CBC Route
Every year the Audubon Society requests birders to survey their local areas on one day between the middle of December and early January. The Charlottesville Area CBC was held today this year. I was asked to help out in Section 4, and chose an area in that section between Crozet and Charlottesville that included mostly wooded residential and some pasture land. Elevations range from about 600 feet to about 900 feet. It also includes a private residence where I have permission to go birding.
The weather was overcast and a little drizzly early in the morning, so I waited for most of it to clear and arrived at the start of the area at 11:30 a.m. The temperature was in the mid-40s with 8 to 10 mph winds from the north. After the first 1-1/2 hours, the sun started to come out. I spent the first one and a half hours at the private residence, and was able to hike down a trail to the Mechums River. I then drove along Tillman Road, and did birding where I have highlighted the map below in yellow. The map shows my survey area bounded by the bright green lines, and all of the roads within the area shown in white are private roads where I did not have permission to enter. Roads shown in red where either too dangerous to stop, or I didn't see/hear any birds while driving. I ended up back at the private residence for about ten minutes, and ended my two hour CBC count with 23 avian species and 116 birds counted.
CBC Route
White-breasted Nuthatch
Downy Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Tufted Titmouse
White-throated Sparrow
Song Sparrow
House Finch and Eastern Bluebird
Common Raven
Squirrel acting like a bird so that it could be counted, but it didn't fool me :-)