High Temperatures Don’t Stop the Grumpy Old Men Team From Having Fun

The Grumpy Old Men birdathon team (Paul Miller, Dave Van Tassel, Phil Daley and Ernie Carnevale) withered under clear skies and high temperatures on May 18 and 19, but had a lot of fun despite the heat. On our first day out we covered most of our favorite locations in western Loudoun, spending the morning north of Rt. 7 and west of Rt. 15 (AT Road, Jonella Farm, Ashby Farm, Edgegrove, Harper’s Ferry Brewery and Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship).

Chestnut-sided Warbler.
Photo by Gerco Hoogeweg

After a nice lunch and cooling drink stop in Hillsboro, we headed to the Ash George Road wetland and Waterford area. Then we went south towards Lincoln and the Shelbourne Glebe and Oakland Green Farm areas. By that time the heat was getting to us, and also to the birds as many evidently took refuge and were not very active. With 79 species identified, the exhausted team took a break, hoping to revive for the morning.

On Wednesday the team headed towards Leesburg, Lucketts and further east. We had a nice time exploring the Lost Corner area then headed to Bles and Algonkian Parks where we managed to pick up 12 more species before high temperature again limited activities of both birds and men. We headed back towards Purcellville for lunch, where after consultation, decided that 90 or so species was sufficient to meet our goal. So after another nice lunch and socializing, we called it a fine birdathon effort.

Species List:
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Mallard
American Black Duck
Common Merganser (on Potomac River, near Harpers Ferry)
Wild Turkey (a favorite on this trip)
Pied-billed Grebe
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Green Heron
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Northern Harrier
Bald Eagle
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Eastern Screech-Owl
Barred Owl
Belted Kingfisher
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel
Eastern Wood-Peewee
Acadian Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
Common Raven
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted titmouse
N Rough-winged swallow
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Bank Swallow
Barn Swallow
White-breasted Nuthatch
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
House Wren
Carolina Wren
European Starling
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
Eastern Bluebird
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Cedar Waxwing
House Sparrow
House Finch
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-throated Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Yellow-breasted Chat
Eastern Meadowlark
Baltimore Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Common Grackle
unidentified blackbird (possibly a Rusty Blackbird)
Worm-eating Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Swainson’s warbler
Northern Cardinal
Indigo Bunting