Twenty-five birders, including John Denice, Jane Yocum, Dave Manning and Michael Sciortino as the day’s leaders, came out for the first monthly bird walk of the new year at Banshee Reeks on Saturday, January 13. This was a weird weather day and hard to anticipate what the conditions would be like. The heavy rain from the night before was sure to make the trails soggy, but with the forecasted clearing conditions, we were expecting decent bird activity. We separated into two teams with John and Michael leading a team to the east, and another team led by Jane and Dave to the west. We intentionally planned to stay in the open as the winds were expected to increase later in the morning. Fortunately, the high winds did not materialize and made this a safe outing.

Ring-billed Gulls.
Photo by Michael Sciortino

Michael and John’s group targeted the entrance road toward the Raspberry Trail and planned to stay close to the edge habitat. The parking area was busy with a few Eastern Bluebirds perching on wires and a Northern Mockingbird watching as we started. We heard a Pileated Woodpecker calling in the fields adjacent to the parking lot. We also heard and spotted a lone Common Raven as it croaked atop a nearby tree. The raven flew directly overhead, and we were all able to see its distinctive wedge-shaped tail as it traveled past us.

As we turned onto the Raspberry Trail, the rain began. This was a bit of a surprise as none of us were prepared for the intensity. The photographers scrambled to protect their gear, and we all tried to stay dry and anticipate what the weather was going to do next. It kept raining, then stopping, and then starting again. We decided to not venture too far away from our cars in case we needed the shelter, so we doubled back and stayed around the western field. Far off in the valley towards the Goose Creek, we spotted hundreds of Ring-billed Gulls gathering in the fields along Route 15. Constant streams of the gulls headed in that direction as we watched. Hundreds of Canada Geese were also active in the valley and divided into small groups as they circled around. American Robins continually streamed overhead on their way to the northwest.

With the rain subsiding, we attempted the trail nearest the education annex to see if we could loop around to the pond, but halfway down the trail, the rain started again. By this time, we were wet and decided to double back to shelter. Back at the parking area, most in our group called it a day and would try again when the weather cooperated.

Jane and Dave’s team continued seemingly unfazed by the weather and completed their 2.5-mile trek and met back at the visitor’s center. Jane reported excellent views of two Bald Eagles in their sector and as we tallied, an eagle soared above while the skies turned a clear blue. Both teams reported sightings of a Sharp-shinned Hawk.

Given the conditions, the day was still successful as the combined teams recorded 34 species on a weird weather day. The results are listed below and on eBird at https://ebird.org/checklist/S158779942.

Photo by Michael Sciortino

Combined Species List
Canada Goose 154
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 10
Mourning Dove 3
Ring-billed Gull 500
Black Vulture 4
Turkey Vulture 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Bald Eagle 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 3
Downy Woodpecker 1
Pileated Woodpecker 3
Northern Flicker 5
Blue Jay 8
American Crow 8
Fish Crow 4
Common Raven 1
Carolina Chickadee 4
Tufted Titmouse 5
White-breasted Nuthatch 4
Carolina Wren 5
Northern Mockingbird 6
Eastern Bluebird 10
Hermit Thrush 1
American Robin 200
Cedar Waxwing 10
House Finch 10
American Goldfinch 5
Dark-eyed Junco 4
White-throated Sparrow 25
Song Sparrow 6
Eastern Towhee 6
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1
Northern Cardinal 6

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