Birdlife in Brookmont

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Brookmont is a birdy place. It benefits from its proximity to the Potomac River bottomlands and the contiguous green space created by the C&O Canal National Historic Park. Brookmont also features a heavily wooded watershed of Little Falls that is a protected Federal property and, of course, the old rail right-of-way of the Glen Echo trolly. All of these green touches make for a Brookmont neighborhood that is friendly to birds and other wildlife. Below I present a brief introduction to Brookmont’s birds and how best to enjoy them. 

Five Featured Brookmont Birds. Probably as many as 150 species of birds spend time in Brookmont every calendar year. But nobody has ever recorded all these birds, many of which are quick pass-throughs or fly-overs. My yard list of birds, accumulated over three decades, is 104 species. So there are lots of birds to be seen, but most of us tend to focus on a few prominent ones. Here are five: the Bald Eagle appears overhead in Brookmont probably every month of the year. Eagles nest every year in a big sycamore tree across the Potomac at the Little Falls dam and the home range of this eagle pair includes Brookmont. I see these birds pass over several times a year. Perhaps the most popular of Brookmont’s birds is the oversized, red-crested, Pileated Woodpecker. This bird likes to visit backyard suet feeders in the winter. It nests in the woods here and is a year-round resident. Its prominent low-pitched drumming is heard in the spring. Barred Owl is our most common resident owl and is periodically heard giving its loud hooting call: hoo hoo hoo hoo, hoo cooks for you’all?  Red-shouldered Hawk is our most common breeding raptor. It favors the woods. It is vocal in the spring and pairs can be seen doing display flights high overhead in preparation for nesting. The latest addition to our special birds is the Common Raven, a big oversized crow with a growling voice and wedge-shaped tail. Ravens have been showing up in Brookmont in recent years, ever since a pair started nesting on Chain Bridge. For many decades, ravens were confined to the interior uplands where they nested on cliffs and in the mountains. These days, bridges and cell towers offer suitable nesting sites.

Year-round birds. Some birds are non-migratory and live in Brookmont year-round. These include Carolina Chickadee, American Crow, Carolina Wren, Fish Crow, Northern Cardinal, Downy Woodpecker, Song Sparrow, Northern Mockingbird, House Finch, House Sparrow, and European Starling. These are our most reliable avian neighbors, nesting in our yards and singing for us in spring. American Robins and Blue Jays are year-round birds but they are also mobile and migratory. The robins and jays that winter in Brookmont may not be the same birds as those that summer in Brookmont. Most American Robins in winter join big flocks that tend to forage for fruit in various vines that fill the canopy trees down along the river. One sees flocks of Blue Jays moving northward high overhead in spring. 

Summer Birds. Some migratory bird species spend the summer in Brookmont and winter southward, to the southern US, Mexico, or even South America. Brookmont’s prominent summer birds include Gray Catbird, Great Crested Flycatcher, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Chipping Sparrow, Baltimore Oriole (once common but now uncommon), Indigo Bunting (down on the canal), Common Grackle, and House Wren. It’s good to learn the songs of these summer birds, which makes it easier to find them.

Migrants. Lots of pretty songbirds migrate through Brookmont in spring and fall. Many are only seen here a few days every year, and to find them one must be listening for unusual songs and be sharp-eyed—checking out every bird moving high in the greenery of the tallest trees. These include the swallows, wood warblers, vireos, thrushes, blackbirds, grosbeaks, and tanagers. Down on the river, various ducks, grebes, loons, and other waterbirds pass by seasonally and are only seen by those who spend considerable time watching bird movements over the river.  

Winter Birds. Some birds arrive in Brookmont in the fall and spend the winter here. These include Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Dark-eyed Junco, and White-throated Sparrow, 

Wandering Birds. Some bird species are wanderers. These include Cedar Waxwing, American Goldfinch, Eastern Bluebird, and the winter finches (Purple Finch, Pine Siskin). The wandering birds move about in flocks. Blackbirds, grackles, and starlings form big flocks in spring and fall. 

Feeding the Birds. Many of us feed the birds. I like to feed the birds in winter, when natural food stores for the birds are limited. I recommend black oil sunflower seed and suet. These can be purchased at the Backyard Bird Feeder in the Sangamore Mall.  The sunflower seeds bring in the Northern Cardinals, which brighten a winter day. And the suet brings in the woodpeckers, which are always fun to watch. My suet feeder has been visited by Pileated Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, and Red-bellied Woodpecker. In late summer it is fun to put out a hummingbird feeder to provision the migrating Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. This migrant also nests in the neighborhood, so it is fine to put out the hummingbird feeder in spring and summer (but there are always more hummers in late summer). 

Birding Apps. Those just starting the hobby of birding will want to take advantage of websites and apps that help with learning and identification. Cornell’s All About Birds offers a  detailed online field guide to all our birds. Merlin is a Cornell app that helps with field  identification and learning bird song (the Merlin app will actually identify the birdsongs you are hearing in real time). eBird is a master database of bird sightings and an app that will allow you see what birds other people are reporting (and exactly where), and to report what you are seeing as well as keep a personal record of the birds you have seen over time. 

Bird Clubs. It is fun to get out into the field and bird-watch with a group, led by a local expert. The Montgomery Bird Club is the local group you should join. Year-round they offer local and state-wide field trips, during which you can build your life list. Other nature-oriented associations include DC Audubon, Nature Forward, American Bird Conservancy, and National Audubon Society. 

Bruce Beehler