Central Virginia Birding 4/5-11/12

All photos are © Marshall Faintich


North winds brought colder temperatures back to central Virgina, and slowed the northward progess of migratory bird species. A return to southerly winds and warmer temperatures starting this coming weekend should bring some new birds to the area. I visited a few sites within 45 minutes of my house, and saw more than 40 avian species during the past week.

Stoney Creek (Wintergreen) 4/5-10/12

Short hikes near my home produced a good number of commonly seen species. The Red-shouldered Hawk is still in her nest in my back yard, and the Eastern Screech Owl in my neighbor Frits's yard continues to poke its head out of the Wood Duck box.


Eastern Screech Owl


Red-shouldered Hawk


Brown Thrasher


Northern Cardinal and Yellow-rumped Warbler


American Robin


Cedar Waxwing


Female Belted Kingfisher

Ivy Creek Natural Area (Charlottesville, VA) 4/9/12

I had a late morning appointment in Charlottesville, and decided to check out Ivy Creek. I was there from 12:30 to 2:30, and the highlight of my hike was finding my way back to the parking lot after hiking for two hours without a trail map.


Hermit Thrush


Hermit Thrush


Eastern Painted Turtles

Western Ridge Trail and Lake (Crozet, VA) 4/11/12

I had planned to go to the Western Ridge Lake to look for migrating rails and bitterns in the large marshy areas there, but changed my mind because the forecasted sunny skies were actually very cloudy. As I drove from my house, I saw that the sky was clearing in the direction of Crozet, so I again changed my mind back to my original plan. I didn't see any rails or bitterns, but did see 37 avian species, including three Wilson's Snipes (a new Virginia bird for me), my FOS Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, my FOS Barn Swallow, a small flock of Rusty Blackbirds, and lots of other species. The Bald Eagle was in her nest.


Wilson's Snipes and female Green-winged Teal


Wilson's Snipe


Wilson's Snipe


Wilson's Snipe and Common Grackle


Wilson's Snipe


Wilson's Snipes


Bald Eagle


Blue-gray Gnatcatcher


Blue-gray Gnatcatcher


Canada Geese


Carolina Chickadee


Killdeer


Pileated Woodpecker


Rusty Blackbirds


Rusty Blackbird


Swamp Sparrow


First year(?) Swamp Sparrow


White-throated Sparrow


Boldy-colored Yellow-rumped Warbler


Peter Cottontail

This morning's list (37 species):

Eastern Bluebird
Wilson's Snipe
Tree Swallow
NRW Swallow
Barn Swallow
Killdeer
Kingfisher
Wood Duck
Green-winged Teal
Canada Goose
Field Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Swamp Sparrow
Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher
Blue Jay
Carolina Chickadee
Yellow-rumped Warbler
House Finch
Red-winged Blackbird
Rusty Blackbird
Common Grackle
Northern Cardinal
American Goldfinch
American Crow
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Bald Eagle
Red-shouldered Hawk
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Cowbird
Eastern Phoebe


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