Scarlet Tanager
Walt Childs and I did an abbreviated afternoon hike on the trail. It had rained on and off during the morning, but was clear when we got to Glenthorne Loop. However, within less than an hour it was raining again, and we only managed to see 15 species. The most interesting was a pair of male Scarlet Tanagers in mid-molt between their red breeding plumage and yellowish non-breeding plumage.
Scarlet Tanager
Scarlet Tanager
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-eyed Vireo
I headed back to the trail this morning, and arrived about 8:40. It was sunny, cool, and much less humid, but there wasn't a lot of avian activity. I did manage to see 26 avian species in less than two hours. As the trail "webmaster," I knocked down lots of spider webs on the trail, most of them with my monopod, and unfortunately, a few of them with my face.
The most interesting bird this morning was a juvenile Yellow-breasted Chat that I saw in the bog area. It had a brown necklace on its yellow breast, presumably brown juvenile plumage that had not yet molted. We have had this species on the trail every summer that I have been birding there, and it now appears that the juvenile confirms this species as breeding on the trail.
Juvenile Yellow-breasted Chat
Juvenile Yellow-breasted Chat
Northern Flicker
Downy Woodpecker
Juvenile Red-bellied Woodpecker
American Kestrel
American Kestrel
Least Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
Carolina Chickadee
Carolina Chickadee
Arrowhead Spider
Arrowhead Spider
This morning's RV Trail list:
Turkey Vulture Broad-winged Hawk American Kestrel Ruby-throated Hummingbird Red-bellied Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker Least Flycatcher Eastern Phoebe White-eyed Vireo Red-eyed Vireo Blue Jay American Crow Tufted Titmouse Carolina Wren Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Eastern Bluebird Gray Catbird Cedar Waxwing Field Sparrow Northern Cardinal Indigo Bunting American Goldfinch |
I spent two hours up at the hawk watch this afternoon. I saw a juvenile Bald Eagle, a Northern Harrier, Red-tailed Hawks, Broad-winged Hawks, a Red-shouldered Hawk, a Cooper's Hawk, Black Vultures, and Turkey Vultures, but all of the raptors were distant birds. The only good close-up photos I got were of some Ruby-throated Hummingbirds.
Juvenile Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Ruby-throated Hummingbird