Northern Cardinal
It was another beautiful morning to be out birding. I started off here in Old Trail, where I logged 22 avian species.
Northern Cardinal
Field Sparrow
Brown Thrasher
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Pied-billed Grebe
After lunch, Walt Childs stopped by and we headed over to Warren Ferry to look for Yellow-throated Warblers. This species breeds every year in the sycamore trees by the creek bridge just west of the James River, but they like to stay very high up in the trees. Unless one of them drops down to lower levels while foraging for a meal, it is difficult to see them once the leaves have fully opened, so we try to see them as soon as possible after they have arrived. As soon as we got there, I heard Yellow-throated Warblers singing, and we saw at least two of them, but more likely four of them as they flew from tree to tree.
Yellow-throated Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
We saw several other species at Warren Ferry as well, and my day's avian species total was up to 34 by the time we left.
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Hairy Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Our next stop was at nearby Totier Creek Park, where we saw a pair of Pine Warblers and a Hermit Thrush.
Pine Warbler
Hermit Thrush
After Walt dropped me off at home, I did some more hiking here in Old Trail, and added 4 more avian species to bring my day's total to 40.
Adult Red-shouldered Hawk
Juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk
Carolina Chickadee gathering nesting materials