I was curious to see if any migrating species were in the park. This park usually turns green with vegetation a few weeks earlier than surrounding areas, but it didn't seem that way to me this year. Some of the trees that are often good for birds must have come down in recent storms. I ended up with 23 avian species in the park.
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
American Robin
Eastern Towhee
I've seen a scrawny fox in this park a few times during the past two years, and the fox I saw there this morning was probably the same fox. It looked to be in really bad shape, and had an injury on its leg.
Fox
Ridgeview Park; Waynesboro, VA; March 28th list:
Northern Cardinal
Carolina Chickadee Carolina Wren Brown-headed Cowbird Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Canada Goose American Robin Turkey Vulture Downy Woodpecker
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On my way back to Crozet, I stopped off at the start of the Blue Ridge Parkway, and birded along the first 4 miles of the parkway, and Route 610 between mm. 2 and mm. 4 of the parkway. It's usually the first week of May before there's good birding up there, but some early species show up at the lower elevations. I logged 9 avian species there this morning.
Fox Sparrow
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Pine Warbler
Pine Warbler
Blue Ridge Parkway & Route 610; March 28th list:
Fox Sparrow
Red-breasted Nuthatch Pileated Woodpecker Carolina Chickadee |
The weather was perfect for birding this morning, but I was only able to do a short hike here. Nevertheless, I ended up with 35 avian species. An Osprey was spotted over a couple of the ponds, but I did not see it.
Northern Mockingbird
Eastern Bluebird
Tree Swallow
Northern Flicker
Red-shouldered Hawk
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
American Goldfinch
Like we really need more House Sparrows :-)
Bufflehead
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Old Trail; Crozet, VA; March 30th list:
Mallard
Northern Mockingbird Eastern Bluebird House Sparrow House Finch American Goldfinch Field Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco White-throated Sparrow Song Sparrow Red-winged Blackbird Northern Cardinal Downy Woodpecker
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It was completely overcast this morning, but the rain held off. I ended up with 34 avian species this morning, including 3 species I had not seen here in Old Trail yesterday, and giving me 47 avian species for this report.
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Bufflehead
Hermit Thrush
Killdeer
Old Trail deer herd
It was fun to watch two Tree Swallows having quite a disagreement, and the aerial battle continued until a third Tree Swallow stepped in.
Tree Swallows
Tree Swallows
Tree Swallows
Tree Swallows
Tree Swallows
Tree Swallows
Tree Swallows
Tree Swallows
Old Trail; Crozet, VA; March 31st list:
Bufflehead
American Goldfinch Chipping Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Song Sparrow Red-winged Blackbird Yellow-rumped Warbler Northern Cardinal Killdeer Northern Rough-winged Swallow Dark-eyed Junco Field Sparrow Tufted Titmouse
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