Summer birding in central Virginia can be a tough nut to crack unless you head to the higher elevations of the Blue Ridge or Allegheny Mountains, but I didn't feel like making a long trip today, so I headed over to the Rockfish Valley Trail down route 151 from where I live. I arrived at the trail at 8:50 this morning, headed downstream and then along Glenthorne Loop, and had 34 avian species in the first hour. I spent another hour on the trail including part of the upstream trail to the park benches and back, and added another 5 species. I thought that I had 40 species, but must have miscounted or missed one as I made my morning list when I got home. The temperature was in the low 70s and the air much drier. The birds must have enjoyed the nice weather as well, as they were out in full force.
The highlight of the hike was some good close-up views of three warbler species. The Common Yellowthroat continued to sing in the field at the end of the downstream trail and start of the Glenthorne Loop trail, and there were several more of them along the east side of Reids Creek, where I also saw a Yellow-breasted Chat and a first summer male American Redstart.
Common Yellowthroat
Common Yellowthroat
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow-breasted Chat
Yellow-breasted Chat
Yellow-breasted Chat
Yellow-breasted Chat
Yellow-breasted Chat
American Redstart
The Baltimore Oriole is still hanging around the picnic table halfway along the downstram trail, and there were Orchard Orioles at several locations. One of the Orchard Orioles was an immature male that is molting into its adult plumage.
Baltimore Oriole
Orchard Oriole
Orchard Oriole
Orchard Oriole
I saw both Great Blue and Green Herons, and a female Belted Kingfisher did a nice fly-by for me.
Great Blue Heron
Green Heron
Female Belted Kingfisher
I saw four species of flycatchers on the trail: Eastern Phobe, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Eastern Kingbird, and an unusual Empidonax that I can't identify - it has a long bill that looked to be all black, a fairly clean vent area, and a definite eye-ring. Pewee, Willow, Acadian, and Alder Flycatchers are all possibilities, but it doesn't really match any of them.
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Eastern Phobe
Eastern Kingbird and Eastern Bluebird
Empidonax Flycatcher
Black Vultures
Northern Mockingbird
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Today's RV Trail list:
Green Heron Black Vulture Turkey Vulture Red-tailed Hawk Rock Pigeon Belted Kingfisher Red-bellied Woodpecker Northern Flicker Eastern Wood-Pewee Eastern Phoebe Eastern Kingbird White-eyed Vireo American Crow Tree Swallow Barn Swallow Carolina Chickadee Tufted Titmouse Carolina Wren Eastern Bluebird Northern Mockingbird European Starling Cedar Waxwing American Redstart Common Yellowthroat Yellow-breasted Chat Eastern Towhee Chipping Sparrow Song Sparrow Northern Cardinal Indigo Bunting Red-winged Blackbird Eastern Meadowlark Orchard Oriole Baltimore Oriole American Goldfinch |