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April 23, 2016 [LINK / comment]
Field trip to Augusta Springs
Ed and Nancy Lawler led a very successful (though underattended) Augusta Bird Club field trip to Augusta Springs today, accompanied by just Jo King and me. Nancy heard a Louisiana Waterthrush as soon as we got out of the car, and we found it shortly thereafter, along with several Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. Those were only two of the seven (7) first-of-year bird sightings for me; here is the complete FOY list:
- Louisiana Waterthrush
- Blue-gray Gnatcatchers
- Eastern Kingbird
- Yellow-throated Vireo
- Ruby-throated Hummingbird
- Worm-eating Warbler
- Ovenbird
Other notable sightings included several Bluebirds, Towhees, Goldfinches, a Raven, a Downy Woodpecker, and most of the other usual birds. I also spotted a Swamp Sparrow, I believe the first one I had seen since the winter of 2014-2015. (They head north in the summer.) I also heard but did not see a Red-eyed Vireo, a Blue-headed Vireo, a Pine Warbler, and an Eastern Phoebe. We had to hurry back to the car as it started to rain at 11:00, just when the forecast had said it would. On the way back to Staunton we stopped to see the Bald Eagle nest in Swoope, and saw two big juveniles in it, and one adult in a nearby tree.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Louisiana Waterthrush, Worm-eating Warbler, Swamp Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird (M), Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and Ovenbird. (April 23, 2016)
Other bird sightings
At Sweet Briar College yesterday I saw my first Yellow Warbler of the year, and saw my first Chimney Swifts of the year the week before that.
On Tuesday I hiked around Montgomery Hall Park after unloading stuff at the recycling center, but didn't see any new spring arrivals. Likewise on Bell's Lane later in the afternoon, it was relatively uneventful.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: White-breasted Nuthatch, Eastern Towhee, Red-winged Blackbird (F), Brown-headed Cowbird (M). (April 19, 2016)
The above montages, as well as individual photos of most of the birds shown therein, can bee seen on the Wild Birds yearly photo gallery page.
Posted (or last updated or commented upon): 23 Apr 2016, 10: 23 PM
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Hits on this page (single blog post) since July 2, 2007: 
Category archives:
(all years)
Baseball
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Wild Birds
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This (or that) year's
blog highlights
January 10, 2016 ~ Cooperstown calls Griffey, Piazza
January 17, 2016 ~ ABC field trip to Highland (& Bath!) County
January 21, 2016 ~ R.I.P. Glenn Frey
January 26, 2016 ~ Sweet Briar College is saved!
January 31, 2016 ~ Presidential campaign begins
February 6, 2016 ~ Fall bird migration season 2015
February 20, 2016 ~ Life bird: Virginia Rail!
February 21, 2016 ~ 2016 primaries: populists propel polarization
March 10, 2016 ~ Yes, another Wrigley Field update!
March 26, 2016 ~ Trump triumphs, Republican Party implodes
April 4, 2016 ~ Opening Day(s) in America, 2016! (& Sportsman's Park update)
April 18, 2016 ~ R.I.P. Alan L. Clem
April 21, 2016 ~ Flying out to So. Dak. (& back)
April 30, 2016 ~ Trump & Clinton take commanding leads
April 30, 2016 ~ Migration season reaches peak
May 7, 2016 ~ Trump secures victory; Sanders fights on
May 21, 2016 ~ ABC field trip to Reddish Knob
June 7, 2016 ~ ABC field trip to Highland County
June 9, 2016 ~ FOD [first-of-decade] Prothonotary Warblers!
June 14, 2016 ~ Birding on Hite Hollow Road
June 16, 2016 ~ Holy $#!+ -- Nationals win big showdown with Cubs
July 1, 2016 ~ Nationals sweep the Mets, widen NL East lead
July 3, 2016 ~ Kentucky Warblers, and more!
July 8, 2016 ~ Soras breeding in the Valley!
July 13, 2016 ~ Redistricting reform movement is growing
July 16, 2016 ~ The Nationals' starting rotation
August 5, 2016 ~ New page: Stadium profiles!
August 7, 2016 ~ Magical mushroom tour*
September 7, 2016 ~ To the northeast: Baseball road trip, 2016
September 18, 2016 ~ East by Northeast: Big city scenery travelogue
September 25, 2016 ~ Nationals win National League East Division
September 27, 2016 ~ Lucky! 13 warblers on Betsy Bell Hill
October 2, 2016 ~ Nationals' regular season ends on a high note
October 5, 2016 ~ Shenandoah National Park birding (II)
October 14, 2016 ~ Nationals flinch, Dodgers advance to NLCS
October 14, 2016 ~ Shenandoah National Park getaway
October 16, 2016 ~ World War II aircraft show (II)
October 25, 2016 ~ Holy cow: Cubs beat Dodgers, win NL pennant!
November 3, 2016 ~ The Cubs win the World Series!!!
November 4, 2016 ~ New month arrives, & new birds too
November 6, 2016 ~ Campaign 2016 grinds to a nasty, ugly end
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Blog highlights have been compiled for the years 2010-2012 thus far, and eventually will be compiled for earlier years, back to 2002.
Explanation
The "home made" blog organization system that I created was instituted on November 1, 2004, followed by several functional enhancements in subsequent years. I make no more than one blog post per day on any one category, so some posts may cover multiple news items or issues. Blog posts appear in the following (reverse alphabetical) order, which may differ from the chronological order in which the posts were originally made:
- Wild birds (LAST)
- War
- Science & Technology
- Politics
- Latin America
- Culture & Travel
- Canaries ("Home birds")
- Baseball (FIRST)
Also see: My blog practices.
Blog errata (Nobody's perfect.)
