February 2026
To view the full PDF, click the newsletter image below.
SISKIN
The
Newsletter of the Northern Virginia Bird Club
Vol. 71, No. 1
February 2026
www.nvabc.org
Inside
NVBC GENERAL MEETING—TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 8 PM
•
Amazing Andes in Search of Hummingbirds
•
•
Calendar of NVBC field trips,
February 13 – May 9, 2026
A Coastal Virginia Adventure
Birding in Sydney, Australia
A reminder to pay your 2026 dues
If not paid, this will be the last issue
you receive. The Siskin mailing label
shows the year through which your
dues are current or “CO” for
complimentary. Thanks!
Chincoteague Spring
Weekend Trip
Chincoteague Spring weekend
Tishescheduled
for May 15 through 17,
2026 (Friday to Sunday). The trip is
limited to 24 people and sign-up
procedures are detailed below. NVBC
membership is required for this trip.
Mid-May is an excellent time to
visit the Chincoteague National
Wildlife Refuge (NWR). Spring
shorebird migration is in full swing
with most birds in breeding plumage.
Historically, the club’s trips tally about
100 species, including such Eastern
Shore specialties as Black-necked
Stilts, American Oystercatchers, Piping
Plovers, Whimbrels, Marbled Godwits,
Red Knots, Little Blue Herons,
Tricolored Herons, Western Cattle
Egrets, Glossy and White Ibis, Least,
Royal, and Common Terns, Black
Skimmers, Clapper Rails, Chuckwill’s-widow, Brown-headed
Nuthatches and Boat-tailed Grackles.
Continued on p. 2
Speaker:Lucy Uncu
n March 2025, long time birders, Lucy and Suleyman Uncu, took their
I first
exclusively “birding trip” with Tropical Birding to the Ecuadorian
Andes. Although they had birded for many years both in the US and while
living and traveling abroad, overseas adventures had never been
specifically focused on birds. This trip was a revelation. For 21 days, their
group of four plus guide and driver visited both sides of the Andes in search
of hummingbirds and other birds among the 1,600 plus species in Ecuador.
They learned about Jocotoco, an NGO focused on acquiring critical habitats
and stayed at a number of their lodges during the tour. The tour is billed as
a Hummingbird Extravaganza and is in 3 parts of which they took 2. Each
segment had a different guide and driver. Overall they added more than
600 species to their life list and saw an incredible 65 species of
hummingbird. One major takeaway from this trip was be flexible! Washed
out roads changed the itinerary more than once, but the guides always
managed workarounds. They highly recommend Tropical Birding Tours for
anyone interested in Ecuadorian birding.
General Meeting Notes: Early
bird refreshments start at 7:30
pm. Any contributions of food
or beverage will be most
gratefully received. There will
be a drawing for door prizes.
Northern Virginia Bird Club
pins will be available for
members who would like to buy
them ($5 each).
MEETING PLACE:
St.
Andrews Episcopal Church,
4000 Lorcom Lane, Arlington,
Directions are on page 5.
Male Peruvian Racket-Tail
photographed by Sam Wood,
Tropical Birding
Presidential Peenting
In recent Siskins, I paid tribute to several of the NVBC
board members (Elton Morel, Phil Silas, Jean Tatalias,
and Diane Marton) who moved on for various reasons.
They will all be missed and I am forever grateful for their
many contributions to the club. Fortunately, I am thrilled
to announce that we have filled all of the vacancies on the
board and have also added a pair of directors.
Luke Holian will be our Vice President for Field Trips.
He has been a trip leader for us, and he is also the compiler
for the Fort Belvoir Christmas Bird Count. Luke has done
a fine job of recruiting leaders for our current slate of field
trips. Especially with the departure of Elton and Phil, I am
happy that our reliable leaders and some new ones have
stepped up to help NVBC.
Kay Bushman is our new Vice President for Programs.
You may know her from her work with the Friends of
Dyke Marsh where she coordinates the Sunday morning
bird walks. Kay is an experienced birder and I look
forward to her contributions. If you or someone you know
has a program to share with the club, please let her know.
Karen Pao is now our treasurer. She is a math wiz and
has already shown her skills at organizing our financing
and even saving NVBC some money.
