White-breasted Nuthatch
Walt Childs and I hadn't been up to the Blandy Experimental Farm near Winchester, Virginia, since April 2017. It was a long drive, but we decided to give it a go. This is a great place to go birding. In addition to various types of habitat, there are multiple feeders set up to attract birds. We saw 30 avian species there. We had a good look at a Red-breasted Nuthatch at one of the feeders, but I couldn't get a photo of it.
White-breasted Nuthatch
Black-capped Chickadee
Downy Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Red-tailed Hawks
Belted Kingfisher
At one point, from the corner of my eye, I saw a large, brown bird fly overhead. It was a Black Vulture, but the back-lighting made it look brown.
Black Vulture
Black Vulture
We made a quick stop at nearby Lake Frederick. I had never been there before, but was disappointed. All we saw there were a few Canada Geese and a Pied-billed Grebe. We travelled south on Route 340, saw a pair of flying Sharp-shinned Hawks, and stopped on Kaufmann's Mill Road where we had seen a Harris's Sparrow two years ago. It was really quiet, but we did see our 34th avian species of the day - American Kestrel (3). One of them was munching on a meal that looked to be a small bird.
American Kestrel
American Kestrel
I had time for a short hike this morning, and wanted to try out a new camera setting. It wasn't very "birdy" where I hiked, but I did see a few species, including my first-of-year Pine Warbler.
Pine Warbler
Pine Warbler
Fish Crow
Fish Crow
Northern Cardinal
All of a sudden, one of our resident Red-shouldered Hawks flew up from near where I was hiking. It was carrying a good-sized snake! Snake tartare; YUM!
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk