11 birders walked the perimeter and woods at Murphy Farm, part of Harpers Ferry Nat’l Historical Park, on this beautiful morning. We started with temps hovering at 48 degrees, but started shedding clothes when we emerged from the woods and the sun had warmed things up to about 60. Thanks to Teri Holland for her patience & diligence in finding us the BLUE-HEADED VIREO; we also came away with one each RED-EYED VIREO and GREAT-CRESTED FLYCATCHER, 2 EASTERN KINGBIRDS, one WORM-EATING WARBLER (heard in the woods), and several LOUSIANA WATERTHRUSH singing. About 15 BROAD-WINGED HAWKS circled above the fields in waves on their way migrating north. Hordes of BLUEJAYS flew over – and kept coming. We figured their numbers reached 400 or so.
Kathy Bilton shared her knowledge of local wildflowers by pointing out the various species present in the fields and woods of Murphy Farm as we walked. Her list appears below.
Afterwards, a few of us ventured down to the Harpers Ferry wetlands to search for the Black-crowned Night Heron, but to no avail (though I left early). We did add a few species to the morning however: OSPREY, EASTERN PHOEBE, WARBLING VIREOS, FISH CROWS.
Deb Hale
Harpers Ferry/Bolivar
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Complete Murphy Farm list of 40 species:
Canada Goose
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Broad-winged Hawk 15 circling for thermals above the fields – in migration (4 sets of 6, 3, 4 and 2 approx.)
Ring-billed Gull
Mourning Dove
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Blue-headed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay 400 flying over in waves of migration – whenever we looked up seemed like another large wave of bluejays washed over the sky.
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Bluebird
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Worm-eating Warbler
Louisiana Waterthrush
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
American Goldfinch
View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13864973
Kathy’s Wildflowers List
Virginia Bluebells
Cut-leaved Toothwort, mostly gone, saw one plant still in bloom
Bloodroot – past
Spring Beauty – didn’t see a lot but a bit
Star Chickweed – a nice little native – saw a bit of it
Early Saxifrage, there was LOTS of it along the woods trail
Rue-anemone, blooming. Not a lot. This was the plant you asked me about.
Smooth Rock Cress (the other you asked about, a not very showy plant)
Shooting Star, beginning to bloom going down the last bit of the trail
(make sure to see it – it’s quite showy and not that many people get to see it. I pointed it out to Teri and a couple of others but you were already way up the trail.)
Wild Comfrey – at least I’m pretty sure that’s what I was seeing. There were lots of leaves of this along a lot of the woods trail. Should bloom in another couple of weeks or so. (Looked a bit like Romaine lettuce, but leaves are much course and hairy.)
The little weed there’s so much of (at least in other places – and there was some there at Murphy Farm) and which I showed you is Purple Dead Nettle, in the mint family.
Catmint – not yet blooming – and just one plant found
Dame’s Rocket – not yet blooming
Yellow Mustard
And Garlic Mustard is the nasty invasive mustard plant which one sees everywhere.
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