It was another beautiful day to be out with my camera. By the time I got to the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains at Afton, the overcast skies had become mostly sunny. My target was to check out Lake Smith in Swoope, but there weren't a lot of birds out this day.
I spent a couple of hours in the Swoope area, and only logged 17 species, but did get some good views of a Bald Eagle and a female Belted Kingfisher.
Bald Eagle
Bald Eagle
Female Belted Kingfisher
Female Belted Kingfisher
Female Belted Kingfisher
Killdeer
Song Sparrow
Golden-crowned Kinglet
As I wasn't too far from the Augusta Springs Wetlands, I decided to try my luck there, but only saw 10 species, and added three more to my list for the day.
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Downy Woodpecker
Female Yellow-bellied Sapucker
Male Yellow-bellied Sapucker
Carolina Wrens
I ended my birding day with stops at the usual birding hotspots in Stuart's Draft, and except for a hugh flock of Starlings, only saw a few birds, but four more species, bringing the trip total to 24.
Augusta County list:
Turkey Vulture Bald Eagle Sharp-shinned Hawk Red-tailed Hawk American Kestrel Rock Pigeon Belted Kingfisher Red-bellied Woodpecker Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Downy Woodpecker Common Raven Carolina Chickadee Tufted Titmouse Carolina Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Northern Mockingbird European Starling Song Sparrow Northern Cardinal American Goldfinch |
There was fairly dense fog this morning, so I decided to take a hike here in Stoney Creek. I saw 20 avian species, but not much "to write home about."
Male Hairy Woodpecker
Female Red-bellied Woodpecker