Cindy Nickerson is our new secretary, and she has
jumped right into the role. She’s kept excellent minutes
and drafted letters. Her attention to detail has already
served us well.
Troy and Lori Barbour are our new directors. This
dynamic duo is always a welcome addition to our field
trips. Troy has upgraded our website with a new list of
events with links, a calendar, and a club field trip blog.
Thanks Troy!
Thanks to all and I wish everyone a happy and birdy
2026.
Chincoteague Spring Weekend Trip from p. 1
two-hour boat trip (which has an estimated $30 fee) on
Saturday afternoon. Please do not make your hotel
reservations until your trip registration has been confirmed.
We have obtained a very special rate of $106 including
taxes per night on 20 rooms for Friday and Saturday nights
at the Spark by Hilton Chincoteague Island (formerly Best
Western Chincoteague Island Hotel) on Maddox Boulevard.
A two-night stay is usually required. Hotel reservations
must be made by April 24 to get this special group rate.
Confirmed participants should make their own reservations
by calling 757-336-6557. Press 1 for reservations. This
number goes to the front desk and not the Hilton reservation
line. Be sure to say that you are with the Northern Virginia
Bird Club. Check-in time is 3 p.m. on Friday, with a Spark
prior 24-hour notice policy for cancellation. Also note that
Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge has an entrance fee
per car.
Plans for the weekend include birding the Chincoteague
NWR on Friday afternoon starting at 3:15 p.m. (optional) or
on Saturday starting at 7:30 a.m. Activities on Saturday
morning include birding along Beach Road, Swan Cove and
Tom’s Cove. On Saturday afternoon at 1:30 p.m., timed to
hit low tide, we will board a pontoon boat and travel along
the Chincoteague Inlet, then to Fishing Point at the end of
Tom’s Cove and, finally, to Black Point Landing, all the
while looking mostly for shorebirds along the mudflats.
Saturday (optional) evening plans include dinner at Bill’s
Prime Seafood and Steaks at 6:30 pm. Sunday morning, we
may visit Chincoteague Island Park Trail, Queens Sound
Flats and Mariner’s Point. The trip concludes at noon on
Sunday.
Because the Chincoteague weekends are such popular
trips, we will continue with the new sign-up procedure to
enable wider member participation. Registration will open
on Wednesday, March 11 at 6 a.m. To sign up for this trip,
please email Luke Holian at holian.luke@gmail.com. All
members who send an email between 6 and 7 a.m. will be
eligible to be put on the list. However, club members who
were not on the Spring 2025 or the Winter 2026 trip will get
a higher priority, in the order received. They will be
followed by those who have been on one of those trips, in
time stamp order. The 24 slots are likely to fill up very fast
and therefore, a waiting list will be started with those who
respond in the first hour. Any club member who sends an
email after 7 a.m. on March 11 will not be given higher
priority over those in the first hour but will be considered
for any available slot or waitlisted in order of the time
stamp. When signing up, please indicate whether you are
interested in the group dinner on Saturday night and the
2
—Larry Meade
Common Yellowthroat photographed by Larry Meade
—Luke Holian
Northern Virginia Bird Club . www.nvabc.org
A Coastal Virginia Adventure
I always enjoy reading about and experiencing
vicariously the exciting international birding trips that our
members have shared with us over the years. These are all
unforgettable experiences, but it’s also possible to see
some great birds and make some memories right here in
Virginia. In early October, I took a rewarding trip to the
Eastern Shore and Virginia Beach. It was a three-day trip
where I visited the Kiptopeke hawk watch, took an all-day
pelagic trip and finished up at Back Bay NWR.
On Friday, I decided to take
the northern route on my way to
Virginia Beach. After picking up
some fudge near Chincoteague, I
headed south to the Kiptopeke
State Park. Before heading over
to the hawk watch, I found a
Horned Lark on the lawn near the
pier. The Kiptopeke hawk watch,
which has been operating for
many years, has experienced
watchers who catalog the
migrating raptors that fly through
every fall. While I was there, I
saw various hawks, falcons and
Bald Eagles. The highlight for
me was a flock of fifteen
American White Pelicans that
passed by. There was a nice
group of birders there and it was
fun to pass the time and
exchange birding stories with
them.
