June 13, 2025 [LINK / comment]
Birding in Virginia, January 2024
NOTE: This is yet another "catch-up" blog post based on Facebook posts from [January 2024]. (The last such post was October 31, 2024, covering the month of January 2024.) Note that I resumed teaching during the second week of the Spring 2024 semester, and with an extra course load, I really didn't have much time for birding until early May.
January 2: We had a Red-shouldered Hawk lurking in the tree tops out back for several hours last Friday, and it was remarkably indifferent to Jacqueline's attempts to shoo it away. Eventually it came down to a relatively low level suitable for a photograph, and I took full advantage of the opportunity!
January 4: I paid a brief visit to Montgomery Hall Park this afternoon, and was soon rewarded with very nice views of a Pileated Woodpecker and a Hermit Thrush. Later while walking along Bell's Lane, I saw a Red-bellied Woodpecker, a Northern Cardinal, a White-crowned Sparrow, and a Red-shouldered Hawk in the middle of a field, presumably eating. Given the location, my first impression was that it was a Northern Harrier.
(Montgomery Hall Park & Bell's Lane, January 4)
January 8: I had a few good views of raptors this afternoon. Decent weather for a change! The Red-shouldered Hawk was perched along the Rt. 262 bypass north of Staunton, the Great Blue Heron was at the pond behind Hardee's in Verona, the American Kestrel was above an open field nearby, the Song Sparrow was at the Mill Place trail, while the Red-tailed Hawk and Northern Harrier were both in the Bell's Lane area.
January 11: The weather has been awful for the past couple days, but I managed to get out on Thursday, and had a nice view of a Northern Harrier along Bell's Lane. It's probably the same one I have seen before, but this time it was patrolling a field along the southern portion, rather than the usual upland area farther north. The background scenery of a house is certainly unusual. I also had a nice closeup view of an American Kestrel on the way home, as well as a Red-bellied Woodpecker.
(Bell's Lane, January 11)
January 26: The much-improved weather coincided perfectly with my precious free time this afternoon, so I got caught up on my exercise by walking along Bell's Lane. Plenty of good birds, including a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and some Cedar Waxwings, plus LOTS of American Robins every which way.
Additional photos and montages, including individual photos of some of the birds in the above montages, will soon become available on the Wild Birds chronological (2024) page. (I am in the midst of a major reorganization of my bird photos, so that they will be sorted year by year.)