyed Vireo
Wild Turkey
Wood Duck
Wood Thrush
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Yellow-breasted Chat
Yellow-throated Vireo