Rockfish Valley Trail 12/1/14

All photos are © Marshall Faintich

This first day of December saw temperatures near 70 and mostly sunny skies. Rain, sleet, and perhaps some snow are forecasted for overnight, so we are in for a big change, and I wanted to get out and do some birding while I could. When I got to the trail, it was unusually quiet. Perhaps the Cooper's(?) Hawk that flew from near the first wooden bridge had something to do with the birds staying hidden, as activity increased shortly after that, but was confined mostly to in and near the bog area.


Cooper's(?) Hawk

I ended up with 23 species on the trail in about 2 hours, but the birds didn't make it very easy for me to see and photograph them - probably still spooked by the hawk.


Fox Sparrow


Fox Sparrow


Fox Sparrow


Field Sparrow


Field Sparrow


Field and White-throated Sparrows


White-throated Sparrow


White-throated Sparrow


Song Sparrow


Yellow-bellied Sapsucker


Great Blue Heron


Yellow-rumped Warbler

I saw a Gray Catbird near the first wooden bridge. They are quite common on the trail, but rare here after November 5th.


Gray Catbird

There was a Palm Warbler on the upstream trail. It looked like it had a damaged left eye :-(


Palm Warbler


Palm Warbler

The highlight of the hike was a stunning Red-shouldered Hawk.


Red-shouldered Hawk

This morning's RV Trail list:

Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Black Vulture
Red-shouldered Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Rock Pigeon
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
American Crow
Carolina Wren
Eastern Bluebird
Gray Catbird
Cedar Waxwing
Palm Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Eastern Towhee
Field Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
American Goldfinch



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