Rockfish Valley Trail 11/18/12

All photos are © Marshall Faintich

It was an unusual morning on the trail. I arrived a few minutes after 9:00, the weather was sunny but cold and breezy, and there was little avian activity. As I headed downstream wondering where all the little birds were, I saw a pair of Bald Eagles perched at the end of the downstream trail. They soon saw me and took off. One of them was a Sub-adult I and the other a Sub-adult IV. Minutes later I saw a Northern Harrier cruising back and forth across fields on both sides of the Rockfish River.

During the first hour I only had logged 17 species, although there were a dozen or more other common species that I should have seen. Perhaps it was the Eagles, Harrier, Red-shouldered Hawk, and Red-tailed Hawk that were on the trail this morning, or perhaps it was the weather.








Bald Eagles


Bald Eagle - Sub-adult I


Bald Eagle - Sub-adult I


Bald Eagle - Sub-adult IV


Bald Eagle - Sub-adult IV


Bald Eagle - Sub-adult IV


Bald Eagle - Sub-adult IV


Bald Eagle - Sub-adult IV


Bald Eagle - Sub-adult IV


Bald Eagle - Sub-adult IV


Northern Harrier


Northern Harrier


Red-tailed Hawk


Red-shouldered Hawk

By 10:30 things had calmed down a bit, and there were a lot more birds out and about. By 11:00 I had added another dozen species bringing my morning total to 29. It was good to see that there are still Red-winged Blackbirds and Eastern Phoebes on the trail, and the Palm Warbler(s?) that I have been seeing in the downstream riverside brush just before the picnic table was there as well.


Palm Warbler


Red-winged Blackbird


Eastern Phoebe

Today's RV Trail list (29 species):

Song Sparrow
Field Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Eastern Towhee
Eastern Bluebird
Palm Warbler
American Goldfinch
Northern Mockingbird
Northern Cardinal
Pileated Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied sapsucker
Blue Jay
Starling
American Crow
Carolina Chickadee
Carolina Wren
Red-winged Blackbird
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Common Raven
Eastern Phoebe
Rock Pigeon
Ruby-crowned Kinglet



E-mail comments on this report


Return to blog page home