Sharp-shinned Hawk
I met up with Walt Childs at the Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch. The winds had shifted to the southeast, and warm, humid air was moving into the area. There wasn't much going on at the hawk watch, so we moved onto Route 610 and the Blue Ridge Parkway. We hadn't gotten very far on the parkway when a Sharp-shinned Hawk flew from a perched position in front of us. The smaller birds all seemed to be hiding from the raptors.
Sharp-shinned Hawk
We got a quick view of a flying warbler at the cirque (mm. 7.5). Looked like a Cape May to me.
Cape May(?) Warbler
As we approached the Rock Point Overlook, mm. 10.4, there was some good avian activity so we stopped for a look. In addition to Tufted Titmice, Carolina Chickadees, and White-breasted Nuthatches, we saw a small, mixed warbler flock.
Tufted Titmouse
Black-throated Green Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Black and White Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
I saw a male, Black-throated Blue Warbler there, but couldn't get it into focus in my camera before it flew. However, the camera did focus on another bird in the background that may have been a Tennessee Warbler.
Tennessee Warbler(?)
A bit farther south, we saw an American Kestrel.
American Kestrel
That was it for the warblers, so we headed back to the hawk watch. We stopped on Route 610 to watch an Eastern Towhee taking a bath in a small road puddle.
Eastern Towhee
There's a housing development across from the Swannanoa Golf Course that has only had roads put in for a couple of years, and we drove in for a look, where we saw three Red-tailed Hawks, some Eastern Bluebirds, and a flock of Starlings.
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Immature Starling
Walt had to leave, and I headed over to Ridgeview Park in Waynesboro. It was fairly quiet there, with only a few woodland birds.
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Just before I left the park, I saw a Black-billed Cuckoo. Adults of this species have red eye-rings, but juveniles have yellowish eye-rings like that of a Yellow-bellied Cuckoo. But note the slender, all black bill and buffy throat, confirming this one as a Black-billed. I wasn't able to see its undertail pattern for additional confirmation.
Black-billed Cuckoo