Augusta and Rockbridge Counties, VA 11/21/18

All photos are © Marshall Faintich

Bonnie Hughes had reported a rare Rufous Hummingbird visiting a feeder at her home in Augusta County, and very kindly allowed Walt Childs and I to visit and look for this neat species. We were there only a short time when it appeared.

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Rufous Hummingbird

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Rufous Hummingbird

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Rufous Hummingbird

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Rufous Hummingbird

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Rufous Hummingbird

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Rufous Hummingbird

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Rufous Hummingbird

From there, we drove south along Guthrie Road in Stuart's Draft on our way to Rockbridge County. On Guthrie, we spotted a very cooperative, juvenile Cooper's Hawk, and a Red-shouldered Hawk that was near the road until a large truck drove by, scaring it farther from the road before I could get a good photo.

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Cooper's Hawk

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Cooper's Hawk

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Red-shouldered Hawk

We drove one of our favorite routes in northern Rockbridge County, and then north to Swoope in Augusta County, searching for raptors. By the time we reached Swoope, we had seen four Red-tailed Hawks and four American Kestrels. As we drove around Swoope, we added five more American Kestrels, three more Red-tailed Hawks, and three Northern Harriers (two males and one female).

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American Kestrel

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American Kestrel

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American Kestrel

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American Kestrel

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American Kestrel

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American Kestrel

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Northern Harrier

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Northern Harrier

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Northern Harrier

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Northern Harrier

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Northern Harrier

We saw one of the Red-tailed Hawks perched in a tree about 250 feet from the road. It was content to sit there, but when another Red-tailed Hawk flew in, the perched hawk took flight, circling a few times to gain altitude. It was clear that it had a meal in its bulging crop.

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Red-tailed Hawk

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Red-tailed Hawk

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Red-tailed Hawk

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Red-tailed Hawk

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Red-tailed Hawk

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Red-tailed Hawk

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Red-tailed Hawk

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Red-tailed Hawk

On our return to east of the Blue Ridge, we saw our eighth Red-tailed Hawk of the day. Another very good outing!


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