Swoope and Crozet, VA 8/6/14

All photos are © Marshall Faintich

Swoope

It was hazy and overcast most of the day. I wanted to see if any migrating shore birds might be passing through, so I first headed over to Swoope. I got there around 10:30 and stayed for a couple of hours. As I entered the Swoope area I saw a few Cliff Swallows on the power lines. At least one of them was a pale-throated juvenile - the first of this plumage I have seen.

Pale-throated juvenile Cliff Swallow

Smith Lake had the lowest water level I have seen there. The west end was completely dry. A good portion of the mud flats that is usually under water or barely above water had at a foot or more of vegetation. A large flock of Tree Swallows were flying over the water. I spotted a few Killdeers, a pair of Solitary Sandpipers, and a Green Heron.

Killdeer

Solitary Sandpiper

Green Heron

There were Yellow Warblers, three sparrow sparrow species, and a total of 28 avian species in the Swoope area, but the highlight for me was watching a pair of Dickcissels.

Yellow Warbler

American Goldfinch

Song Sparrow

American Kestrel

Dickcissel

Dickcissels

Dickcissel

Swoope species:

Green Heron
Northern Bobwhite
Solitary Sandpiper
Killdeer
Mourning Dove
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Carolina Wren
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow Warbler
Dickcissel
Field Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Song Sparrow
American Goldfinch
American Kestrel
Eastern Phoebe
Northern Cardinal
Eastern Meadowlark
Turkey Vulture
House Finch
Northern Flicker

Crozet

I had time, so I headed over to the Lickinghole Creek reservoir. The vegetation was so thick that I could not see the gravel bar. I did add five species there: Great Blue Heron, Wood Duck, Canada Geese, Indigo Bunting, and Eastern Wood-Pewee. In transit I saw House Sparrow and Northern Mockingbird, giving me 35 species for the day. I stopped by Beaver Creek reservoir, but all I saw there were two state trooper cars parked with two scuba divers in the water - hopefully doing some training and not looking for any missing people!

Great Blue Heron

Wood Ducks

Indigo Bunting

E-mail comments on this report

Return to blog page home