Northern Cardinal
Turned out to be an interesting birding day. I decided to try a new birding loop with some of my usual and favorite birding locations closed. As I was driving on I-64 on my way to Ridgeview Park, I saw two Black Vultures eating on a deer in the road shoulder that had been killed by a vehicle. In the traffic lane next to the deer, there was a dead Turkey Vulture that must have been hit by a truck as it was feeding on the deer. Made me wonder if vultures eat dead vultures as well? Soon after I arrived at Ridgeview Park, a red fox ran across the trail carrying a squirrel it had just caught. The fox stopped in the middle of the trail less than 50 feet in front of me, dropped the squirrel into the middle of the trail, and then scampered into the woods. I just waited there for a couple of minutes to see if the fox would re-emerge and reclaim the squirrel. I could see that the squirrel was still breathing, but otherwise not moving, and I didn't have anything with which to put the squirrel out of its misery. I also didn't want to deprive the fox of its meal. I then continued on the trail, and when I got to the squirrel, I could see that it wasn't breathing anymore, so I continued on. When I returned less than an hour later, the squirrel was gone, and I assumed that the fox had returned for it. Not sure how this morning was going to turn out - a dead deer, a dead Turkey Vulture, and a dead squirrel in less than the first 30 minutes of my outing.
Ridgeview park was quite "birdy," but mostly with common species that I have been seeing there. I saw a high flying Osprey circling with a Red-shouldered Hawk, got a quick look at a Blue-headed Vireo, and heard my first of year White-eyed Vireo. The White-eyed Vireo was across the river from where I was hiking, and it's one of those species that the first time I hear it for the year, I tell myself that I know that I have heard the species before, but it takes a while for the light bulb to go on for me to remember what species it is. I ended my hike at Ridgeview park with 26 avian species. Noticeably missing were Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, and Mallard, although I would get the first two of these later in the morning. The Yellow-rumped Warblers this time of year are just beautiful.
Northern Cardinal
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-headed Vireo
Brown-headed Cowbird
Downy Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Osprey
Red-shouldered Hawk
Field Sparrow
American Robin gathering nesting materials
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
I took Route 664 all the way up to Reids Gap near mm. 14 of the parkway. I had thought about stopping at Sherando Lake along the way, but it was closed. I got the last of 26 parking spaces in the small lot at Reids Gap, and there were 2 other cars parked nearby where the parkway was open. So much for social distancing, but I did stay at least six feet away from the few people who were close by. I hiked up to 3 Ridges Overlook (mm. 13). It was a bit of a trek, and too early for good birding. At the overlook, I only saw a Carolina Chickadee and an Eastern Towhee. The Chickadee raised my day trip count to 28 avian species, as I had seen a live Turkey Vulture on the way there.
Carolina Chickadee
Eastern Towhee
When I got back close to Reids Gap, I did a little more birding, and adding three more species to my trip list: Eastern Bluebird, Common Raven, and my first of year American Redstart (my 7th warbler species for 2020).
Eastern Bluebird
Common Raven
American Redstart
White-throated Sparrow
I ended my outing with some birding down in the Rockfish Valley, where I added 10 more avian species to my trip list: Pine Warbler, Common Yellowthorat (only heard singing), Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Tufted Titmouse, 3 Swallow species (Tree, Barn, and Northern Rough-winged), Northern Mockingbird, Red-winged Blackbird, and American Goldfinch. I heard a hawk screaming that might have been a Red-tailed, but did not see it, so it's not on my trip list.
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Tree Swallows
Pine Warbler
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Today's trip list:
Canada Goose
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Red-shouldered Hawk
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Pine Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow