May 25, 2026 [LINK / comment]
January 5: Almost all of my birding during the cold spell was from inside looking through the window onto the back porch. I needed to get outside for a bit of exercise, so I went to Bell's Lane and soon saw a Northern Harrier in the distance, as well as a Short-eared Owl flying overhead just after sunset.
January 9: I made two trips to Bell's Lane after a snow storm, but just couldn't find a Short-eared Owl that had been reported there. The only notable bird sightings for me were out back, where the usual woodpeckers, sparrows, White-breasted Nuthatches, and Blue Jays keep showing up.
January 12: I went out to Bell's Lane right after dusk, and before long I heard the familiar "bark" call of the Short-eared Owls. So I drove in that direction and saw one owl perched in the top of a distant lone tree. I used a flash on one of the shots, just to see if it would make any difference, and you can see the reflection in its eyes!
January 15: I was one of the lucky people who got to see the Rough-legged Hawk that had been reported east of Mount Sidney, southeast of Blue Ridge Community College. (Thanks to Tim Burnett who alerted me to its presence.) It was at least 1/3 mile away, so the images aren't very good, but I was more than satisfied. Other highlights in and around that part of Augusta County: Common Raven, Savannah Sparrow, Eastern Meadowlarks, Red-shouldered Hawks, Red-tailed Hawks, an American Kestrel, and a probable Peregrine Falcon.
Rough-legged Hawk (top right and bottom center), etc. east of Mount Sidney, January 15.
January 17: I went birding at two separate locations, first on the campus of Christendom College, east of Front Royal. There I saw a Northern Flicker and two Hermit Thrushes. The second place was at Lake Shenandoah, southeast of Harrisonburg. Upon entering the neighborhood, I saw a gorgeous adult Bald Eagle circling in the sun overhead, but there was no place to park and get a photo of it. Within just a few minutes of arriving at the parking lot, I spotted and photographed the American Tree Sparrow, which was my target bird. It was my best-ever photo of that species!
Hermit Thrush & N. Flicker at Christendom College (east of Front Royal), American Tree Sparrow at Lake Shenandoah (east of Harrisonburg), January 17.
January 25: Since it warmed up just a bit in the afternoon, I went for a walk along the trail behind the Murphy-Deming School near Fishersville. It's still mostly snow-covered, rather hard to walk on. Eventually I had nice looks at two target birds: Hermit Thrush and Yellow-rumped Warbler. Also present were many Dark-eyed Juncos, American Robins, a White-throated Sparrow, a Song Sparrow, and a Field Sparrow. Later on along Bell's Lane, I saw a Northern Harrier and met a group of birders from Roanoke. I also saw Eric Pritchett, the chief meteorologist for WVIR Channel 29 in Charlottesville.
Hermit Thrush and Yellow-rumped Warbler near Fishersville, and Northern Harrier, etc. on Bell's Lane, January 25.
Additional photos and montages, including individual photos of some of the birds in the above montages, will soon become available on the Wild Birds chronological (2025) page. (I am still struggling to get caught up with describing my bird outings via blog posts, part of the task of reorganizing my bird photos.)