On Saturday, it was the main
event. Andrew Rapp had
chartered a Rudee Tours boat to
head out to the Norfolk Canyon
off Virginia Beach for an all-day
pelagic adventure. We boarded
the boat at 4:00 a.m. Fortunately,
no one missed the boat despite
the early hour. We would be on
the water until 8:00 p.m. The first
bird of the day was a Blackcrowned Night Heron which was
sitting on a post next to our boat.
Perhaps it was there to see us off
and wish us a safe journey. I was
happy to see several people on
the boat that I knew including
some of Virginia’s top birders. It
was going to be a great trip!
Our main goal was to find
seabirds that are rarely seen near shore but are present out
in the deep waters way offshore. I wanted to find some
new birds for the year and possibly add some new birds to
my Virginia life list. Fortunately, Andrew got me on a
Photographed by Larry Meade:
American White Pelicans at Kiptopeke Hawk Watch
Pomarine Jaeger off Virginia Beach
Short-finned Pilot Whales (page 2, opposite page)
The Siskin . Vol. 71, No. 1 . February 2026
Scopoli’s Shearwater which has recently been split from
Corey’s Shearwater. I had seen one off Hatteras, North
Carolina, but this was a new one for me in Virginia. One
thing about pelagic trips that can be true is that you might
not see a large variety of birds, but what you do see are
often special. For me the bird of the day was a Pomarine
Jaeger which I had never seen on the East Coast, much less
in Virginia. It sat down long enough for me to photograph
—which added another bird to my photo life list. In
addition to the seabirds, there
were also a few lost warblers
flying around out there. One
warbler was especially unlucky
as it met its demise in the bill of a
Parasitic Jaeger.
I love seeing the birds but I
also always enjoy our encounters
with marine mammals on pelagic
trips. This time, we saw many
Short-finned Pilot Whales and
Bottlenose Dolphins. The
dolphins were the offshore
species which are called
Common Bottlenose Dolphins, as
opposed to the coastal dolphins
which are referred to as
Tamanend’s Bottlenose Dolphins.
The offshore species is about
fifty percent larger. One of the
dolphins was feeling playful and
decided to jump out of the water
and perform a barrel roll, which
resulted in several of us humans
in the front of the boat getting
wet when it gave us a nice tail
splash. Other cool non-bird
creatures included Portuguese
Man o’wars and Sargassum
Swimming Crabs riding the
plentiful Sargassum Seaweed.
On day three I headed over to
bird at Back Bay National
Wildlife Refuge. Soon after I
arrived, I saw several birders
lined up in the parking lot
looking at something. I was
momentarily puzzled, but soon
realized that they were observing
a Vesper Sparrow feeding on the
pavement. This is uncommon in
our area but apparently is very
rare in Virginia Beach. While
there, I also saw a Clay-colored Sparrow which was
spotted by some of the local birders. A couple of
Cottonmouths lounging around next to a trail were also fun
to see.
It was an excellent weekend, and you can see
additional photos from my trip at https://
uberlarry.smugmug.com/Bird-Trips.
—Larry Meade
3
Upcoming Trips and Events
Compiled by Luke Holian
Note:
Beginning birders are welcome on all trips.
When reservations are required, please contact one of the trip leaders. Contact info listed below.
Check the NVBC website for updated information about trips: https://www.nvabc.org/calendar-list-of-events/.
Next-day rainy day make-up day may be possible if trip leader is available. Cancellation and make up
day will be announced via NVBC email exchange and web site.
To receive email notices, join the NVBC eMail Exchange. For sign-up directions see back page of The Siskin.
