When I arrived at the trail at 9:00 this morning, the temperature was 42 degrees, and it had risen to 50 degrees by the time I left at 10:30, but the strong northerly winds made it feel much colder than that. I didn't see any warblers on the trail, but I did log 24 species on this first of two morning bird walks. Highlights included several Blue-gray Gnatcatchers and two White-eyed Vireos. The first Vireo was near the southern end of the Glenthorne Loop trail, and the second one was in the bog area - the same two locations where this species has been seen for the past few years.
I did another Rockfish Valley hike this morning when I returned to Stoney Creek, where I added nine more species to my morning list.
Today's RV Trail species:
Black Vulture Turkey Vulture Red-bellied Woodpecker Northern Flicker Eastern Phoebe White-eyed Vireo Blue Jay Tree Swallow Carolina Chickadee Carolina Wren Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Eastern Bluebird Brown Thrasher Eastern Towhee Field Sparrow Song Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Northern Cardinal Red-winged Blackbird Eastern Meadowlark American Goldfinch |
Additional species seen in Stoney Creek:
Spotted Sandpiper Pileated Woodpecker Tufted Titmouse Yellow-rumped Warbler Pine Siskin Pied-billed Grebe |
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
White-eyed Vireo (southern end of Glenthorne Loop)
White-eyed Vireo (southern end of Glenthorne Loop)
White-eyed Vireo (bog area)
Carolina Chickadee gathering nesting materials
Song Sparrow
Tree Swallow
Spotted Sandpipers
Pine Siskin
Immature Pine Warbler