I hiked the first portion of the Kingsnake Trail in the late afternoon hoping to find some migrating thrushes. Any serious birding plans were soon dispelled by the clouds of mosquitoes that materialized every time I stopped. I did make a few stops, and saw and heard some interesting birds.
Along the way, the maintenance staff had removed alot of large Chinese privet trees recently. They also replaced most of the small bridges en route--I know the second bridge after the Iron Bridge had been in particularly poor shape.
In addition to the birds, I saw a total of 11 hogs in 3 separate groups; all of them quite modest in size. The last two groups of hogs looked like an escaped 4-H project; they had the white bands you'd see on domestic hampshires. The juvenile cottonmouth was at the foot of the long boardwalk at the southernmost end of the trail, just before it turns sharply to the northwest. It was quite docile as I took its picture.
Birding List
- Great Blue Heron 1
- Red-shouldered Hawk 1
- Red-tailed Hawk 1
- Barred Owl 2
- Chimney Swift 4
- Red-bellied Woodpecker 5
- Downy Woodpecker 2
- Hairy Woodpecker 1
- Pileated Woodpecker 2
- Eastern Wood-Pewee 1
- Acadian Flycatcher 1
- Great Crested Flycatcher 1
- White-eyed Vireo 13
- American Crow 1
- Carolina Chickadee 8
- Tufted Titmouse 5
- White-breasted Nuthatch 2
- Carolina Wren 5
- Northern Parula 12
- Pine Warbler 1
- American Redstart 1
- Worm-eating Warbler 1
- Hooded Warbler 3
- Northern Cardinal 10
Juvenile Cottonmouth