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
13
February
7:30 AM
Dyke Marsh
Steve Bielamowicz
Carol Mullen
18
Saturday
14
8:30 AM
Mason Neck SP
Luke Holian
21
8:30 AM
Woodbridge
Veterans
Memorial Park
8 AM
Silver Lake RP
Ed LeGrand
Toby Hardwick
Joan Mashburn
Jim Pearson
22
24
NVBC
Meeting
8 PM
5:00 PM
Woodcock Display
at Dusk Huntley Meadows
Hike/BikeTrail
27
7:30 AM
Huntley
Meadows
Park
Larry Meade
Steve Bielamowicz
Luke Holian
Larry Cartwright
March 4
Trip Leaders
Steve Bielamowicz
Larry Cartwright
Toby Hardwick
Luke Holian
Frank Klotz
Ed LeGrand
Joan Mashburn
Larry Meade
Carol Mullen
Tom Nardone
Cynthia Nickerson
Karen Pao
Jim Pearson
Dixie Sommers
28
8 AM
Aquia Landing
Beach Park
gr8gosh@gmail.com
571-359-2395
703-201-1517
703-258-9432
klotzfg@gmail.com
908-268-6627
703-209-8678
571-275-2523
571-313-9926
703-946-7738
917-825-5327
karen.i.pao@gmail.com
pear4sonjp@gmail.com
703-969-7931
8:30 AM
Long Branch
Dixie Sommers
Carol Mullen
11
8:30 AM
Riverbend RP
Karen Pao
18
8:30 AM
Neabsco
Regional Park Boardwalk
7
8 AM
Occoquan Bay
NWR
Larry Meade
14
8 AM
Leopold’s Preserve
Ed LeGrand
Toby Hardwick
21
8 AM
Silver Lake RP
Ed LeGrand
Toby Hardwick
Carol Mullen
25
8 AM
Huntley
Meadows Park
Tom Nardone
28
8 AM
Manassas
Battle eld Park Brawner Farm
Ed LeGrand
Toby Hardwick
April 1
8:30 AM
Long Branch
Larry Cartwright
Tom Nardone
fi
4
4
8 AM
Aquia Landing
Beach Park
Luke Holian
Northern Virginia Bird Club . www.nvabc.org
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
April
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
8
Saturday
11
8:30 AM
Frying Pan Farm
Park
7:30 AM
Occoquan Bay NWR
Steve Bielamowicz
Cynthia Nickerson
Karen Pao
15
18
8 AM
Meadowood
Recreation Area –
7:30 AM
Leopold’s Preserve
Toby Hardwick
Jim Pearson
Lower Potomac
Field Station
Tom Nardone
21
NVBC
Meeting
8 PM
22
25
8:30 AM
Dyke Marsh
7:30 AM
Clifton Institute
Tom Nardone
Dixie Sommers
Cynthia Nickerson
Frank Klotz
29
May
8:30 AM
Huntley Meadows
Hike/Bike Trail
Pete Huffer
Majorie Copson
(Joan Mashburn for
questions)
Dixie Sommers
6
8:30 AM
Long Branch
Dixie Sommers
Carol Mullen
DIRECTIONS
NVBC Meeting (2/24, 4/21) St.
Andrews Episcopal Church, 4000
Lorcom Ln, Arlington 22207, at the
intersection of Lorcom Ln and
Military Rd. From the intersection of
Spout Run Pkwy and Lorcom Ln, go
about a half mile on Lorcom to the
second traffic light. Turn left onto
Military and enter the first driveway
on the right. There is some parking
near the Church’s back entrance and a
bigger lot up the driveway. There is
on-street parking. Enter at the back
door facing Military Rd which leads
to the Undercroft where the meeting
is held.
Note: 2026 general meetings will be
h e l d o n t h i r d Tu e s d a y s ( n o t
Thursdays) unless there is a conflict
with venue scheduling.
——
Aquia Landing Beach Park (2/28,
4/4) 2846 Brooke Rd, Stafford 22554
The Siskin . Vol. 71, No. 1 . February 2026
2
7:30 AM
Turquoise Trail
7
7:30 AM
Frying Pan Farm
Park
Karen Pao
From southbound I-95 towards
Stafford, take exit 140 to Stafford,
then left (east) on Courthouse Rd (Rt
630), go 3.5 mi. and turn right on
Andrew Chapel Rd (Rt 629), go 0.9
mi. and under the railroad bridge to a
slight left onto Brooke Rd (Rt 608),
go 4.4 mi. to the park entrance,
continue past park entrance gate to
the parking lot at the end of the road.
Meet in parking lot.
