June 28, 2006 [LINK]
The torrential rains finally ended late yesterday, and this morning the sun came out in full force. I took advantage of the break in the weather to check out the trail behind the Staunton-Augusta Rescue Squad, and parts of it were quite a mess. The rushing water had carried the makeshift plywood "bridge" over the creek 50 or so feet away, so as a public service, I dragged it back into position, more or less. Anyway, I saw a few interesting birds:
While visiting Northern Virginia over the weekend, I peeked inside the space under mailbox in front of my in-laws' house, and saw a dead nestling Bluebird. So, I got a shovel and buried the poor thing. To my relief, there were four other nestling bluebirds still alive in that nest. With the rains came an increased supply of worms brought by the parents, so the rest of the brood should be fine. I also saw some Chipping sparrows, Cowbirds, and Indigo bunting, and a Phoebe in their neighborhood, as well as a Mockingbird harassing a large black snake in the middle of the street. That was pretty amusing.
On our way home driving along I-81, I spotted a Great blue heron wading in the north fork of the Shenandoah River.
* For you folks in Rio Linda, that's French for "After the deluge ... birds!"