Flicker
I have several good birding spots here in the Stoney Creek (Rockfish Valley) section of Wintergreen, and two of them were very good today.
I started off around 9:30 this morning standing next to the trail sign on the asphalt hiking path at the southeast corner of Lake Monocan. This is the spot where I saw the Hooded Mergansers and Great Blue Heron yesterday. I decided to stick around to see what might be in the lake and in nearby trees. In about 20 minutes, I had 18 species:
Mallard
Canada Goose
American Crow
Eastern Bluebird
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Flicker
Downy Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Tufted Titmouse
Carolina Chickadee
Dark-eyed Junco
American Goldfinch
Belted Kingfisher
Northern Cardinal
White-throated Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-breasted Nuthatch
The hiking path is open to the general public, and there is a parking lot on the north side of the lake, but I like to come in from the east, passing Sawmill Creek pond #3.
Flicker
Canada Geese
I then headed down to the Allen Creek Nature Preserve, and entered near the north end after crossing the small wooden bridge. Entering from the south end at the kiosk is better for morning sunlight, and the north end was still shaded, making birding difficult because the icy frost cracked and the wooden boardwalk creaked with each step I took. But it was a long way around for me to enter from the south side. There was a lot of activity in the preserve, and I saw some of the same species that I had seen at Lake Monocan, but added a Hermit Thrush, a Red-shouldered Hawk, and saw several Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets
Hermit Thrush
Golden-crowned Kinglet
White-throated Sparrow
On the way home I saw a Field Sparrow, Black Vulture, and a Mourning Dove, bringing my morning total to 25 species, and 43 species seen here in Stoney Creek in the past month.