For the Birds: Virtual Birding at OSGF
Emily Ellis
Throughout the country, people have been taking up backyard birding in response to state- sanctioned stay-at-home orders, and for good reason: not only is watching the bustle of birds in springtime a relaxing respite from the news, it’s also a great way to learn about wildlife without having to leave your house or apartment.
While setting up a feeder can be a great way to bring local birds to your home, virtual birding can take you to locations all over the world. Many bird conservation organizations, including the Audubon Society, are currently scheduling virtual trips and other at-home bird-related activities.
Supporting bird species is also important to the Oak Spring Garden Foundation, where we have observed over 100 species, and we’re pleased to invite you to hone your bird call identification skills with us on Friday, May 1 at noon for a virtual birding event. There is typically a variety of birds to be heard throughout our landscape, as a result of bird conservation efforts that include curtailing our mowing to attract declining grassland bird species, working with other organizations, such as Virginia Working Landscapes, to monitor our bird populations, and installing multiple bird nesting boxes. Friday’s virtual event will feature several particularly bird-heavy sites on the property.
We hope you can join us this Friday, and in the meantime, scroll down to learn about some birds to keep an ear out for at Oak Spring.*
Purple Martin
Perhaps the most interesting fact about these pretty swallows is that they are dependent on humans for nesting sites in the Eastern United States: while it’s not clear why or when they made the switch from nesting in natural structures to man-made ones, early ornithologists reported seeing gourd bird houses built by Native Americans, and European settlers followed suit once they realized the birds ate many pesky flying insects.
Some of OSGF’s purple martin birdhouses.
Unfortunately, the Audubon Society reports that these curious birds are in decline, likely due to habitat loss and competition for nesting sites. In the east, they tend to prefer semi-open country near water – which is why OSGF set up our purple martin houses near our Tree Shop Pond. We’re pleased to report that these migratory birds have been spotted returning to their Oak Spring homes over the pass few weeks.
Eastern Meadowlark
Photo credit: Jim F. Bleak
These yellow-breasted birds can often be seen perched on fence posts or flying up from grassy fields in the spring and summer, from where the males issue their distinctive whistling call.
A ground-nesting species, the females create a dome-like nest interwoven of long grass (so if you want to attract these birds to your property, take care with your mowing, weed-whacking, and hay harvesting,) and have a preference from natural grasslands and meadows, as well as overgrown pastures and hayfields. Like many grassland species, they are in decline due to habitat loss, particularly in the east. The western meadowlark – which is very similar in appearance to its eastern relative – is believed by many scientists to be a separate species, as its call is very different and the two species behave as rivals when their territory overlaps.
Red-winged Blackbird
Photo credit: Alan D. Wilson
These species, which are in the same family (icteridae) as the eastern meadowlark, are abundant in Northern Virginia, the distinctive yellow-and-red patches on the wings of the male making them easy to spot. The brown females camouflage themselves in thickets low to the ground – often located near water - while the males defend the territory by brashly chasing away larger birds and other potential threats (including humans.) You’re likely to spot one in marshy areas and open, grassy fields.
Bobolink
Photo Credit: Alan D. Wilson
Another grassland bird species threatened by habitat loss, the bobolink’s population in the U.S. has declined by around 65% since 1966. One of the highlights of spring and early summer walks around Rokeby and Oak Spring, they are easily identified by their distinctive burbling song and by the black-and-yellow plumage of the males, which molts out by fall migration.
Like eastern meadowlarks, bobolinks nest on the ground or very close to it, preferring long, dense grass and weeds to shelter their nests. During the summer they principally feed on insects, but rely on grain during migration, which has caused damage to southern rice fields in the past and earned them a reputation as an agricultural pest. You can learn more about them, and how to manage your property for grassland birds, at the Bobolink Project.
Wood Thrush
Photo Credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The wood thrush makes its home in deciduous woodlands throughout the Eastern United States, and, like many species on this list, is in decline due to loss of habitat - as well as the impact of cowbirds. Thrushes often end up raising cowbirds instead of their own young, as cowbirds will lay their eggs in the nests of other birds – a trick made easier by the fact that the thrush’s forest homes are shrinking. Cowbirds have less trouble finding their way into smaller woodland lots, making their invasion of other birds’ nests more frequent.
Wood Thrushes like to nest in the forks of trees, and often add bits of paper and other human trash to their cup-like nests. Keep an ear out for their distinctive flutelike song during your next walk in the woods.
Song Sparrow
Photo credit: Betty Matsuraba
Widespread throughout North America, you’re likely to see the cute little song sparrow – so named for its melodious call – darting in and out of thickets and brushy areas. Belonging to the New World sparrow family, these indigenous American birds can be found in habitats ranging from woodland edges and brushy gardens, to southwestern desert washes and salt marshes. Scientists currently recognize 24 subspecies of song sparrows – the ones living on the coast and up north tend to be darker and streakier than their southern relatives.
Eastern Blue Bird
One of OSGF’s nesting bluebirds ( photo taken by Arboriculture, Conservation, and Landscapes team member Sarah Causey.)
While populations of these iconic springtime birds were once in a serious decline due to the loss of habitat and nesting sites, their numbers have been increasing in recent decades, likely due in part to the efforts of many concerned citizens to build birdhouses for them. The most widespread of the three bluebird species (which also includes the mountain bluebird and the western bluebird,) the eastern bluebird’s range stretches as far as Nicaragua. In the spring, you’re likely to see them fluttering around semi-open areas including farms, large backyards, and wherever there are good nesting sites.
At Oak Spring, we have seven bluebird nesting boxes installed on the property – four of which are currently occupied with proud parents.
This list highlights only a handful of the many bird species that we often see and hear on the Oak Spring and Rokeby properties. Some other birds that nest and visit Oak Spring this time of year are kestrels, orioles, catbirds, yellow warblers, kingbirds and grasshopper sparrows.
Want to learn more about the birds you may see - or hear - around Northern Virginia? The Audubon Society of Northern Virginia has a great downloadable birding checklist , as well as many other resources, birding activities, and information about conservation initiatives, to help you get started on your birding adventures.
*All bird calls were downloaded from the Audubon Society Guide to North American Birds.