John Denice, Bruce Hill and Michael Sciortino led Loudoun Wildlife’s quarterly bird walk at Broad Run Stream Valley Park on Saturday, October 21.  Six participants joined the three leaders for a 2.5-mile hike that lasted three hours. It was a beautiful, crisp, fall day with little wind to start, but the breeze grew steadily as we made our way through the park.   Despite the wind, we recorded a respectable 47 species (see list below).

Pie-billed Grebe entangled with plastic.
Photo by Michael Sciortino

We started the walk from the residential community and watched as the pond was active with many Canada Geese. Two Mallards joined the geese in addition to a lone immature Pie-billed Grebe. We were excited to see the little grebe diving amongst the dabblers. Something was not right though. As we looked closer, we realized that the grebe was entangled in what appeared to be green landscaping material around its neck and dangling from its bill. The group discussed options for helping the small brown bird, but we realized that there was not much we could do. The bird did not seem to be in any immediate danger and was diving and moving. Still, it weighed on our minds as we continued the walk.

Immature Red-bellied Woodpecker.
Photo by Michael Sciortino

We crossed under Evergreen Mills Road via the tunnel and immediately started hearing Field Sparrow in their normal habitat. As we approached Broad Run, we began to hear the chatter of a Red-headed Woodpecker and recorded six before the walk was finished. Red-headed Woodpeckers ruled the day as the most interesting and exciting species, and the group had good looks at adults and immature woodpeckers. This species was a first for many in the group.

The walk was also well-represented by Yellow-rumped Warblers that seemed to be everywhere. We recorded 25 individuals by the time we finished and that was probably an undercount. The bird activity was plentiful on the backside trail that bordered Broad Run as it was sheltered from the increasing wind. We observed a Brown Thrasher, a Blue-headed Vireo, both Ruby- and Golden- crowned Kinglets, and heard a second Belted Kingfisher patrolling the stream.

On our trip back we were fortunate to have the wind at our backs, but the strong gusts affected the bird activity. We observed three Killdeer in the main field taking shelter. The main pond was empty of any waterfowl. The group made its way back across Evergreen Mills Road and resumed our observation and discussion regarding the grebe. We decided that we would reach out to various experts to see if anything could be done.

Loudoun Wildlife will repeat this walk at Broad Run in January, April and July 2024.

Species List:
This list can also be viewed on eBird at: https://ebird.org/checklist/S152742806
Canada Goose 76
Mallard 2
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 12
Mourning Dove 1
Killdeer 3
Black Vulture 4
Turkey Vulture 6
Northern Harrier 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 2
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Belted Kingfisher 2
Red-headed Woodpecker 6
Red-bellied Woodpecker 4
Downy Woodpecker 2
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 5
Eastern Phoebe 2
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Blue Jay 7
American Crow 6
Carolina Chickadee 5
Tufted Titmouse 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
White-breasted Nuthatch 2
Carolina Wren 6
European Starling 6
Brown Thrasher 1
Northern Mockingbird 3
Eastern Bluebird 4
American Robin 40
House Sparrow 1
House Finch 1
American Goldfinch 2
Field Sparrow 4
Dark-eyed Junco 1
White-throated Sparrow 6
Song Sparrow 6
Swamp Sparrow 2
Red-winged Blackbird 6
Brown-headed Cowbird 3
Black-and-white Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 25
Northern Cardinal 4

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