Crozet, VA 9/13/17

All photos are © Marshall Faintich

The heat and humidity showed up with a vengeance this morning. The counter-clockwise winds surrounding the low pressure remnants of Hurricane Irma pushed warm and moist air in from the gulf. It had rained during the night, and this morning was damp and cloudy, and dense clouds and fog shrouded the nearby mountains. I decided to hike here in Old Trail, and was constantly wiping my glasses that kept fogging up. But it turned out to be an interesting birding day.

As I hiked along the creek near my house, I saw a secretive warbler, and was only able to get a few photos of it, but enough to identify it as a rare Mourning Warbler (my Old Trail species # 118).

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Mourning Warbler

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Mourning Warbler

Closer to the golf course pond, I found a Magnolia Warbler and a few other avian species, and three young deer didn't seem to mind my being there.

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Magnolia Warbler

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Great Blue Heron

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Deer

I remembered that I had anti-fog drops in my scuba bag, and stoped at home to put some drops on my glasses, and then headed over to Lickinghole Creek and Reservoir. I parked on Fairwinds, and started hiking on the Crozet Connector Trail. I went about half way to Crozet Park, and after not seeing many birds, turned back. I then encountered a small flock of warblers: Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, and American Redstart.

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Chestnut-sided Warbler

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Chestnut-sided Warbler

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Chestnut-sided Warbler

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Magnolia Warbler

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Magnolia Warbler

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Magnolia Warbler

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American Redstart

There was a lot of avian activity near the wooden bridge that led to the other side of the creek. In addition to Gray Catbirds and Northern Cardinals, a Brown Thrasher landed on a broken tree stump.

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Brown Thrasher

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Brown Thrasher

And then a Yellow-throated Vireo appeared.

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Yellow-throated Vireo

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Yellow-throated Vireo

I crossed over the bridge, and another bird popped up, almost saying, "Take my picture, too!" It was a Yellow-billed Cuckoo.

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Yellow-billed Cuckoo

I continued along the creek to the resevoir. Two Green Herons were looking for lunch.

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Green Herons

I continued most of the way to the dam without seeing many birds, but near the dam, I saw a Common Yellowthroat.

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Common Yellowthroat

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Common Yellowthroat

The return hike was a bit "birdier," and I saw more Magnolia, Chestnut-sided, and American Redstart Warblers, Red-eyed and Blue-headed Vireos, and several other species. The pair of resident Bald Eagles were perched next to their nest.

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Bald Eagles

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Painted Lady


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