Frog Chorus Accompanies Bird Sightings at the Dulles Greenway Wetlands
It was a beautiful morning for Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy to visit the private (restricted access) Dulles Greenway Wetlands Mitigation Project on Wednesday, March 10th. While the temperature started out in the mid- 30s it was close to 60 when the walk, led by Mary Ann Good, Mike Scott and Carol Sottili, wrapped up a few hours later.
Although we did not see large numbers of ducks, we did see several species with the highlight being a female Lesser Scaup that was swimming with the Ring-necked Ducks.
Tree Swallows, chirping high above as they darted here and there, and an Eastern Phoebe were First-of-Season birds for most of us. Another sign of spring was two Belted Kingfishers copulating on a branch hanging over the Goose Creek. Our sightings also included several species who winter here but will be moving on soon: a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, a Golden-crowned Kinglet, two Brown Creepers, a Fox Sparrow, a couple of Swamp Sparrows and several Yellow-rumped Warblers.
A fair number of raptors were also seen including a Bald Eagle perched near its now enormous nest. At one point, while watching a soaring raptor, the beautiful yellow chest of an Eastern Meadowlark glinting in the sun caught our attention. In addition to three Bald eagles, we saw some very vocal Red-shouldered Hawks and a Red-tailed Hawk. A Northern Harrier flying over Little Oatlands’ fields was the last bird we saw before leaving the Wetlands.
A chorus of Spring Peepers accompanied us the entire walk, and at point, a number of quacking Wood Frogs joined in.
For a complete list of the birds see the list below or view on eBird at https://ebird.org/checklist/S83130728.
Although Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy doesn’t hold regular walks at Dulles Greenway Wetlands, we do plan to hold several there in the next couple months – keep an eye on the events calendar for the walks.
Species List
Canada Goose 80
Northern Shoveler 3
Gadwall 1
American Wigeon 1
Mallard 4
American Black Duck 4
Ring-necked Duck 54
Lesser Scaup 1
Common Merganser 2
Mourning Dove 2
American Coot 2
Ring-billed Gull 3
Great Blue Heron 1
Black Vulture 7
Turkey Vulture 6
Northern Harrier 1
Bald Eagle 3
Red-shouldered Hawk 3
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Belted Kingfisher 2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 3
Downy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 2
Eastern Phoebe 1
Blue Jay 1
American Crow 8
Fish Crow 50
Carolina Chickadee 8
Tufted Titmouse 4
Tree Swallow 6
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
White-breasted Nuthatch 2
Brown Creeper 2
Carolina Wren 2
Eastern Bluebird 7
House Finch 4
American Goldfinch 1
Fox Sparrow 1
White-throated Sparrow 24
Song Sparrow 4
Swamp Sparrow 2
Eastern Meadowlark 1
Red-winged Blackbird 125
Brown-headed Cowbird 10
Common Grackle 5
Yellow-rumped Warbler 6
Northern Cardinal 3
The post Frog Chorus Accompanies Bird Sightings at the Dulles Greenway Wetlands appeared first on Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy.
The post Frog Chorus Accompanies Bird Sightings at the Dulles Greenway Wetlands appeared first on Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy.