Augusta and Rockbridge Counties, VA 11/28/17

All photos are © Marshall Faintich

Walt Childs and I headed west over the Blue Ridge and then south in the Shenandoah Valley. We started birding on Guthrie Road in Stuart's Draft, and a short distance before Route 340, we saw a boldly colored Red-shouldered Hawk.

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Red-shouldered Hawk

We stopped at Willow Lake in Raphine where we saw Canada Geese, Mallards, a Great Blue Heron, Gadwalls, Ruddy Ducks, Lesser Scaups, Ring-necked Ducks, and Pied-billed Grebe. The female Lesser Scaup had a very prominent white patch at its bill. Note that Sibley's field guide states that female Lesser Scaups have usually little or no white there.

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Great Blue Heron

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Gadwalls

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Male Lesser Scaup

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Female Lesser Scaup

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Ring-necked Duck

We turned onto New Providence Road to look for hawks. We saw very few avian species, and then found a juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk on Hays Creek Road.

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Red-shouldered Hawk

We continued on Dutch Hollow Road. Here we saw several Red-tailed Hawks, including three together, a few American Kestrels, two Belted Kingfishers, and a few other species.

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Red-tailed Hawk

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Red-tailed Hawks

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Red-tailed Hawk

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Red-tailed Hawk

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American Kestrel

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Belted Kingfisher

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Belted Kingfisher

We continued north to Swoope, and found very few birds there. We added another American Kestrel and another Red-tailed Hawk.

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Red-tailed Hawk

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American Kestrel

We stopped along Hewitt Road where we often find Red-headed Woodpeckers. We had already seen a Downy Woodpecker and a Red-bellied Woodpecker before getting to Swoope. When we stopped to look for a Red-headed Woodpecker, we found one and another Red-bellied Woodpecker, and a Pileated Woodpecker flew overhead.

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Red-headed Woodpecker

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Red-headed Woodpecker

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Red-bellied Woodpecker

Although we didn't see a lot of birds on this outing, we ended up with 34 avian species and enjoyed the sunny and mild weather. It was a good birding day.


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