Male Blue Grosbeak
I had been invited to give my "Birds of Central Virginia" presentation to the Hampton Roads Bird Club this evening, held at the Sandy Bottom Nature Park. I hadn't been there before, and wanted to avoid rush hour traffic around Richmond, so I made the 180 mile trip earlier in the afternoon, and had some time to do a little birding at the nature park. I hiked around the large wetlands area there, as well as a few other short hikes, and ended up with 14 avian species. I really didn't want to overdo it, as I had a talk to give in the evening. The best birds for me were first of year male and female Blue Grosbeaks. I also saw a large snake on the wetlands hike - either a Black Ratsnake or a Black Racer
Male Blue Grosbeak
Male Blue Grosbeak
Male Blue Grosbeak
Female Blue Grosbeak
Great Egret
Great Egret
Red-tailed Hawk
Downy Woodpecker
Snake
The meeting ended around 8:30 p.m., and I didn't want to make the long drive back to Crozet that evening. Instead, I drove to Chester, Virginia, south of Richmond, and stayed in a hotel just a few miles from the Dutch Gap Conservation Area. I had been to Dutch Gap about a dozen times in the past, but never got there before mid- to late morning. This time, I could get there early.
May 10I got to Dutch Gap at 8:15 a.m. Athough, in my experience, Dutch Gap is the best place in Virginia to see Prothonotary Warblers, my target bird species was Yellow-throated Warbler. I had seen one there several years ago, but it was distant and back-lit, and I hadn't seen this species so far this year. Yellow-throated Warblers are often found in the same habitat as Prothonotary Warblers, so I was hoping to see one there. As I started hiking, I saw Prothonotary Warblers at several locations, and in about the same places where I had seen this species on previous trips to Dutch Gap. This is one of my most favorite bird species.
Prothonotary Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler
I saw quite a few other avian species as I hiked, but no Yellow-throated Warblers.
Osprey
Brown Thrasher
I had hiked quite a distance, and decided to hike back and look for other avian species along the large marshy area along the drive into Dutch Gap. When I got to a fork in the trail, I opted to take a different route back to the perimeter trail. And then I got lucky. I heard a Yellow-throated Warbler singing high in one of the trees. Each time it sang its song, a nearby Prothonotary Warbler answered it with a song.
Prothonotary Warbler
But I was having a hard time seeing the Yellow-throated Warbler, and got a few quick glimpses of it as flew between trees. I decided to wait, and that paid off. About 15 minutes later, it flew down to where I had some great views of it.
Yellow-throated Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Well, that was fun! I headed back and did some birding along the marshy area. I saw a few more species near the entrance to the boardwalk.
Red-winged Blackbird
I saw a male Orchard Oriole with its bill in a honeysuckle flower. I don't know if it was going after the nectar or a bug in the flower, and I saw my first of year Great Crested Flycatcher.
Orchard Oriole
Orchard Oriole
Great Crested Flycatcher
Great Crested Flycatcher
I ended the outing with another Prothonotary Warbler at that same location - first time I had ever seen this species along the drive in - a great way to end the morning, and 34 avian species at Dutch Gap.
Prothonotary Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler