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August 6, 2016 [LINK / comment]
Late summer birding doldrums
This time of year the neotropical migrant songbirds are all molting or just conserving energy in preparation for their big southbound journey next month, so it's unusual to see many of them. Obviously, I didn't have high hopes, but I just had to get away from the stifling heat and humidity today, so I drove west on Route 250 all the way to the Highland County line. On the way there, I stopped at Ramsey's Draft, where I saw a Hummingbird and heard some Cedar Waxwings and a Wood Thrush, but not much else. Once I reached the parking lot at the Confederate Breastworks at the summit, I decided to hike north on the Shenandoah Mountain trail, about a half mile or so. I heard an Eastern Wood Pewee, some Red-eyed Vireos, and saw some Black-capped Chickadees, Goldfinches, Turkey Vultures, and finally a family of Indigo Buntings. Satisfied with getting this photo, I decided to turn back and call it a day. I did get some nice mushroom photos along the trail, to be posted later.
Indigo Bunting (male), on Shenandoah Mountain, August 6, 2016.
Meanwhile, there have been continued reports of the two Sandhill Cranes north of Fishersville, as well as a Snowy Egret, and I have gone out there two or three times in the last week, just in case. No luck with either of those, but I did get some nice closeup photos of a Great Blue Heron, possibly a juvenile.
Great "Blue" Heron, on Kiddsville Rd., July 31, 2016.
Finally, I have been keeping tabs on the Green Heron family in the flooded ravine on the north end of Bell's Lane, and the young ones have already lost their "fuzz." Thus far, I have had a hard time getting good photos, however. See the Wild Birds yearly page.
Posted (or last updated or commented upon): 07 Aug 2016, 12: 58 AM
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Hits on this page (single blog post) since July 2, 2007: 
Category archives:
(all years)
Baseball
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Latin America
War
Wild Birds
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This (or that) year's
blog highlights
January 10, 2016 ~ Cooperstown calls Griffey, Piazza
January 17, 2016 ~ ABC field trip to Highland (& Bath!) County
January 21, 2016 ~ R.I.P. Glenn Frey
January 26, 2016 ~ Sweet Briar College is saved!
January 31, 2016 ~ Presidential campaign begins
February 6, 2016 ~ Fall bird migration season 2015
February 20, 2016 ~ Life bird: Virginia Rail!
February 21, 2016 ~ 2016 primaries: populists propel polarization
March 10, 2016 ~ Yes, another Wrigley Field update!
March 26, 2016 ~ Trump triumphs, Republican Party implodes
April 4, 2016 ~ Opening Day(s) in America, 2016! (& Sportsman's Park update)
April 18, 2016 ~ R.I.P. Alan L. Clem
April 21, 2016 ~ Flying out to So. Dak. (& back)
April 30, 2016 ~ Trump & Clinton take commanding leads
April 30, 2016 ~ Migration season reaches peak
May 7, 2016 ~ Trump secures victory; Sanders fights on
May 21, 2016 ~ ABC field trip to Reddish Knob
June 7, 2016 ~ ABC field trip to Highland County
June 9, 2016 ~ FOD [first-of-decade] Prothonotary Warblers!
June 14, 2016 ~ Birding on Hite Hollow Road
June 16, 2016 ~ Holy $#!+ -- Nationals win big showdown with Cubs
July 1, 2016 ~ Nationals sweep the Mets, widen NL East lead
July 3, 2016 ~ Kentucky Warblers, and more!
July 8, 2016 ~ Soras breeding in the Valley!
July 13, 2016 ~ Redistricting reform movement is growing
July 16, 2016 ~ The Nationals' starting rotation
August 5, 2016 ~ New page: Stadium profiles!
August 7, 2016 ~ Magical mushroom tour*
September 7, 2016 ~ To the northeast: Baseball road trip, 2016
September 18, 2016 ~ East by Northeast: Big city scenery travelogue
September 25, 2016 ~ Nationals win National League East Division
September 27, 2016 ~ Lucky! 13 warblers on Betsy Bell Hill
October 2, 2016 ~ Nationals' regular season ends on a high note
October 5, 2016 ~ Shenandoah National Park birding (II)
October 14, 2016 ~ Nationals flinch, Dodgers advance to NLCS
October 14, 2016 ~ Shenandoah National Park getaway
October 16, 2016 ~ World War II aircraft show (II)
October 25, 2016 ~ Holy cow: Cubs beat Dodgers, win NL pennant!
November 3, 2016 ~ The Cubs win the World Series!!!
November 4, 2016 ~ New month arrives, & new birds too
November 6, 2016 ~ Campaign 2016 grinds to a nasty, ugly end
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Blog highlights have been compiled for the years 2010-2012 thus far, and eventually will be compiled for earlier years, back to 2002.
Explanation
The "home made" blog organization system that I created was instituted on November 1, 2004, followed by several functional enhancements in subsequent years. I make no more than one blog post per day on any one category, so some posts may cover multiple news items or issues. Blog posts appear in the following (reverse alphabetical) order, which may differ from the chronological order in which the posts were originally made:
- Wild birds (LAST)
- War
- Science & Technology
- Politics
- Latin America
- Culture & Travel
- Canaries ("Home birds")
- Baseball (FIRST)
Also see: My blog practices.
Blog errata (Nobody's perfect.)
