Crozet, VA 10/31/2020

All photos are © Marshall Faintich

Old Trail

The BirdCast radar showed good migration overnight through central Virginia, and I suspected that there might be some migrating ducks in the ponds. When I left my house at 9:00 this morning, there was bright, cloudless sunshine, but the temperature was in the upper 30s. I went first to the golf course pond to look for ducks, but all I saw was a Great Blue Heron flying across the pond.

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Great Blue Heron

I turned the corner and headed up towards fairway #1. There were Song, Swamp, White-throated, White-crowned, and Field Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos, and I got a quick look at a Lincoln's Sparrow.

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Lincolns' Sparrow

A Red-shouldered Hawk was perched in a tree along the fairway, and I saw a Palm Warbler.

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Palm Warbler

All of a sudden there was a commotion, and I saw a small hawk being chased. My first reaction was a Sharp-shinned, but I now think that it was a small (male?) Cooper's Hawk.

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Cooper's Hawk

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Cooper's Hawk

And then I saw another warbler. I've been seeing Tennessee Warblers every day for the past couple of weeks here in Old Trail, and thought that was what I was seeing this time. And then it flew into a tree and I saw its yellow undertail coverts and immediately knew - a rare Orange-crowned Warbler! I've seen this species in South Carolina, Florida, Arizona, and Alaska, but this is only the third one I have ever seen in Virginia, and it is my Old Trail species # 146.

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Orange-crowned Warbler

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Orange-crowned Warbler

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Orange-crowned Warbler

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Orange-crowned Warbler

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Orange-crowned Warbler

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Orange-crowned Warbler

The Orange-crowned Warbler spent a lot of time foraging and preening, and I took lots of photos. A few of the photos show a hint of the concealed orange crown patch.

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Orange-crowned Warbler

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Orange-crowned Warbler

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Orange-crowned Warbler

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Orange-crowned Warbler

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Orange-crowned Warbler

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Orange-crowned Warbler

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Orange-crowned Warbler

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Orange-crowned Warbler

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Orange-crowned Warbler

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Orange-crowned Warbler

I then went over to the Western Park wetlands. As I hiked near the plateau, a Tennessee Warbler flew across the path and disappeared before I could get a photo. This was in the same location where I have been photographing them during the past week or so. The Red-shouldered Hawk, the Great Blue Heron, and the Cooper's Hawk flew overhead within a span of a minute or two.

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Great Blue Heron

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Cooper's Hawk

I ended up hiking along Slabtown Brach Creek where I saw more Yellow-rumped Warblers, another Palm Warbler, the Red-shouldered Hawk, and more sparrows.

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Red-shouldered Hawk

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Palm Warbler

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Palm Warbler

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Palm Warbler

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Yellow-rumped Warbler

The following photos were taken at various places on this morning's hike, and I ended up with 35 avian species.

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White-crowned Sparrow

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Field Sparrows

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White-throated Sparrow

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Swamp Sparrow

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Dark-eyed Junco

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Eastern Phoebe

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American Goldfinch

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Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Today's list:

Great Blue Heron
Red-shouldered Hawk
Blue Jay
American Crow
Carolina Wren
Eastern Bluebird
Northern Mockingbird
Palm Warbler
Field Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Swamp Sparrow
Orange-crowned Warbler
Canada Goose
American Goldfinch
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Phoebe
Black Vulture
American Robin
House Finch
House Sparrow
Tennessee Warbler
Northern Flicker
Turkey Vulture
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Mourning Dove
Dark-eyed Junco
Cooper's Hawk


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