Yellow-breasted Chat
Met Bob A. and his two sons this morning for a 2 hour hike on the RV Trail. Bob and his sons are from the Radford/Blacksburg, VA area, and Bob is here with his wife celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary - congrats to Bob and his wife, and I think Bob held up the best of all of us in the heat. Thanks to Tim H. for meeting us there and helping with the hike.
We saw lots of species. Highlights were a juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk that landed in a not-too-far-away tree, a very cooperative Yellow-breasted Chat, and a Grasshopper Sparrow - my first of the year for this little guy. Also of interest in addition to the summer regulars were Common Yellowthroats, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, several Orchard Orioles, a Brown Thrasher, and a Turkey Vulture with no tail - Tim said that he has been seeing this tail-less vulture for the past three years.
I also saw a bird that I thought was a female Orchard Oriole, but it looks too green in the photos - perhaps it was just an effect of the lighting - if anyone has opinions on this one, please let me know.
Yellow-breasted Chat
Yellow-breasted Chat
Yellow-breasted Chat
Red-shouldered Hawk Juvenile
Red-shouldered Hawk Juvenile
Red-shouldered Hawk Juvenile
Red-shouldered Hawk Juvenile
Turkey Vulture tail-less
Grasshopper Sparrow
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Carolina Wren
Common Yellowthroat
Orchard Orioles
unknown
Dave P. (MO): The first Chat photo is great! What a strange looking vulture with the missing tail feathers. I would say your unknown bird is a young tanager -a scarlet I believe.
Reply: Scarlet Tanager is a good idea - I see faint wing-bars, but Sibley's shows that as a possibility. I always forget to think about juvenile and female Scarlet Tanagers. I still don't know how birds fly without tail feathers!