Rockfish Valley Trail 2/15/11


This morning was my first time out on the trail since early December. I wanted to see if yesterday's strong southerly winds brought any new species to the trail. The temperature dropped 20 degrees today, and it was in the upper 30s when I arrived at 8:50. In a little less than 1-1/2 hours, I did not see a lot of birds, but was able to log 17 species. The most comon was Song Sparrow, followed in number by Bluebirds.

Red-tailed Hawk
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker

Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Carolina Wren
Song Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco

Eastern Bluebird
Northern Cardinal
American Goldfinch
Northern Mockingbird
Blue Jay
American Crow


Red-tailed Hawk



Pileated Woodpecker


Carolina Wren

The Carolina Wren had the shortest bill that I have ever seen on this species, although the apparent size may be due to foreshortening in the photograph. The Northern Mockingbird was my 70,000th wildlife photo on my Canon 50D camera body, bringing my total to more than 130,000 since December 2006.

The highlight of the morning was a Common Mink that I saw in the rocks along the downstream trail, halfway between the picnic table and the Glenthorne Loop trail. It ran into the rocks when it saw me, and then poked its head out after a while, and then swam across the river to the bank right in front of me.


Common Mink


Common Mink


Common Mink



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