Clifton Institute (4/25) 6712
Blantyre Rd, Warrenton 20187 Take
1-66 West to exit 40, to merge onto
US-15 south towards Haymarket (0.4
mi), then turn right onto VA-55 West.
Drive 5 mi. and turn left onto
Blantyre Rd. Proceed 5.6 mi. and
then turn right on to a dirt road. Drive
northwest for about 0.3 mi. to the first
lake and park in the parking lot on the
left. Meet your leader at this parking
lot. Please do not drive up to the
house and park there.
Dyke Marsh (2/13, 4/22) 6401
George Washington Memorial Pkwy,
Alexandria 22307 (Belle Haven Park
9
7:30 AM
Trillium Trail
Joan Mashburn
and Marina). From Alexandria, take
George Washington Pkwy south.
Cross I-495, continue 1.2 mi. to Belle
Haven Park entrance on the left. Meet
at south parking lot.
Frying Pan Farm Park (4/8, 5/7)
2739 West Ox Rd, Herndon 20171
From Fairfax County Parkway (Rte
286), go 0.8 miles northwest on West
Ox Rd (Rte. 608), turn right into the
Visitor Center Parking lot. Meet the
group in the parking area at the north
end of the Visitor Center.
Huntley Meadows Hike & Bike
Trail (2/22, 4/29) From I-495, take Rt
1 south 0.5 mi to Rt 633 (S. King
Hwy). Turn right (west), go 2.5 mi. to
park entrance and lot on left (just
before Telegraph Rd).
Huntley Meadows Park (2/27, 3/25)
3701 Lockheed Blvd, Alexandria
22306 From I-495, take Rt 1 south 3
mi. to Lockheed Blvd. Turn right on
Lockheed and go 0.5 mi. to Harrison
Ln to park entrance on left. Meet in
parking lot.
5
Trip Directions from p. 5
Leopold’s Preserve (3/14, 4/18)
16283 Thoroughfare Rd, Haymarket
20169 From I-66 west, take exit 40 to
Rt 15 toward Haymarket/Leesburg.
Turn left onto Rt 15 south. Turn right
onto Rt 55 and go 1.7 mi. to
Thoroughfare Rd. Turn left onto
Thoroughfare and go 0.3 mi. There
are parking lots on both sides of the
road. Meet in the right hand (west)
parking lot. The left hand (east)
parking lot can be used for overflow
parking.
Long Branch Nature Area (3/4, 4/1,
5/6)
625 S Carlin Springs Rd,
Arlington 22204 Take Rt 50, east
from Fairfax or west from Rosslyn to
Carlin Springs exit. Go south on
Carlin Springs 0.5 mi. to Nature
Center on left, just south of N. Va
Community Hospital on left. Meet at
Nature Center parking lot.
Manassas Battlefield Park Brawner Farm (3/28) Manassas
20109 From I-495 take I-66 west 21
mi. to exit 43B for US-29 N.
Continue on US 29 for 1.3 mi. Turn
left onto Pageland Ln. Continue 0.5
mi. then turn right into Brawner
Farm. Continue 0.3 mi. to Brawner
Farm parking lot (6501 Pageland Ln,
Gainesville 20155). Meet in the
parking lot.
Mason Neck State Park (2/14) 7301
High Point Rd, Lorton 22079 From
I-495, take I-95 south 7 mi. to Lorton
exit. Left on Rt 642 to Rt 1. Right on
Rt 1 to Rt 242 (Gunston Rd). Left on
Rt 242, go 4 mi. to Mason Neck
Management Area. Turn right, follow
paved road to end at Visitor Center.
State fee area.
Meadowood Recreation Area Lower Potomac Field Station (4/15)
10406 Gunston Rd, Lorton 22079
From I-495, take I-95 south 7 mi. to
Lorton exit. Left on Rt 642.
Immediately after passing under
railroad tracks (0.25 mi.) turn right on
Lorton Market Rd, which soon
becomes Gunston Cove Rd. After
crossing Rt 1, road becomes Gunston
Rd. Go 1.8 miles to Meadowood on
right. (BLM, Lower Potomac Station
Office). Park on right next to horse
barns just before field station
building.
Neabsco Regional Park Boardwalk (3/18) 15125 Blackburn
Rd, Woodbridge 22191 From I-495,
6
take I-95 south about 14 mi. to exit
156 (Dale City/Rippon Landing/Rt.
784). Take exit 156A for Rt 784 east
toward Rippon Landing.
Continue
0.7 mi. cross Rt 1 where Dale Blvd
becomes Rippon Blvd and continue
down the hill another 0.4 mi. to a stop
light and turn right on Blackburn Rd.
The park parking lot is then 0.2 mi.
away on the left.
Occoquan Bay National Wildlife
Refuge (3/7, 4/11) 13950 Dawson
Beach Rd, Woodbridge 22191 From
I-495, take I-95 south 9 mi. to (left)
exit 161 (Woodbridge). Go south on
Rt 1 about 2 mi. to left turn onto
Dawson Beach Rd. Continue on
Dawson Beach 0.7 mi. to entrance
gate. Meet in parking lot.
Riverbend Park (Visitor Center)
(3/11) 8700 Potomac Hills St, Great
Falls 22066 From I-495, take Rt 193
west 5 mi. to Rt 603 (Riverbend Rd).
Turn right onto Rt 603, go 2 mi. to
Jeffery Rd. Turn right onto Jeffery
and go 0.8 mi. to main park entrance
sign on right. Turn right and continue
0.5 mi to Visitor Center parking lot.
Meet in front of Visitor Center.
Silver Lake Park (2/21, 3/21) 16198
Silver Lake Rd, Haymarket 20169
From I-495, take I-66 west 24 mi. to
exit 40 (Rt 15). Turn south onto Rt 15
(toward Haymarket) and go 0.3 miles
to Rt 55. Turn right onto Rt 55 and go
0.9 miles to Antioch Rd. Turn right
onto Antioch and go 1.3 miles to
Silver Lake Rd. Turn right and
proceed to park entrance and continue
to parking lot next to the lake. Meet
in parking lot.
Tr i l l i u m Tr a i l – G . R i c h a r d
Thompson Wildlife Management
Area (5/9) (Fauquier Co) From I-495,
take I-66 west 51 mi. to Linden exit
(Rt 79). Go left (south) from exit
ramp on Rt 79 approx. 1000 ft. to Rt
Turn left (east) onto Rt 55; go 1.2
mi. to Rt 638 (Freezeland Rd). Turn
left (north) onto Rt 638. Follow Rt
638, as it bears right, 5.3 mi. to
Trillium Trail Parking Area on right
—look for sign on kiosk. (Parking
Area is just before radio towers.)
Note: participant must have an access
permit issued by VA Department of
Game and Inland Fisheries,
www.dgif.virginia.gov,
1-866-721-6911
Turquoise Trail (5/2) 11450 Glade
Drive, Reston 20191 From I-66 take
Exit 60 for VA-123 toward Vienna/
Fairfax. In Oakton drive 0.7 mi. turn
left onto Hunter Mill Rd. Drive 2.4
mi. and turn left onto Lawyers Rd.
After 1.1 mi., turn right onto Twin
Branches Rd. In 0.3 mi. turn left onto
Glade Dr. Drive 1.1 mi. to the Walker
Nature Center. Parking is available
along both sides of Glade Dr. Cars
will be towed if parked in nearby
apartment parking lot. Meet by
Nature Center parking lot entrance.
Woodbridge Veterans Memorial
Park (2/18) 4300 Veterans Dr,
Woodbridge, 22191 From I-495, take
I-95 south 9 mi. to (left) exit 161
(Woodbridge). Go south on Rt 1
about 3.5 mi. to left turn onto
Featherstone Rd.
Continue on
Featherstone about a mile and cross
the RR tracks, turn left and proceed
about 1 mile to the community center
on the left, meet near Veterans Drive
in front of the center.
Bird Walks at Local Parks
Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve,
second Saturdays, 8 a.m. Meet at
the parking lot. Online
registration. Visit the Loudoun
Wildlife web site, www.
loudounwildlife.org/events/
Dyke Marsh, Sundays, 8 a.m.
