On May 14, Migratory Bird Day, the Virginia Working Landscapes hosted a bird walk at Oxbow Farm in Front Royal, Virginia, a hay farm at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains and adjacent to the Shenandoah River.

We had an amazing morning and saw exactly 70 different species between 6:30 to 11:30 a.m. Because I wanted to focus on soaking up knowledge from the more experienced birders who would be leading and joining the walk, I chose to bring my FujiFilm XT10 with a landscape lens. I knew if I brought a long lens I’d be sidetracked and focused on photography and not using my binoculars to identify new birds. And it was a wise decision.

I added at least a half-dozen new birds to my life list, and it was so great to watch the professionals at work. Their ear for bird songs is so finely tuned they can even name birds by the short chips they make in addition to their unique songs. Amazing!

The list of species and the number of individuals is below. What a wonderful day, and special thanks to Beatrice and Adie for hosting us!

Canada Goose – 2
Wild Turkey – 3
Double-crested Cormorant -5
Great Blue Heron – 1
Black Vulture -1
Turkey Vulture – 3
Red-tailed Hawk – 1
Mourning Dove – 10
Yellow-billed Cuckoo – 1
Barn Owl -1
Red-headed Woodpecker – 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker – 1
Downy Woodpecker – 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) – 3
Pileated Woodpecker – 2
Eastern Wood-Pewee – 1
Eastern Phoebe – 3
Great Crested Flycatcher – 1
Eastern Kingbird – 4
Blue-headed Vireo – 1
Red-eyed Vireo – 2
Blue Jay – 3
American Crow – 3
Fish Crow – 1
Common Raven – 1
Tree Swallow – 2
Barn Swallow – 2
Carolina Chickadee – 2
Tufted Titmouse – 3
White-breasted Nuthatch – 2
House Wren – 1
Carolina Wren – 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – 2
Eastern Bluebird – 24
American Robin – 2
Gray Catbird – 12
Brown Thrasher – 4
Northern Mockingbird – 3
European Starling – 3
Cedar Waxwing – 15
Ovenbird – 1
Common Yellowthroat – 6
American Redstart – 1
Magnolia Warbler – 2
Blackburnian Warbler – 1
Yellow Warbler – 3
Blackpoll Warbler – 3
Pine Warbler – 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler – 2
Grasshopper Sparrow – 8
Chipping Sparrow – 6
Field Sparrow – 6
White-throated Sparrow – 1
Savannah Sparrow – 1
Song Sparrow – 4
Eastern Towhee – 2
Scarlet Tanager – 2
Northern Cardinal – 6
Blue Grosbeak – 3
Indigo Bunting – 10
Bobolink -50
Red-winged Blackbird -50
Eastern Meadowlark – 2
Common Grackle – 4
Brown-headed Cowbird – 15
Orchard Oriole – 5
Baltimore Oriole – 8
House Finch – 4
American Goldfinch – 20