female Flicker
There have been reports of Rufous Hummingbirds in adjacent counties, so I wanted to see if there might be one on the Rockfish Valley Trail. I arrived at 9:00 and hiked to the four places on the trail where I saw lots of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds in mid-September, hoping that there might be enough vegetation left in those areas to attract the rufous species. Upstream near the kiosk, downstream just before the picnic table, the southwest corner of the bog area, and just to the south of the pond on Glenthorne Loop are all good hummer areas, but none were seen today. The first three are a short walk from the parking area, but the last one provided the exercise that I needed to get.
There were many of the usual winter birds on the trail, and I did not stop often as I was eager to look for the hummers and then run a couple of errands before heading up to the hawk watch. The highlight of the morning was a pair of Fox Sparrows in the trees near the first wooden bridge. I left the trail at 10:15. This afternoon I spent two hours at the hawk watch, from 11:30 to 1:30, and the only birds worth reporting were 7 Red-tailed Hawks. Other than that, it was just
plain cold with a north wind in my face.
female Flicker
female Kingfisher
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Fox Sparrow