Central Virginia 4/17/2020

All photos are © Marshall Faintich

After two consecutive days of really good birding in the Piedmont, I wanted to try again up on Route 610 and the Blue Ridge Parkway. I knew that it is one to two weeks early for good birding up there, and that I would have to be walking on the parkway that is closed to vehicles. It was chilly, mostly overcast, and a bit windy. I only managed to identify 19 avian species there. On my return along Route 610, and good sized gray and white bird flew across the road and out of sight. It was the size of a small hawk, but didn't look hawkish. It might have been an owl, but looked a bit small for one, so my 20th avian species up there will remain unidentified.

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Northern Cardinal

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Ruby-crowned Kinglet

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American Goldfinch

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White-breasted Nuthatch

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Eastern Towhee

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Blue-headed Vireo

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Brown-headed Cowbirds

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Downy Woodpeckers

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Chipping Sparrow

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Pine Warbler

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Pine Warbler

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Pine Warbler

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Pine Warbler

My most interesting photo of the morning was catching an Eastern Bluebird just as it took flight from the side of a tree. I did a double-take when I first saw the photo in my camera viewfinder, as the wings looked weird.

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Eastern Bluebird

As I drove home on I-64, I saw a Red-tailed Hawk, and a House Finch and a House Sparrow were on our bird feeder, giving me 23 avian species for the morning.


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