Northern Cardinal
As I waited on my driveway for Walt Childs to arrive, I watched rapidly moving, dark clouds move from south to north. Strong thunderstorms had been forecasted for this afternoon (there's a tornado watch now as I am writing this page), and I wondered if we would get to do any birding before the rains moved in. I saw an Osprey gliding northward as it was being carried aloft and pushed by the winds.
Walt and I headed first to Beaver Creek Lake in Crozet, hoping that the light drizzle would stop by the time we got there. It did stop, but we didn't see very many birds there: two Double-crested Cormorants, a few Canada Geese, and a Pied-billed Grebe in the lake. In the nearby trees and brush there were a few Red-winged Blackbirds, Sparrows, Cardinals, and Grackles.
Northern Cardinal
And then I saw another Osprey flying with a fish in its talons, and then a third Osprey flew by. Well, three Ospreys were a good start for the morning.
Osprey
Next stop was Lickinghole Creek and Reservoir. The dark skies made for grainy photos, but we saw about 20 species there. Highlights included Green-winged and Blue-winged Teals, Mallards, Spotted and Solitary Sandpipers, Red-shouldered and Sharp-shinned Hawks, a pair of Brown Thrashers, and a couple of secretive Common Yellowthoats.
Green-winged and Blue-winged Teals
Solitary Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Spotted Sandpipers
Brown Thrasher
We drove to the Old Trail pond, but it was starting to drizzle again, and we did not see any birds from the car, so we headed over to the Rockfish Valley Trail where we saw a few birds before heading home.