Northern Cardinal
The strong southwest winds from the past two days had calmed, but the temperature had dropped to the mid-40s. I wanted to see what avian species might have been blown in, and started out at Ridgeview Park. It was quieter than I had expected, and I logged only 19 avian species there. Yellow-rumped Warblers, easily found a few days ago, were absent during my hike there.
Northern Cardinal
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Carolina Wren
I then went up Route 610 to the parkway at mm. 4, where I parked and had a chat with one of the Park Rangers about the parkway being closed from Rockfish Gap to Reids Gap. He explained that the thinking was that with the closure of Skyline Drive, hikers and others would move to the northern end of the parkway, especially for climbing Humpback Rocks just past mm. 5. Of course, hikers could park where I did and walk a little more than a mile to the start of the Humpback Rocks trail anyway, but at least it wasn't as crowded as it was on Sunday. I asked and was assured by the Park Ranger that hiking and biking on the parkway there was permitted, just not cars. So I did some birding along Route 610, and hiked along the parkway from mm. 4, and later from mm. 2, where I added 12 new avian species to my day list.
Pine Warbler
Pine Warbler
Eastern Towhee
American Goldfinch
American Goldfinch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Red-tailed Hawk
Common Raven
Bald Eagle
The highlight of the day for me was watching the interaction between two Ruby-crowned Kinglets. This little bird keeps its ruby crown hidden most of the time, and it's always a treat to get a photo of one with its ruby crown exposed. I saw one with its crown almost straight up in the air!
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
And then I realized what was going on. Two Kinglets were arguing over who had the rights to forage at that spot on the tree. Both of them had their ruby crowns exposed, and it appeared that the one with the most aggressive crown raising was the winner.
Ruby-crowned Kinglets
Ruby-crowned Kinglets
Ruby-crowned Kinglets
Ruby-crowned Kinglets
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet