August 9, 2024 [LINK / comment]
Birding in Virginia, November 2023
NOTE: This is another "catch-up" blog post based on Facebook posts from last November; the last such blog post was August 4.
November 3: I saw White-crowned Sparrows on Bell's Lane for the first time this season, after having seeing one in the Swoope area the week before. Both they and their White-throated relatives are remarkably consistent in sticking to their respective customary habitats: open vs. bushy landscapes, respectively. There were also a dozen or more Yellow-rumped Warblers in the afternoon, along with American Robins, Blue Jays, Downy Woodpeckers, etc. NO Northern Harriers, however!
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Yellow-rumped Warbler, White-crowned Sparrow (J), Downy Woodpecker, White-crowned Sparrow (A), Blue Jay, and in center, White-throated Sparrow. (Bell's Lane, November 4)
November 5 (Sunday): In hopes of seeing a very rare Limpkin that had been reported there as recently as a few days ago (probably a lost stray from Florida), Jacqueline and I paid a visit to the Totier Creek Reservoir Park near Scottsville for the first time. Despite much effort hiking and scanning the lakeside, we just couldn't find the our target bird, however. As a consolation prize, we got to see both kinds of kinglets at close range, as well as Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, a Great Blue Heron, and a Double-crested Cormorant. There were also dozens of Tufted Titmice every which way! The hawks (Red-tailed and Cooper's, perhaps?) were flying over the picnic area where Route 29 crosses the Rockfish River.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Cooper's (or Sharp-shinned?) Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (M), Great Blue Heron, Double-crested Cormorant, and in center, Ruby-crowned Kinglet. (Totier Creek Reservoir Park, near Scottsville, November 5)
November 10: I saw my first Northern Harrier of the season in the usual area along Bell's Lane late in the afternoon. Carolyn Ford told me that she saw two Short-eared Owls on her property, but I didn't have any luck in that regard. Allen Larner arrived just before sunset and stayed later than me, so maybe he saw one. We saw two Savannah Sparrows along Carolyn's driveway, and I had seen a Hairy Woodpecker earlier, along with a bunch of American Robins, etc.
November 15: It was a pretty gloomy day, especially with all the smoke from the wildfires, but I managed a couple very interesting bird sightings. On the pond at the Mill Place trail in Verona was a Pied-billed Grebe, while a Great Blue Heron was stalking prey on the bigger pond behind Hardee's. But the biggest surprise of the day was a Great Egret on the distant farm pond east of Bell's Lane, along with an assortment of ducks and Canada Geese.
November 18 (Saturday): I led an Augusta Bird Club field trip to Chimney Hollow trail, and three other members joined me for a pleasant, invigorating walk. The previous night's rain had washed the skies of all that nasty smoke, but our hopes for a good day of birding did not pan out. We did see Winter Wrens in two separate locations (different individuals are shown below), along with Carolina Wrens and a probable Brown Creeper. Otherwise, just some White-breasted Nuthatches, and fleeting glimpses of a Pileated Woodpecker, and a Downy Woodpecker. We heard Carolina Chickadees and Tufted Titmice (the one shown here was by our back porch, actually), as well as a few American Goldfinches. Things were no better at nearby Braley Pond, so we called it a day.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, White-breasted Nuthatch, Winter Wren, Downy Woodpeker, and Winter Wren. (Chimney Hollow, November 18)
November 23 (Thanksgiving Day!): Among the highlights on Bell's Lane in the afternoon were a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, some White-crowned Sparrows, an Eastern Meadowlark, a Tufted Titmouse, and a Yellow-rumped Warbler.
November 25: In Montgomery Hall Park I saw all three winter residents of the thrush family: American Robins, Eastern Bluebirds, and Hermit Thrushes. Not much else, however. Along Bell's Lane I spotted three Golden-crowned Kinglets, several White-crowned Sparrows, and a pair of Downy Woodpeckers, but no Northern Harriers or Short-eared Owls. So, I drove to the end of the extended portion past the golf course, and came upon dozens of American Robins, several Cedar Waxwings, a Pileated Woodpecker, and a Red-tailed Hawk that briefly perched nearby.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Red-tailed Hawk, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Cedar Waxwing, American Robin, Hermit Thrush, Downy Woodpecker, and in center, Eastern Bluebird. (Montgomery Hall Park & Bell's Lane, November 25)
November 28: I was delighted to see a few Yellow-rumped Warblers and American Robins flitting about in the frigid air as I was leaving work today. Just as I got home I saw a huge flock of Turkey Vultures overhead, so I snapped a couple photos of them.
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 (2023) page.
August 4, 2024 [LINK / comment]
Birding in Virginia, October 2023
NOTE: This is another "catch-up" blog post based on Facebook posts from last October; the last such blog post was July 25. I plan to get up to date by the end of this month.
October 2 (Saturday): A visit to Bell's Lane late in the morning yielded a variety of warblers, an E. Phoebe, and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Late in the afternoon I visited Montgomery Hall Park and spotted an E. Wood Pewee, a Cape May Warbler (behaving oddly like a flycatcher), a Red-tailed Hawk, and my very first Yellow-bellied Sapsucker of the season!
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Cape May Warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, E. Wood Pewee, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Bay-breasted Warbler, American Redstart, and center, Magnolia Warbler. (Bell's Lane and Montgomery Hall Park, October 2)
October 6: I went to "scout out" the Boy Scout camp area, in preparation for the field trip I will lead there on October 28. En route I spotted a Kestrel east of the Swoope post office. There were a couple dozen Wood Ducks (I think) on the pond, and they really "flew the coop" when a young Bald Eagle and then an adult Cooper's Hawk arrived. Also present were some Killdeers on the dock. Along the hunter access road, I saw young Red-headed Woodpeckers, some Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, and all the other woodpecker species except for Pileated. Along Livick Road on the way home I saw several E. Phoebes, Palm Warblers (bright yellow!), and E. Bluebirds.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Bald Eagle (imm.), Cooper's Hawk, Red-headed Woodpeckers (imm.), E. Phoebe, Palm Warbler, American Kestrel (M), Downy Woodpecker (F), and E. Bluebird. (Boy Scout camp and Swoope area, October 6)
October 9: For a while I didn't see much along Bell's Lane other than robins, chickadees, and even woodpeckers munching on smashed walnuts on the road this morning, but eventually it got interesting. I saw my first Golden-crowned Kinglet of the season, as well as a Ruby-crowned one (blurry photo), and I'm pretty a Yellow-rumped Warbler. (If so, another FOS bird for me.) Bad lighting conditions made it hard to tell for sure. Black-throated Green and Cape May Warblers were also present, if not exactly cooperative with my photographic efforts. Eastern Phoebes, a friendly Song Sparrow, a menacing Red-tailed Hawk, and a Northern Flicker rounded out the day.
October 13: I hurried to Bell's Lane late this afternoon and spotted two recently-arrived migrant species: a Palm Warbler and a Yellow-rumped Warbler! Also an Eastern Phoebe, House Wren, Downy and Red-bellied Woodpeckers, and a stray Red-winged Blackbird in a tree top.
October 16: I had a glimpse of my first White-throated Sparrow along Bell's Lane late this afternoon, but couldn't get a photo. I did, however, manage to capture a Black-throated Green Warbler (with a green caterpillar!) and one of many Yellow-rumped Warblers that were zipping around up in the trees. There were two E. Phoebes along that long wooden fence, as well as some House Finches, Carolina Chickadees, woodpeckers, and the other usual suspects.
October 21: We had our first Dark-eyed Junco and White-throated Sparrow of the season out back yesterday, and I saw several of the latter while strolling along Bell's Lane late this afternoon. Also a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, a Yellow-rumped Warbler, a young hawk of some sort, etc.
October 25: While getting exercise at the Mill Place trail in Verona I had some nice avian photo-op appearances! The Blue-headed Vireo was a particularly nice surprise. It was feeding on the fruits in a persimmon tree. Yum! Also visible were a dozen or so Cedar Waxwings, a White-breasted Nuthatch, and a few Yellow-rumped Warblers. The Great Blue Heron was at the pond behind Hardee's, and the Pileated Woodpecker was out back, here in Staunton.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Blue-headed Vireo, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Pileated Woodpecker, White-breasted Nuthatch, Great Blue Heron, and in center, Song Sparrow and Cedar Waxwing. (Mill Place trail & Staunton, Oct. 25)
October 27: After recycling this afternoon I headed over to Montgomery Hall Park and spent way too much time getting a photo of one of the many newly-arrived White-throated Sparrows. Not much else in the lower area other than an E. Towhee, so I went to the summit and came upon a real bonanza: Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, other woodpeckers, Field Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows, E. Phoebes, and great closeup views of a Blue-headed Vireo and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet -- a male in full display mode!
October 28 (Saturday): Thanks to ideal, unusually warm weather, we had a good turnout for the field trip at the Boy Scout camp: nine people altogether. It was very birdy at the end of the road where we parked, and we came upon a few hot spots while hiking up the Trimble Mill hunter access road. (Full disclosure: I mistakenly identified some goldfinches as Pine Warblers at the beginning of our field trip!) Highlights included a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, two Blue-headed Vireos, a few Palm Warblers, and a pair of elusive Hermit Thrushes. An immature White-crowned Sparrow made a brief appearance, along with a few other sparrow species. There were a dozen or more Ruby-crowned Kinglets, but they mostly stayed high up in the trees, hard to see. We finally saw some of the expected Eastern Phoebes on our way out, but rather surprisingly, no nuthatches at all. As we were about to leave, Deb Kirtland spotted two Gray Catbirds and some Cedar Waxwings, and Antonio Martinez spotted some Red-tailed Hawks, bringing our total species count up to 33. On the way back to Staunton some of us drove along Livick Road in Swoope, where we saw some Savannah Sparrows, with House Finches, more Palm Warblers, and a few others.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Eastern Phoebe, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Blue-headed Vireo, Hermit Thrush, Palm Warbler, and Savannah Sparrow, and in center, American Goldfinch. (Boy Scout camp & Swoope area, October 28)
October 29: Jacqueline and I went hiking in the Shenandoah National Park, from the Blackrock trail head north to the Dundo group campground and back, mostly along the Appalachian Trail. With the unseasonably warm temperatures, there were lots of insects (including noisy katydids), which the birds seemed to like. I saw a nice mixture of recent winter arrivals and late lingerers, with the highlights being Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Downy Woodpecker, Pine Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, both Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets* (the latter being my first one of the season, probably), and my first Brown Creeper of the season!
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 (2023) page. (I am in the midst of a major reorganization of my bird photos, so that they will be sorted year by year.)
