July 4, 2025 [LINK / comment]
NOTE: This is yet another "catch-up" blog post based on Facebook posts from last July.
July 5: I hiked up Betsy Bell Hill this morning, curious as to what birds might be there. Highlights included some Great Crested Flycatchers, Eastern Wood Pewees, Eastern Towhees, Red-eyed Vireos, White-breasted Nuthatches, Downy Woodpeckers, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, and at least FIVE Pileated Woodpeckers making quite a racket! No photos of them, however. No warblers either.
(Betsy Bell Hill, July 5)
July 10: I braved the heat and did a late morning walk along Bell's Lane, and fortunately my efforts were rewarded. Eastern Kingbirds were in three different locations, and I don't recall seeing so many in the Bell's Lane area before. No Eastern Phoebes, however. The highlight of the day was a White-eyed Vireo, singing its curious staccato song. Also present were the usual Indigo Buntings, Eastern Bluebirds (family group!), Eastern Towhees, Gray Catbirds, American Goldfinches, and House Finches. Also a Brown Thrasher!
July 12: I went for a short walk along the trails at Sunset Park in Waynesboro for the first time today. (Actually, a few of us club members were given a tour of the site three or so years ago, before the development began.) It is quite an impressive facility, with a huge parking area and modern bathrooms, and provides a great view of Waynesboro and the Shenandoah Valley. It just opened in May. Anyway, I saw mostly the usual woodland birds in the forest: Red-eyed Vireo, Eastern Wood Pewee, Pileated Woodpeckers, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Eastern Bluebird, Indigo Bunting, a Scarlet Tanager, and several Tufted Titmice.
July 13: I drove all the way up to Reddish Knob today, in faint hopes that the Mourning Warbler(s) might still be there, but my efforts were not in vain. I had nice views of Canada Warblers, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Scarlet Tanagers, Black-and-white Warblers, American Redstarts, Indigo Buntings, Blue-headed Vireos, Black-capped Chickadees, a Downy Woodpecker, and a Brown Thrasher.
(Reddish Knob, July 13)
July 15: I did my walk along Bell's Lane this morning before the temps got into the 90s, and I had some nice surprises. The White-eyed Vireos are still singing, and I also heard an Eastern Screech Owl repeatedly whinnying in the vicinity. Wow!! I was also surprised to see a Black-and-white Warbler as well as a Worm-eating Warbler, along with the "usual suspects": Eastern Towhees, Field Sparrows, Eastern Kingbirds (not shown), and Indigo Buntings. I also saw an Eastern Phoebe that was either a youngster or a molting adult.
July 19: I saw a Great Crested Flycatcher (or maybe two) along Bell's Lane this afternoon, for the first time in a while. Also a Black-and-white Warbler again, as well as the usual Eastern Towhees, Eastern Kingbirds, and Indigo Buntings. Not pictured: Downy Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, American Goldfinch, and Gray Catbirds.
July 21: Jacqueline and I went for a big hike, starting at Milam Gap in the Shenandoah National Park and descending about 800 feet along the Mill Prong Trail to Rapidan Camp, where President Herbert Hoover built a summer retreat compound in 1929. Along the way we saw quite a few good birds, but it was hard getting photos of them. We saw Eastern Phoebe bringing a tasty treat to his/her nestlings, right at Hoover's cabin, a Blue-headed Vireo, an American Redstart, an American Goldfinch, an Acadian Flycatcher, and a House Wren. Jacqueline spotted a young Ruffed Grouse just a few feet a way, but all I could see was a rustle in the bushes. Also seen were a Least Flycatcher, a probable Yellow-billed Cuckoo, some Black-and-white Warblers, Downy Woodpeckers, a Ruby-throated Hummingbird (first of year for me!?), an Ovenbird, and a Dark-eyed Junco. It was quite a big day!
(Mill Prong Trail, Shen. Nat. Park, July 21)
July 23: Jacqueline and I went for another big hike today, this time along the Falls Hollow trail, which begins along Rt. 42 a few miles before Augusta Springs. It was my first significant visit there this year, and conditions were mild but humid. (Recent rains have benefited the greenery.) We heard and saw multiple Blue-headed Vireos and Acadian Flycatchers, as well as Eastern Towhees, but only one notable cluster of warblers, flitting about the tree tops. ID is hard, given the poor light conditions, but I think that's a Worm-eating Warbler and a Black-throated Green Warbler at the top right. The other two are a Red-eyed Vireo and a White-breasted Nuthatch. On the way back down we heard and saw a couple Louisiana Waterthrushes.
July 26: On Bell's Lane in the afternoon I once again saw Black-and-white Warblers as well as American Redstarts, but could only get photos of the former. This one is evidently a young male practicing to sing, as his throat was almost all white. Also present was a Great Crested Flycatcher, as well as the usual Indigo Buntings, Eastern Towhees, etc.
July 29: I had to go up to Harrisonburg today, and made several birding stops along the way. At Leonard's Pond were a couple Solitary Sandpipers, along with at least a dozen Killdeers. At Lake Shenandoah I saw some American Goldfinches, Eastern Bluebirds, and Eastern Kingbirds, but no egrets or herons. The lake is still in miserable condition, overgrown with weeds. At the JMU Arboretum I saw an Eastern Wood Pewee, an Eastern Phoebe, and a Ruby-throated Hummingbird. My first photo of the latter all year! Also, a pathetic-looking male Northern Cardinal in the process of molting. At Hillandale Park I saw some Eastern Towhees, Carolina Wrens, and a Downy Woodpecker.
(Leonard's Pond and Hillandale Park, Harrisonburg, July 29)
Additional photos and montages, including individual photos of some of the birds in the above montages, are now available on the NEWLY UPDATED (easier to navigate, etc.) 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.)