Big Bird Day

Eastern Screech Owl

Takoma Big Morning 2 May 2004, 5:00-10:30 a.m. Group: Ned Daly, David Hunter, Timothy Male, Pete Marre Area: Takoma Park, Maryland City Limits Order of Birds Seen: 1.   Eastern Screech Owl 2.   Robin 3.   Northern Mockingbird 4.   Gray Catbird 5.   Yellow-rumped warbler 6.   Carolina Wren 7.   Red-Bellied Woodpecker 8.   House Sparrow 9.   Wood Thrush 10.  Great Crested Flycatcher 11.  Song sparrow 12.  White-throated sparrow 13.  Mourning Dove 14.  Starling 15.  House Wren 16.  Northern Oriole 17.  Chimney Swift 18.  Blackpoll Warbler 19.  Brown-headed Cowbird 20.  Yellow-billed Cuckoo 21.  Scarlet Tanager 22.  Downy Woodpecker 23.  Northern Parula 24.  Common Crow 25.  Yellow-shafted Flicker 26.  White-breasted Nuthatch 27.  Common Grackle 28.  Blackthroated Blue        Warbler 29.  Red Shouldered Hawk 30.  Veery 31.  Ovenbird 32.  Hooded Warbler 33.  Red-eyed Vireo 34.  Eastern Kingbird 35.  Orchard Oriole 36.  Double-Crested        Cormorant 37.  American        Redstart 38.  Black-billed Cuckoo 39.  Black and White        Warbler 40.  Blue Jay 41.  American Goldfinch 42.  Fish Crow 43.  Rock Pigeon 44.  Cardinal 45.  Tree Swallow 46.  Mallard Duck 47.  Carolina Chickadee 48.  Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 49.  Blue-grey Gnatcatcher 50.  Pileated Woodpecker 51.  Ring-billed Gull 52.  Tufted Titmouse 53.  Barn Swallow 54.  Rufus-sided towhee 55.  Common yellow throat        warbler 56.  Blackburnian warbler 57.  House Finch 58.  Cedar Waxwing

In an attempt to start a Takoma Park tradition, three of Takoma Park's best birders, David Hunter, Pete Marre, and Tim Male took me along for what became the first annual Takoma Park Big Bird Day. The idea was to identify as many birds as possible within the city limits of Takoma Park, and hopefully do it every year for fun and to see how bird populations, both migratory and resident, are doing in our area.

The first thing we needed to do was to scout out some good places to see birds, especially the migratory warblers that have been flying through over the last month. Gary Dodge, another one of Takoma Park's preeminent birders, did a little scouting mission the day before to try and find out where the birds were.

For future reference, the most productive spots seemed to be the area behind the Takoma Park Library and the city offices, Spring Park, Opal Daniels Park and, of course, Sligo Creek.

The morning started out a little rough. After a 5:30 a.m. start, we had a little trouble finding a spot where we had been told a screech owl can usually be found. A wrong turn left us between an apartment building and a dumpster. While we consulted the map, Pete jumped out of the car to call the owl and got a quick response. Next we headed into Sligo Creek, and not much later, another screech owl was calling back to us.

Likely due to some cloudy weather, the morning was a little slow. Mostly the usual suspectsÑrobin, mockingbird, house sparrow, along with some beautiful migrants such as the northern (Baltimore) oriole and scarlet tanager.

It was getting late (8:30 a.m.) and was still quite slowÑit seemed that the weather would make it unlikely for us to even spot 30 different species. But by 9:00 in Forest Park, 29 and 30Ña red shouldered hawk and a veeryÑwere on the list.

There's an old school at the end of Woodland Avenue, before you get to New Hampshire, which was surprisingly productiveÑwe saw an orchard oriole (a first for me), and three double-crested cormorants, which were a complete surprise. Behind the library: an American redstart, black-billed cuckoo, and finally, the often-seen blue jay made 40.

After a quick stop at the middle school, a trip back to Sligo Creek seemed in order. What a beautiful place. We are lucky to have it so close. It did not take long to get to 50, with a pileated woodpecker. We were back home by 10:30 a.m., and each of us got a few more birds doing errands, rounding the list out at 58.

Many thanks to David Hunter who organized the day and had a great idea on how to expand it next year. Anyone interested in participating in a Takoma Big Day next year should contact me ndaly@fscus.org. If there is enough interest, we can use it as a way to raise money for more greenspace in Takoma Park.