Slavin Conservation Area
May 8, 2022
Report from the Field by Alan McCoy
Thirty-four degrees and breezy. In May! But that did not stop Joanie Dezember, Shenandoah Marr and yours truly from getting out early to see what kind of critters we could find. Right away as we crossed the grass a Savannah Sparrow flew right in front of us and landed no more than 10 feet away and sang its breezy song. A moment later we turned to see a male Northern Harrier hunting low and rocking side to side over the ground as they normally do. Harriers seem to be getting scarce these days so I was happy to watch him for a while. Shortly thereafter as we were just entering the pines 3 beautifully colored Red-naped Sapsuckers entertained us as they probed trees looking for food. I would guess that they were related as I don’t recall ever seeing more than one at a time.
The county has installed some signs along the trail, which I was glad to see, but they stopped at the first overlook for some reason. I hope they will eventually finish the signage along the whole trail system. There weren’t all that many people on this day, nor many with dogs and they were all on a leash but one. For that I was thankful!
The two most notable sightings for me were 3 Snow Geese flying over. Seems a bit late for them to still be here. The other was a fast-flying falcon. It was much too large to be a Merlin. It was gray above and with the prominent dark mustache it had to be a Peregrine. That is a first for me at Slavin. Did I mention that it was FAST.
One of the most productive areas at Slavin is what I call “warbler alley.” This is across the field from the first overlook where there is a row of birch trees (at least I think they are birch). Walking along quietly here I nearly always find a Yellow Warbler and a Spotted Towhee (which we did find) and this time joined by a quiet Downy Woodpecker looking for bugs.
The water supported plenty of waterfowl including abundant coots and Gadwalls. The blue bills of the many Ruddy Ducks were astonishingly saturated with color but too far away to get a decent photo. But this Cinnamon Teal was exploring nearby reeds so I was able to get a decent image just before it disappeared.
In addition to the bird life the wild flowers were wonderful. Serviceberry are in full bloom. Arrowleaf Balsamroot, Camas and wild hyacinth added so much color to the walk. It may have been cool but it was dry until a bit of graupel fell as we walked back to the parking lot. For a complete listing of the birds we saw, check eBird or click on the link below to open a spreadsheet.
