Extremely nice weather, temperatures in the upper 60s, bright sunshine, but fairly quiet as far as avian activity here in the Wintergreen area. Yesterday I did a morning hike in Stoney Creek, and the only species worth noting was a Cooper's Hawk that flew across Sawmill Creek pond #5 into the woods at my house, but too quickly for me to get a photo of it.
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Squirrel
White-tailed Deer
I went for an early afternoon hike on the RV Trail this afternoon, not expecting to see very much this time of day in mid-November, but remembered that it might be a good time to see a hawk looking for lunch, and I was correct on both accounts. I did see 16 species, plus two more that I could not positively identify. This afternoon's highlights included two Great Blue Herons on the downstream trail, a Red-tailed Hawk, and my FOS Lincoln's Sparrow in the bog area. Near the sparrow I got a close but very quick look at a small bird - solid pale olive-green back with no wing bars, and very light pale olive-green breast and belly. Looked like a Tennessee Warbler, which is possible this late in the year, but I did not get a good enough look to be sure. Near the park benches on the upstream trail I got a close but quick look at a small brown bird with a pure white breast with fine brown streaks - reminded me of a Louisiana Waterthrush, but too late in the year for one. This bird looked too small to be a Song Sparrow, so I don't know what it was.
Lincoln's Sparrow
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
This morning's list (16 species):
Eastern Bluebird Blue Jay Northern Mockingbird White-throated Sparrow Song Sparrow Lincoln's Sparrow Carolina Wren Eastern Phoebe Great Blue Heron | Red-tailed Hawk Northern Cardinal Turkey Vulture |