Birds in Hyattsville

Birds - The following are some of the birds seen in Hyattsville or surrounding areas. The nesting birds noted with an *asterisk* are indigenous to the Hyattsville area. There are probably 150 species in the area. Take a picture and add to the list! Don't know what it is you just saw? Check out the Patuxent Bird Identification Info Center.

Does anyone know what this bird is called?

Painted Bunting *

Tufted Titmouse - 5" to 6” long, gray feathers, creamy belly w/rust side bars, black crest.*

Pileated Woodpecker - 18” long, black feathers w/white markings, red head, black crest.*

Red-bellied Woodpecker - 10” long, black & white zebra feathers, red head, red spot on belly.

* Hairy Woodpecker - 9” long, black & white zebra feathers, red spot on head.* Downy Woodpecker - 6” long, black & white zebra feathers, red spot on head.*Northern Cardinal

The Heron Family - (Great Blue Heron, Black and Yellow-crowned Night Heron & Green Heron) primarily feed on fish and amphibians and therefore nest near bodies of water or marshlands. Nests can comprise “rookeries” wherein large numbers of Blue Herons build several nests in one and adjoining tall trees along the water. Hyattsville is home to one of the few nests of Yellow-crowned Night Heron in Prince George's county. Click HERE for video footage of a nesting pair on Oglethorpe Street in 2007. This pair raised chicks in the nest in 2007 and then returned in 2008 (although it is uncertain whether they raised a second brood). There are early reports that they have returned for spring 2009.

Ospreys - 21-23” long body, white breast & belly, black back & wings (long), dark eye stripe, white forehead and crown. Ospreys are fish-eaters which comprise 99% of their diet. They nest in man-made structures such as telephone/utility poles, channel markers, duck blinds, etc. Their huge nests of sticks are near large bodies of water and seldom more than 1 mile inland.The Hyattsville area is also host to several species of hawks including the

large Red-shoulder

and Red-tailed Hawks.Spring is bird migration season. Many birds rest and feed in our area on their way up north for the summer. Once, we had a small flock of Cedar Waxwings (6" - 7” long body, gray/brown feathers, black mask edged in white over eyes, yellow/orange tip to tail), which fed on a berry tree in our neighbor’s yard. It was fun watching the residentMocking Bird, who considered this its tree, fussing with the Cedar Waxwings. We also had a rare sighting ofBohemian Waxwings in our back yard under our feeder which were way off course due to a major storm.

Although these bird descriptions are not exact and I don’t profess to be a bird expert, this does give some idea as to their size, markings and habitat. We have documented over 75+ different bird species in our yard in Hyattsville which was designated a “Maryland Wild Acres” by the MD-Department of Natural Resources for our bird feeders, bird houses, bird bath (year-round), habitat, shrubbery and trees. We also have raccoons, opossums and squirrels (including flying), and rare sighting of fox and chipmunks. Submitted by Barbara Runion.