Taking Terns. Photo by Justin Ellis-Joyce

For the Taking Terns team (Justin and Gwendolyn Ellis-Joyce, Ryan Christensen, Carla Nicolini, Thomas Ravenscroft and Lauren Warning), the Birdathon was their first time of birding together.

We started out along the Potomac River at 5:00 am on April 27 to listen for owls.  Unfortunately our early morning efforts brought just a faraway Barred Owl. Unperturbed, we made our way into the Algonkian sanctuary trail for a wonderfully loud morning of bird song. Highlights were great looks at Common Yellowthroats, a Worm-eating Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, both species of orioles and a fleeting hummingbird. We were tantalized for a long time by a Blue-winged Warbler who refused to show itself.

White-eyed Vireo.
Photo by Justin Ellis-Joyce

We continued our day at Dulles Wetlands where we ticked off a few more warblers, vireos and sparrows. We were scanning carefully for rails when we saw Trumpeter Swans swim all the way down the pond, giving us great looks and earning a rare bird notification on eBird. Next was lunch and on to Ball’s Bluff where we hoped for some higher elevation birds drifting off course from the mountains. We were rewarded with Cape May Warblers, American Redstarts and our first, and only, thrushes of the day during the quiet of the early afternoon. Next we hoped for ducks and shorebirds at Meadowbrook farm ponds.  Then on to Beaverdam Reservoir where we got our next unexpected bird: a Common Loon! It wasn’t too busy with birds, but we did spot some mergansers and Mallards.

We finished off strong at our workplace along the river where we got our last rare bird, a Peregrine Falcon, chasing an unlucky bird away to the north. It was our first sighting for the location! All in all, it was a successful day, and new and old birders enjoyed a day of natural history, good weather and a mutual love for birds.  The group’s complete list of species can be viewed on eBird at:
https://ebird.org/tripreport/358188.

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