Crozet, VA 10/21/2019

All photos are © Marshall Faintich

Old Trail

It's been 5 years since I had 10 sparrow species in one day, and I decided to try to achieve that today. If I could re-locate the Lincoln's Sparrow I have been seeing for a couple of days, I might be able to find 9 sparrow species, and if any new species, such as Dark-eyed Junco, had arrived for the winter months or were migrating through the area, I might be able to get to 10. We had more than an inch of rain yesterday, and with rain in the forecast for tomorrow, the narrow path through the wetlands in Western Park would be really wet and muddy after that. It wasn't too bad this morning, at least with waterproof hiking boots. But with temperatures in the low 50s, there was dense fog, and it wasn't until 10:00 a.m. when the fog lifted enough to start birding, and it was still so foggy that seeing flying birds or birds perched high in tall trees was difficult.

The Lincoln's Sparrow had been hanging around with Swamp Sparrows in the wetlands, so I started there, and within an hour or so, I had 21 avian species, including 8 sparrow species, but not the Lincoln's.

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Adult White-crowned Sparrow

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Juvenile White-crowned Sparrow

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White-throated Sparrow

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Song Sparrow

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Swamp Sparrow

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Swamp Sparrow

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Swamp Sparrow

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Swamp Sparrow

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House Sparrow

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Field Sparrow

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Chipping Sparrow

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Eastern Towhee

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Northern Mockingbird

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Gray Catbird

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Brown Thrasher

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Carolina Wren

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House Finch

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Ruby-crowned Kinglet

I headed over to the golf course pond and the trail along the first fairway, where I added 6 more avian species, including my first of season Pied-billed Grebe.

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Pied-billed Grebe

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Red-shouldered Hawk

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Cedar Waxwings

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American Crow

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Pileated Woodpecker

I still wanted to try for the Lincoln's Sparrow, so I hiked some more in the wetlands. I didn't find it, but added two Palm Warblers and an Eastern Phoebe to my day list.

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Palm Warbler

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Palm Warbler

The fog finally lifted between 1 and 2 p.m., and Alice and I did a short hike around 3:30. I added Mourning Dove to my day list here in Old Trail, giving me 30 avian species for the day here.


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