Walt Childs and I headed down to the James River State Park to see what birds might be in the wetlands and surrounding areas. It was quite cold, but bright and sunny. On the way there, we logged 10 avian species, including a Bald Eagle and two Red-tailed Hawks.
We were surprised to see that about 2/3 of the wetlands area near the James river was dry. Although we had a very wet spring and summer, this autumn has had little rainfall. As soon as we approached the part of the wetlands that had water, a small flock of Mallards took off in one direction, and four Hooded Mergansers took off in the opposite direction.
Male Hooded Mergansers
Female Hooded Mergansers
A female Belted Kingfisher flew back and forth, giving of lots of good views of her.
Female Belted Kingfisher
Female Belted Kingfisher
There were lots of sparrows all around the wetlands and along the James River.
Swamp Sparrow
Swamp Sparrows
Swamp Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow; note the yellow color on the edge of the wing
Downy Woodpeckers seemed to be everywhere we went.
Male Downy Woodpecker
Male Downy Woodpecker
Male Downy Woodpecker
Female Downy Woodpecker
By the time we left the James River State Park, we had added another 17 avian species to today's list.
Carolina Wren
Eastern Phoebe
Red-tailed Hawk
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Brown Creeper
White-breasted Nuthatch
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
On our way out of the state park, we drove to a small pond far from the main park road, and saw another female Hooded Merganser.
Female Hooded Merganser
We added another 4 species on the drive home, and made a quick stop at Lake Nelson, where we saw at least 16 species, including 5 new species, bringing our total to 36 species for the day.
Gadwall
Ruddy Duck
Ruddy Duck?
Killdeer
Today's list:
Gadwall Ruddy Duck Mallard Hooded Merganser Great Blue Heron Turkey Vulture Bald Eagle Red-tailed Hawk American Kestrel Killdeer Belted Kingfisher Northern Flicker Pileated Woodpecker Eastern Phoebe American Crow Carolina Chickadee Tufted Titmouse White-breasted Nuthatch Brown Creeper Carolina Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet Northern Mockingbird European Starling Yellow-rumped Warbler Chipping Sparrow Song Sparrow Swamp Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Northern Cardinal Eastern Meadowlark American Goldfinch |