Rockbridge and Augusta Counties, VA 11/21/2019

All photos are © Marshall Faintich

Walt Childs and I drove our usual route in Rockbridge and southern Augusta Counties today. We started off a McCormick's Mill in Raphine, headed a bit south and west towards the Allegheny Mountains, and then north to Swoope. By the time we got to Swoope, we had already logged 30 avian species.

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Gadwall

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American Kestrels

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Belted Kingfisher

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Mourning Doves

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White-throated Sparrow

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Hairy Woodpecker

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Red-tailed Hawk

We added 10 more avian species in Swoope. As soon as we got there, we saw a juvenile Bald Eagle and two more sparrow species.

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Bald Eagle

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Song Sparrow

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White-crowned Sparrow

We got another Great Blue Heron at Smith Lake and added Killdeers to our day list.

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Great Blue Heron

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Killdeer

We saw our sixth Red-taiuled Hawk of the day.

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Red-tailed Hawk

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Red-tailed Hawk

Our two highlights of the day were at Swoope. The first one was a Merlin.

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Merlin

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Merlin

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Merlin

And we saw a rare Loggerhead Shrike.

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Loggerhead Shrike


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