Red-tailed Hawks
Walt Childs and I headed out to Swoope in the Shenandoah Valley, and shortly after turning onto Hewitt Road from Eidson Creek Road, we spotted the highly leucistic Red-tailed Hawk that we had see a bit closer to Eidson Creek Road on November 6. This time, it was perched with a dark, but normal plumage Red-tailed Hawk. This was a good sign, and perhaps the other hawk was its mate, and the leucistic hawk might be there all winter. We didn't see this hawk when we were in Swoope on November 21, but on that trip, we entered Swoope from the south, and only passed this area quickly on our way out as it was starting to drizzle. The leucistic hawk stayed perched for a few minutes and then flew away. Comparison of the photos of this hawk and the one we saw on November 6 confirm that it is the same hawk, and that there doesn't seem to be any changes in its plumage.
Red-tailed Hawks
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
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Red-tailed Hawks
Far away on the other side of Hewitt Road, we saw our third of seven Red-tailed Hawks we would see in Swoope today. As we neared Cattleman Road, we saw our first of four American Kestrels. This one was a female, as it soon flew farther down the road and started to harrass a Red-shouldered Hawk. This appeared to be the same Red-shouldered Hawk we saw at a very close distance on Cattleman Road on November 6, and it then flew towards the location where we saw it on that trip.
Female American Kestrel
Red-shouldered Hawk
We turned on Cattleman Road, and a short distance down the road we saw another Red-tailed Hawk. This one was extremely dark, and was most likely was a northern race, Red-tailed Hawk.
Red-tailed Hawk
We drove to Smith Lake (private property where we have permission), and soon saw a pair of Bald Eagles that are nesting along North Mountain Road in Swoope. They stayed there for a few minutes, and then headed off in the direction of their nest.
Bald Eagles
Bald Eagle
Bald Eagle
Bald Eagle
Smith Lake was fairly quiet. We saw a Great Blue Heron, a few sparrows, and a skittish flock of Mallards.
Field Sparrow
Mallards
Mallards
Mallards
We continued along Cattleman Road, and then Trimbles Mill Road and North Mountain Road. We saw a few more woodland species, two more American Kestrels, and two more Red-tailed Hawks.
White-crowned Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Male American Kestrel
Female American Kestrel
Red-bellied Woodpecker
We also spotted the Bald Eagles. One of them was at the nest, and the other perched in the field below the nest.
Bald Eagles
When we got to Scott-Christian Road, we decied to take that road to the Augusta Springs Wetlands that was 8 miles away. We stopped on Scott-Christian Road when we saw a lot of avian acitvity. In addition to American Robins, we got good looks at two Hairy Woodpeckers and a Northern Flicker, and quick looks at Pileated and Red-headed Woodpeckers. (One our return, there was a Red-bellied Woodpecker in that same area).
American Robin
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
As we were getting ready to continue on towards Augusta Springs Wetlands, I saw a large raptor fly away in the distance, but didn't get a good look at it. However, the poor photo I got of it flying away shows it carrying a meal. It was mostly gray, and appears to have dark wing tips. My best guess is that it was a male Northern Harrier, a species that we should have seen at Swoope today but didn't. I don't see the white rump of a Northern Harrier, but it might have been blocked by the viewing angle. The few whitish trailing wing feathers don't look correct for a Northern Harrier, but I don't know what else it could be.
Northern Harrier (?)
As expected, Augusta Springs Wetlands wasn't very good for birding. I never seem to have good birding success there. We hiked the two mile loop, and saw Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, Song Sparrows, and an American Crow, all species that we had already seen today in Swoope, and only a dozen or so birds in total there. We decided to return to our homes on the east side of the Blue Ridge via Hewlett Road in Swoope. Perhaps we would pick up a Northern Harrier, or maybe see the leucistic Red-tailed Hawk again. We didn't see any Northern Harriers, but did get our sixth woodpecker species of the day - a Downy. There are only seven woodpecker species normally seen in central Virginia, and we didn't think either one of us had every seen all seven in one day. We kept looking for a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, but had to settle for six woodpecker species today.
Downy Woodpecker
As we approached Eidson Creek Road, the leucistic Red-tailed Hawk was atop a tall post almost at the end of Hewlett Road, and almost in the spot where we had seen it on Novmeber 6.
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Well, that hawk was neat to see again. We ended the outing with 36 avian species (37 if the unknown hawk was a Northern Harrier).
