Beautiful Brown Thrashers Seen During Bles Bird Walk

Five birders led by Allison Gallo and Bryan Henson participated in the monthly Bles Park walk on January 17. We found 36 species during the walk with the highlight being two Brown Thrashers. These attractive birds with distinctive yellow eyes are uncommon in winter, but provided good looks to all the birders. Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets, Brown Creeper, and Carolina Chickadees provided a lot of entertainment during the walk. The walk also provided a good opportunity for the group to see a variety of sparrows, including Song, White-throated, Field, and Swamp Sparrows.

For the full list of species see below, or on eBird at: https://ebird.org/checklist/S79406850

Brown Thrasher at Bles Park.
Photo by Bryan Henson

This free monthly bird walk (every third Sunday) at Bles Park is sponsored by Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy. We also host regular bird walks every second Saturday at Banshee Reeks and every fourth Saturday at the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship. Participation is limited to keep groups small and registration is required.

Species seen:
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 5
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 36
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) 1
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) (Columba livia (Feral Pigeon)) 2
American Coot (Fulica americana) 2
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 1
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 1
Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) 2
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) 3
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 1
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) 5
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) 5
Fish Crow (Corvus ossifragus) 1
crow sp. (Corvus sp. (crow sp.)) 21
Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) 9
Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) 4
Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) 3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula) 1
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) 2
Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) 1
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) 8
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 10
Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum) 2
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) 3
Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) 8
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 25
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) 6
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) 5
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) 7
Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla) 1
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) (Junco hyemalis hyemalis/carolinensis) 7
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) 17
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 9
Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana) 3
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 1
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 12