Rockfish Valley Trail 10/2/11

All photos are © Marshall Faintich


Although the sun finally came out after a while, it was cold, windy, and overcast when I arrived at the trail this morning. Black and Turkey Vultures sat in a dead tree like a scene from a Hitchcock movie.


Vultures

As I hiked the downstream trail, a hawk flew up from the river on the other side of some brush, so I only got a quick look at it - thought it was either a juvenile Red-tailed or a juvenile Red-shouldered. As I saw the latter species later in the morning in a tree near that same spot, I assume that it was a Red-shouldered that I saw fly up.

It wasn't all that exciting on the trail - I logged 31 species, and I met a birder on the trail from Lynchburg, VA. It was his first visit to the trail, and he had seen Cedar Waxwings and a Black-throated Blue Warbler on the Spruce Creek trail, so there were at least 33 species there this morning.


Juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk


Canada Geese


Red-eyed Vireo


Whoops!


Chipping Sparrow


Five Eastern Meadowlarks

This morning's list (33 species):

Eastern Bluebird
Indigo Bunting
American Crow
Catbird
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Northern Cardinal
Carolina Chickadee
Carolina Wren
Tufted Titmouse
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Downy Woodpecker
Flicker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
American Goldfinch
Blue Jay
Red-eyed Vireo
White-eyed Vireo
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Eastern Meadowlark
Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Turkey Vulture
Black Vulture
Northen Mockingbird
Red-shouldered Hawk
Swainson's Thrush
Brown Thrasher
Common Yellowthroat
Canada Goose


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