Rockfish Valley Trail 10/1/12

All photos are © Marshall Faintich

Walt Childs and I started on the east side of Reids Creek at 8:45 this morning. It was noticeably quieter on the trail than it has been for the past four weeks. Perhaps it was the cloudy skies and approaching rain front from the southwest, or possibly the Cooper's Hawk and pair of American Kestrels looking for prey. After three hours we only had 36 avian species, including 5 warbler species: Black-throated Blue, Magnolia, Cape May, Palm, and Common Yellowthroat. The highlight of the morning was seeing Lincoln's Sparrows - a sure sign that it is autumn on the Rockfish Valley Trail.

Magnolia Warbler