Photo: White-throated Sparrow, Dawn Phillips/Audubon Photography Awards

Frying Pan Farm Park is a Fairfax County park that is mainly geared toward recreation, featuring a model farm and equestrian facilities, and hosting seasonal concerts and festivals. But it also boasts open fields, wetlands, mixed woods, a stream, and a nature trail winding through all these different habitats. The nature trail passes through mixed woods in the north and northwest sections of the park, and meanders by a stream (Frying Pan Branch of Horsepen Run); it is good for woodland birds. The wetland and ponds at the northeast corner (adjacent to Monroe Street) are good for herons, waterfowl and marsh birds. In the southeast and central parts of the park, the farmland and open fields are good for raptors, as well as sparrows and other seed-loving birds.

Your birding guide is Mer Mietzelfeld, an avid birdwatcher since 2008. She held several ornithology field positions in California, South Carolina, Florida, Central America, and the Caribbean before entering the nonprofit space in 2017. Her career is focused on protecting the environment and the birds she loves.

Newer and seasoned birders welcome.

If you have binoculars, please bring them with you.

This walk is also advertised to our Nextgen Birders for Conservation group targeting birders under 45.

From Fairfax County Parkway (Rte 286), go west on West Ox Road (Rte. 608) to the Visitor Center Parking lot at 2739 West Ox Rd.

Registration is recommended but not required. Registrants will get a reminder about the walk and will be notified via email if the walk is cancelled.

We will be documenting the birds we see in eBird and the leader will share the ebird list with you after the walk. If you don't already have an eBird account, you can sign up for a free one here: ebird.org/home