See directions. Visit the Friends of
Dyke Marsh web site,
www.fodm.org
Great Falls National Park,
Sundays, 8 a.m. Meet in the main
parking lot near the Park Visitor
Center.
Huntley Meadows Park,
Mondays, 7 a.m. (Apr-Sep) ) 8
a.m. (Oct-Mar) Meet in parking
lot.
Merrimac Farm, last Sunday, 8
a.m. Meet at Merrimac Farm
Stone House. www.pwconserve .
org/events/index.html#birds
Riverbend Park, first and third
Fridays, 8 a.m., beginning April
3 to October 16. Meet at the
Nature Center parking lot off
Jeffery Road. No fee but call
Riverbend Park at 703-759-9018
to register. Leaders: Kris Lansing
and Robin Duska
Sweet Run State Park, fourth
Saturdays, 8 a.m. Meet at Education Center. Online registration.
www.loudounwildlife.org/events
Northern Virginia Bird Club . www.nvabc.org
Birding in Sydney, Australia
An unexpected opportunity to visit Australia in 2025
led to my birding adventures in Sydney. Australia has
about 850 bird species of which 356 are endemic, and I
hoped to add some to my life list. Simon Husher, who runs
Birding Sydney & Beyond, was my guide for a day of
birding in the Royal National Park, south of Sydney. The
58-square-mile park is Australia’s first national park
and the second oldest national park in the world after
the Yellowstone National Park. The Park offers a
variety of habitats—towering coastal sandstone cliffs,
beaches, inlets, waterfalls, and plateaus with
heathlands, woodlands, rainforests, wetlands, and
river valleys—all of which offer excellent birding
opportunities. One can see landbirds, shorebirds and
waterbirds—more than 280 bird
species have been recorded, almost a
third of them endemic to Australia.
October 14 was a perfect time of the
year to go birding. It was glorious
spring weather with the jacaranda and
laburnum trees in bloom.
Our first order of business was to
look for a pair of Tawny Frogmouths
roosting on a brush box tree
(Lophostemon confertus) in the
residential neighborhood of
Erskineville before setting out for the
Park. We were delighted to start our
birding day seeing a parent Tawny
Frogmouth with two chicks in the
nest, while the other parent perched on
a lower branch of the tree.
It took us about an hour to drive to the Park,
including an obligatory stop at an eco-friendly café in
Marrickville, to pick up coffees and kick our day into
high gear. Australia’s coffee culture permeates every
aspect of life and a typical day begins with coffee,
usually a flat white. On the outskirts of the Park, we
passed by eucalypt woodlands scarred from the
managed burns set to protect the Park
from the kind of bushfires that
devastated many areas surrounding
Sydney in 2019 and 2020.
As I learned the names of
Australian birds, I was amused that
many of them begin with an adjective.
Powerful, as in Powerful Owls,
Australia’s largest. Lovely Fairy-wren,
Superb Lyrebird, Splendid FairyWren, Noisy Miner, and Peaceful
Dove. Superb, in particular, seems to
be the most popular adjective. There
are Superb Parrots, Fairy-wrens,
Lyrebirds, and more. You get the
picture.
Once we entered the park, we
started birding in the Wattamolla
section with eucalypt woodlands, heathlands and
steep sandstone cliffs dropping to the ocean. One of
the first birds we spotted was the Superb fairy-wren,
The Siskin . Vol. 71, No. 1 . February 2026
with striking shades of blue, in the parking lot. A
good omen.
We walked past a waterfall and a beach and
climbed to the top of the cliffs for a breathtaking view
of waves crashing against the rocks, and spotted
humpback whales in the distance. The humpbacks
migrate back to Antarctica between September and
November, and seeing them was definitely a bonus.
As we reached the top of the plateau the terrain
changed quickly to heathland and we saw flocks of
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos busy cracking open
the dried pods of banksia trees.
Later that morning, we drove to Audley, set along
the Hacking River with dense woodland forests with
tall eucalypts, casuarinas and littoral
rainforests. Our bird sightings in
Audley included the Laughing
Kookaburra, Sacred Kingfisher, Satin
Bowerbird, the Australian King
Parrot, and flocks of Sulphur-crested
Cockatoos. The latter, in particular,
have unfortunately developed a
prodigious appetite for human food.
After lunch we birded in
Bundeena, a coastal village on the
shore of the Port Hacking River. It has
both water and bush habitat with
coastal scrub, wetland, and Sydney
red gum trees. In the wetland, we
spotted the Australian White Ibis,
Royal Spoonbill, Great Egret, the
Australian Wood Duck, Chestnut Teal,
Little Pied Cormorant and other wetland birds.
We ended the day tallying the species at a picnic
table in Bundeena over a delicious local hard cider
while a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo kept watch. We
walked five miles that day, and saw a total of 57
species. We heard another 12.
Two days later I was lucky to be among a small
group of people to see a pair of
Powerful Owls roosting in a large
ficus tree in the Royal Botanic Garden
in Sydney. The pair had resided in the
garden for years, then disappeared for
a while, returning only recently.
My only regret of birding in
Sydney was not spotting the elusive
lyrebird. This means only one thing:
I’ll have to return to find it.
—Vineeta Anand
Photographed by Simon Husher:
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo (above)
Superb Fairy-wren (below)
Note: additional photographs contained
in on-line addendum
7
NORTHERN VIRGINIA BIRD CLUB
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JOIN THE NORTHERN
VIRGINIA BIRD CLUB
Northern Virginia Bird Club dues for
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receive our quarterly newsletter, The
Siskin. Checks for dues should be sent
to Northern Virginia Bird Club, Attn:
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If you miss an issue of The Siskin or
need to report an address or ZIP Code
change, please send an email message
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Please note: NVBC does not
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NVBC ON THE WEB
Current information and special
notices about NVBC meetings, field
trips, and other activities, along with a
printable membership form, are posted
on the club’s website, www.nvabc.org.
If you have information or pictures
you would like to see on the website,
please email the webmaster, Jeremy
Beck at jghyll+nvabc@gmail.com.
NVBC eMail Exchange
For emails on bird walk updates and
late weather changes, get on our
Exchange. We do not bombard
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ID help requests. To join the exchange, send an email to lgmeade
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list is for NVBC members’ use only.
General Meeting Dates: February 24,
April 21, September (tbd), and Nov
(tbd) 2026..
Next Board Meeting: Thursday,
February 12, 2026, 7:30 p.m. To join
the Zoom board meeting or to have
items put on the agenda, please email
lgmeade@gmail.com.
Deadline for next issue of The
Siskin: The April issue will include
activities through June 2026. Please
send items for publication by March
15, 2026 to the editors at
nvbcsiskineditor@gmail.com.
CLUB CONTACTS
President: Larry Meade,
571-275-2523
Vice President, Programs: Kay
Bushman, 703 472 5599
Vice President, Field Activities:
Luke Holian, 703-258-9432
Secretary: Cindy Nickerson,
cnandcats@gmail.com
Treasurer: Karen Pao, karen.i.pao
@gmail.com
Directors: Lori Barbour,
703-785-8673
Troy Barbour, 703-400-2085
Jeremy Beck, 703-517-1816
Joan Mashburn, 703-209-8678
Directors Emeritus: Charlotte Friend,
Diane Marton, Elton Morel, Joanna
Taylor, Jean Tatalias
Membership: Elizabeth Fenton,
emfenton@cox.net
Webmaster, www.nvabc.org: Jeremy
Beck, jghyll+nvabc@gmail.com
Editors, The Siskin: Pat and Neal
Gause, 703-476-3903
Administrator, NVBC Facebook
Group: Allie Guidry (please contact
through Facebook page)
NVBC email: lgmeade@mail.com
Additional Sydney Birding Adventure Photographs
Tawny Frogmouth at Erskineville
photographed by Vineeta Anand
Powerful Owls in the Royal Botanic Garden,
Sydney photographed by Vineeta Anand
Crimson Rosella photographed by Simon Husher
Sulfur-crested Cockatoo at Budeena photographed by Vineeeta
Anand
Coastal habitat in Royal National Park photographed by Simon
Husher
Heathland habitat in Royal National Park photographed by
Simon Husher
The Siskin . Vol. 71, No. 1 . February 2026
Addendum website only 1