While we did not see a wide diversity of birds species during the January 11 bird walk at Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve, there were several very large flocks of blackbirds and starlings and not very many raptors. The highlight of the walk, seen near the beginning, were two Common Mergansers who flew overhead. We did get good looks at several woodpeckers who entertained us with their loud vocalizations.

Thirty people, many beginning birders, participated in the monthly bird walk, which was led by Joe Coleman and Carol Sottili with assistance from Mike Sciortino. Although cloudy. it was a very pleasant morning of birding with temperatures in the 40s and 50s.

For a complete list of all the birds observed during the walk, see the eBird report at https://ebird.org/checklist/S63266469.

This free bird walk takes place every 2nd Saturday at the Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve in central Loudoun County and is sponsored by Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy and Friends of Banshee Reeks.

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