Swoope, VA 6/22/2020

All photos are © Marshall Faintich

I ran an errand in Swoope this morning, and decided to do a little birding there before the afternoon heat and forecasted thunderstorms arrived. I had missed seeing Bobolinks when I was there two weeks ago, and hadn't yet seen any so far this year. In about 2 hours, I had 33 avian species.

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Eastern Kingbird

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Barn Swallow

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Barn Swallow scratching an itch

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Gray Catbird

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Song Sparrow

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Killdeer

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Belted Kingfisher

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Belted Kingfisher

I saw two Great Blue Herons, each at a different Swoope location. The first one made and abrupt turn around, and I saw that it was being chased by a Red-winged Blackbird.

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Great Blue Heron

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Great Blue Heron

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Great Blue Heron and Red-winged Blackbird

I had thought the highlight of the morning had been the two Bobolinks that I saw along Cattleman Road near Livik Road.

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Bobolink

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Bobolink

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Bobolink

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Bobolink

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Bobolink

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Bobolink

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Bobolink

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Bobolink

With 33 avian species, including the Bobolinks, I was a happy birder, and started my exit from Swoope towards home. Noticeably missing from my outing were Grasshopper Sparrow, Bald Eagle, and Red-tailed Hawk, but at this point, I was fine with that. As I approached Cedar Green Road while driving on Hebron Road, I looked up to see a few Turkey Vultures, and then saw my first Red-tailed Hawk of the day, and my 34th avian species of the outing. Wait a minute! It looked like the highly leucistic Red-Tailed Hawk that I had seen there last autumn. It was, and it's still there!

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Highly leucistic Red-Tailed Hawk

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Highly leucistic Red-Tailed Hawk

The hawk circled, and then landed in the same tree where I had seen it last autumn, but it didn't stay perched very long and took off again.

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Highly leucistic Red-Tailed Hawk

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Highly leucistic Red-Tailed Hawk

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Highly leucistic Red-Tailed Hawk

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Highly leucistic Red-Tailed Hawk

And then I saw why. It was being chased by an Eastern Kingbird.

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Highly leucistic Red-Tailed Hawk and Eastern Kingbird

At one point while in flight, the Eastern Kingbird actually landed on the back of the hawk and started pecking on its head!

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Highly leucistic Red-Tailed Hawk and Eastern Kingbird

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Highly leucistic Red-Tailed Hawk and Eastern Kingbird

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Highly leucistic Red-Tailed Hawk and Eastern Kingbird

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Highly leucistic Red-Tailed Hawk and Eastern Kingbird

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Highly leucistic Red-Tailed Hawk and Eastern Kingbird

Well, you don't see that every day!

Today's list:

Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Red-tailed Hawk
Killdeer
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Belted Kingfisher
Pileated Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel
Willow Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Kingbird
Blue Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Carolina Wren
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Bobolink
Eastern Meadowlark
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Common Grackle
House Finch
American Goldfinch


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