Walt Childs and I hiked here in Stoney Creek this morning and logged 27 species. The most interesting was a cluster of Red-breasted and White-breasted Nuthatches that were foraging in some pine trees along Deer Run. They would go to a pine cone, extract a seed, and then fly back to the tree trunk to crack the seed, although in some of the photos it looks like perhaps thet were stashing the seeds in the tree bark. There were at least two of the Red-breasted species, perhaps more.
Red-breasted Nuthatches
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Red-shouldered Hawk
We then headed over to the Rockfish Valley Trail where we added four more species to today's list: a pair of Red-tailed Hawks, Yellow-rumped Warbler, American Goldfinch, and Great Blue Heron. It always is interesting for me to see so much color variation in the Song Sparrows. We were surprised to see a lot of green vegetation growing along the bank and in the middle of the Rockfish River along a part of the downstream trail. None of this vegetation was there a week ago.
Rockfish River
Song Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Downy Woodpecker
When I got home there was a Purple Finch at my feeder, and it had very dark wing and tail feathers. Later in the afternoon, Alice and I went for a walk, and we saw a Pied-billed Grebe in Lake Monocan, and a probable Sharp-shinned Hawk high in a tree.
Purple Finch
Purple Finch
Today's list (34 species):
Field Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Eastern Phoebe Carolina Wren Eastern Bluebird Mallard Pied-billed Grebe Great Blue Heron American Goldfinch Golden-crowned Kinglet Pileated Woodpecker Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Flicker Downy Woodpecker Blue Jay White-breasted Nuthatch Red-breasted Nuthatch Red-tailed Hawk Red-shouldered Hawk Sharp-shinned Hawk American Crow Turkey Vulture Black Vulture Northern Mockingbird Northern Cardinal Purple Finch Carolina Chickadee Tufted Titmouse Canada Goose Mourning Dove |