Birds of Hard Bargain Farm

The forests, fields, and wetlands of Hard Bargain Farm provide habitat for a diversity of birds.  In
spring, the second-growth and swampy forests are used by migrating thrushes and warblers,
though not as frequently as oak-dominated forests on more upland sites.  However, a good
variety of neotropical migrant species nest in these forests, including Yellow-billed Cuckoo,
Eastern Wood-Pewee, Acadian Flycatcher, Great Crested Flycatcher, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue-gray
Gnatcatcher, Wood Thrush, Northern Parula, Prothonotary Warbler, Ovenbird, Kentucky
Warbler, Hooded Warbler, and Scarlet Tanager.  Eastern Kingbirds, and Orchard and Baltimore
orioles nest in trees at forest edges or along the Potomac River or Piscataway Creek.  In fall,
Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Hermit Thrushes, Winter Wrens, and Yellow-rumped Warblers
arrive from more northerly nesting grounds, and a few remain through the winter.  Red-bellied
and Downy woodpeckers, Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, Carolina Wrens, and Northern
Cardinals are common year-round forest residents.  Common Yellowthroats, Blue Grosbeaks,
and Indigo Buntings nest in shrubs at field edges, and these habitats attract Song Sparrows,
White-throated Sparrows, and Dark-eyed Juncos in winter.  A few pairs of Northern Bobwhites,
Grasshopper Sparrows, and Eastern Meadowlarks nest in hayfields or pastures at Hard Bargain
Farm, and Tree Swallows and Eastern Bluebirds occupy nest boxes in the fields.  On mild
evenings in late winter and early spring, American Woodcock males display in the fields; a few
may attract mates and nest, while others migrate northward.  Ospreys regularly perch and nest
along the shoreline or on offshore navigational structures.  The marsh at the mouth of Accokeek
Creek provides nesting, foraging, or resting habitat for Canada Geese, Mallards, and possibly
rails.  During winter, the waters off Hard Bargain Farm are used by a variety of waterfowl
species.  Rafts of Lesser Scaup, Buffleheads, Common Mergansers, and Ruddy Ducks are
especially common.