Great Blue Heron
It rained all last night and this morning, but it cleared in the afternoon. I am fairly sure that on my hike the afternoon before, I saw a Great Horned Owl in the small pine forest at the end of my street, and I wanted to see if it were still there. I didn't see it, and only logged 14 species this afternoon in Stoney Creek. The highlights were a Great Blue Heron and a Red-tailed Hawk.
Great Blue Heron
Red-tailed Hawk
As I was getting ready to leave this morning for the Rockfish Valley Trail, a neighbor called to tell me that there was a white goose in the pond (Sawmill Creek pond # 2) behind her house. I headed over there - a Snow Goose! This species is my # 168 species photographed here of the 222 locally reported species. The Snow Goose was hanging around with a few Canada Geese.
Snow Goose
Snow Goose
Snow Goose
Snow Goose
After getting a few photos of the Snow Goose, I headed over to the Rockfish Valley Trail. It was already 9:00, and it was cloudy, cold, and windy. I only stayed there for an hour, and saw about a dozen species. Highlights were another Red-tailed Hawk and a flock of Eastern Meadowlarks.
Red-tailed Hawk
Eastern Meadowlarks