Rockfish Valley Trail 10/26/12

All photos are © Marshall Faintich


Complete cloud cover combined with thin fog made for grainy photos this morning. There was a damp chill in the air caused by the approaching cold front from the northwest and Hurricane Sandy moving up the east coast.

The trail was fairly quiet as many of the birds were hunkered down. I hiked the downstream and Glenthorne Loop trails, and part of the upstream trail, and had 30 avian species in 2 hours, but most of the birds were between the end of the downstream fenced field and the bog area. The southern end of Glenthorne Loop near the second wooden bridge was very quiet.

The highlight of the morning was seeing a juvenile Northern Harrier cruising over the fields on the east side of Reids Creek. Perhaps the strong coastal winds will blow some interesting shore birds our way in a few days.


Fog and clouds


Northern Harrier


Northern Harrier


Northern Harrier


Northern Harrier


Northern Harrier


Northern Harrier


Palm Warbler


Belted Kingfisher


Savannah Sparrow


Swamp Sparrow


Flicker

This morning's list (30 species):

Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Harrier
Turkey Vulture
American Goldfinch
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Downy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Flicker
Tufted Titmouse
Carolina Chickadee
Carolina Wren
Red-winged Blackbird
Blue Jay
Bluebird
American Crow
Northern Cardinal
Northern Mockingbird
Starling
Canada Goose
Palm Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
American Robin
Eastern Phoebe
Belted Kingfisher


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