Scarlet Tanager.
Photo by Michael Sciortino

Seven participants joined walk leaders John Denice, Mary Ann Good, Scott Harris and Michael Sciortino for the August 9 monthly bird walk at Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve.  The weather was wonderful for an August day.  The birds were excellent too with good looks at many of them.  We had a lot of very experienced birders and one brand new one.

This time of year we often hear most birds, but on Saturday there were many that we got to see well, including Yellow-billed Cuckoos. We had a close look at a Prairie Warbler, and we saw five Bald Eagles of various ages.  The highlight was probably the Scarlet Tanager that was at the top of a tree for at least five minutes putting on a show for us.  We had a Green Heron flyover, a large kettle with a mix of Turkey and Black Vultures, allowing us to see the difference.  We got to see an Eastern Phoebe and four Common Ravens — two sets of two flying together and calling.  We saw many Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, American Goldfinches and Carolina Chickadees.  We had a total of 39 species for the walk, which can be viewed on eBird at:     https://ebird.org/checklist/S266327834.

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