Buffleheads
We had 3 to 5 inches of rain here in central Virginia over the past day and a half, so I had to negotiate a lot of wet grass and large puddles on my hike this morning. The good news is that there's a small, secluded pond where Wood Ducks spent all of last winter, but the pond has been mostly dry, green muck for the past couple of months. Two weeks ago, I noticed that the rain water drain pipe from the junior high that empties into that pond was broken, and after emailing multiple people who might have authority to fix it, the pipe was repaired last week, and now has significantly more water in it. However, the tall pond grasses that the Wood Ducks liked to hide in are not there, presumably dead from the lack of water over the summer. I'm hoping that the Wood Ducks return.
There have been reports of many migrating ducks and Tundra Swans in the Shenandoah Valley just to the west of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and I wanted to see if some of them had made it to Old Trail here in the Virginia Piedmont. I started off at the golf course pond, and in addition to a Great Blue Heron and some Canada Geese, there were five Buffleheads.
Buffleheads
But that was all the ducks I saw this morning, and I ended up with 33 avian species, including a late Palm Warbler that is two weeks past its normal late date. I looked for the very late season Tennessee Warbler(s) that I saw five days ago, but was unsuccessful.
Palm Warbler
Palm Warbler
Field Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow and Field Sparrow
White-Throated Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
House Sparrow
American Robin
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
White-breasted Nuthatch
American Goldfinch and Pine Siskin
Carolina Wren
A pair of Bluebirds were checking out a bluebird box, and a curious House Finch flew in to see what they were doing.
Eastern Bluebirds
Eastern Bluebirds and House Finch
Northern Flicker
I saw two Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers. One appeared to be a female (white throat) and the other an immature male (small red patch on throat).
Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers
Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers
Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers
A male Pileated Woodpecker was joined by a female for a few minutes before she flew away.
Male Pileated Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpeckers
Pileated Woodpeckers
Pileated Woodpeckers
I spotted a juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk, and not too far away, mama and papa.
Juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk
Adult Red-shouldered Hawks
Juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk
And to end the photos in this report, I saw a small patch of some very vibrant wildflowers.
Wildflower
Today's list:
Canada Goose
Bufflehead
Great Blue Heron
Red-shouldered Hawk
Blue Jay
American Crow
Northern Mockingbird
Palm Warbler
Field Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
House Finch
Northern Cardinal
Northern Flicker
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Eastern Bluebird
Turkey Vulture
Carolina Wren
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Dark-eyed Junco
Pileated Woodpecker
Carolina Chickadee
Eastern Phoebe
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Chipping Sparrow
American Robin
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
White-breasted Nuthatch
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Pine Siskin