Old Trail; Crozet, VA; 2/24/19

All photos are © Marshall Faintich

We had a ton of rain during the past 24 hours, and when I headed out this morning, it was damp, cloudy, and chilly, but the sun came out near the end of my hike. I ended up with 22 avian species in about 2 hours. It was good to see a White-crowned Sparrow, as I hadn't seen one for a couple of weeks and wondered if they had already migrated north during last week's warmer weather. I saw some of our resident Chipping Sparrows that are uncommon in this part of the U.S. during the winter months.

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White-crowned Sparrow

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Chipping Sparrows

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Song Sparrow

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House Finch

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Female and male Northern Flickers

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Northern Mockingbird

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Ring-necked Duck

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Mallard

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Fish Crow

The highlight of the hike was shortly before I headed for home. I heard a Red-shouldered Hawk calling. This was not unusual, as we have a resident pair of adult Red-shouldered Hawks, and I usually see at least one of them every time I hike here. But when I looked up, I saw a juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk flying to the west.

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Juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk

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Juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk

It was soon out of sight, but I still heard a Red-shouldered Hawk calling. It was a second juvenile, and that one took off after the first one.

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Juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk

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Juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk

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Juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk

I wondered if these two juveniles were offspring of our resident hawks that were hatched last year, and may have returned to Old Trail? It is far too early in the year for 2019-hatched Red-shouldered Hawks. I then saw one of our adult hawks perched nearby and watching all of this. The fact that the adult did not chase the two juveniles from its territory might be a confirmation the juveniles were its offspring.

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Adult Red-shouldered Hawk

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Adult Red-shouldered Hawk


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