With reports during the past couple of weeks of a possible sighting of a Snowy Owl near Mt. Crawford, Virginia, and Short-eared Owls and Rough-legged Hawks just north of Harrisonburg, Walt Childs and I took advantage of the sunny skies and warmer temperatures, and headed west over the Blue Ridge Mountains into the Shenandoah Valley this morning to look for them. We exited I-81 at Mt. Crawford, drove west to Route 42, and then north a little way past Broadway, Virginia. Along the way there and back, we drove on smaller country roads looking for these species. We saw a couple of Red-tailed Hawks before we exited from I-81, and an unidentifed Accipiter species hawk soon after getting onto Route 42.
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We stopped on our way north to view more Red-tailed Hawks, American Kestrels, and a Red-shouldered Hawk.
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel eating a snack
American Kestrel eating a snack
American Kestrel eating a snack
Red-shouldered Hawk
We then headed south on Route 42 to Silver Lake in Dayton, Virginia, and saw more hawks and kestrels along the way. One of the Red-tailed Hawks had just caught a field mouse(?), but apparently dropped it and then took off again.
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Red-shouldered Hawk
There had been reports of a Trumpeter Swan and a juvenile Tundra Swan, along with the pair of resident Mute Swans at Silver Lake, and they were still there along with lots of ducks: Canvasback, Red-headed, Mallard, Gadwall, and Bufflehead; and some American Coots.
Three swan species (left to right): Mute; Tundra; Trumpeter
Mute and Trumpeter Swans
Trumpeter Swan
Trumpeter Swan
Tundra Swan
Tundra Swan
Our last stop was at Smith Lake in Swoope, where we saw a pair of Bald Eagles, Canada Geese, Mallards, Green-winged Teals, and a few woodland bird species. I wasn't able to get any good photos of the eagles on this visit.
Bald Eagle
Green-winged Teal