Red-shouldered Hawk
Walt Childs met me at my house in Old Trail (Crozet, VA), and we started off with a plan to look for Horned Larks at known sites along Route 340 north of Waynesboro where they might be found. Horned Larks were not our target, but Longspurs, Pipits, and Snow Buntings sometimes forage with them, and these are the species we sought to find. We stopped on our way out of Old Trail so that I could get a photo of one of our resident Red-shouldered Hawks.
Red-shouldered Hawk
On the way on Route 340 to our first stop along Strickley Road, a Red-shouldered Hawk was perched near the highway. When we got to Strickley Road, we didn't see any birds, so we headed to our second stop just south of the Merck plant near Elkton. We saw very few birds there - a few Canada Geese on the river, and our first Red-tailed Hawk of the day. So we headed to our third stop on Nicholson Road just west of Elkton. Once again, we did not see any of our target birds, but saw our first American Kestrel of the day.
American Kestrel
American Kestrel
After doing a little more birding in that area, we drove west on Route 33, and then south on Cross Keys Road, stopping at various sites along the way. By this time we had logged 22 avian species.
Downy Woodpecker
We continued south and east, and although we saw only a few smaller birds, the hawks and kestrels were very active. By the time we made our second stop on Strickley Road, we had already seen two Red-shouldered Hawks, four Red-tailed Hawks, and eight American Kestrels.
American Kestrel
American Kestrel
American Kestrel
American Kestrel
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
As we drove along Strickley Road, we stopped when we saw our third Red-shouldered Hawk of the day.
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Once again, no Horned Larks were seen. We did see a large flock of Rock Pigeons with some interesting plumage variations, and then our ninth American Kestrel of the day. I wondered if we would see 10 of them by the time we finished today's outing.
Rock Pigeons
American Kestrel
American Kestrel
We made our last stop at the Virginia Department of Forestry site along Route 340. We drove in and didn't see any birds. As soon as I turned the car around to leave, we saw our fifth Red-tailed Hawk. It was flying erratically, and then I saw that it was being chased by an American Kestrel (#10 for the day!).
Red-tailed Hawk and American Kestrel
Red-tailed Hawk and American Kestrel
As we drove east on I-64 in Albemarle County, we saw our sixth Red-tailed Hawk of the day. We didn't see any of our target birds, but had a good outing.