A pleasant hike around the Beaver Lake Trail at Pocahontas SP turned up a
GREAT EGRET. Not a lot of signs of migration; there were at least half a
dozen
singing YELLOW-THROATED VIREOS (outnumbering the RED-EYEDS).
Full list follows:
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Wood Duck
Red-shouldered Hawk
Killdeer
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Belted Kingfisher
Red-Bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Pewee
Blue Jay
American Crow
Carolina Chickadee
Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Wood Thrush (nice look)
Robin
Yellow-throated Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Cardinal
Goldfinch
Also I heard some buzzing and scuffling among the leaves at the side of the
trail. I saw something green and white struggling on the ground. Thinking
it might be a female hummingbird entangled in something, I went to investigate
and found what appeared to be a large hornet attacking a cicada. I
carefully separated them with a large stick, and the cicada flew off,
apparently
unharmed. The hornet was pretty hefty ( about the size of my thumb to the
joint)
and yellow and black - like a very fat yellowjacket.
Wendy Ealding
