Last weekend, Glyn and I spent several days vacationing in Charlottesville, Va.. We mostly visited the presidential estate, Ash-Lawn Highland, of James Monroe, our 5th president, and other historical sights in the area. This estate was purchased in 1793 and was a plot of 1000 acres adjacent to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's estate. Known as "Monroe's Cottage", the small four room house was the family home for 24 years. During this time Monroe added a two story wing to the original structure. President Monroe's mansion at Oak Hill was his home only for 4 years from 1827-1830.
This is a beautiful area and the estate has great views of the mountains and of open pastures. Our time in the area was very limited and I was not really planning to do much birding, but decided to walk around the grounds of the estate for a while before it opened for a formal tour. Unfortunately the morning was cloudy and foggy, not really good for photography. But I was curious to see if I might see some of the local species in the area which we do not have in eastern North Carolina during the summer, including Black & White, Worm-Eating, Hooded, and Palm warblers as well as the American Redstart. I was able to spend about an hour and a half wondering around the field edges and even though it was a terrible photo day, was able to get a few fair bird shots. One of the interesting sights was the amount of wild blooming chicory in the fields.I was able to get several species in the short time I was there, and I suggest if you visit here, take a stroll--the birding is great!!
See pics below with some shots of the house and grounds---- Please excuse the poorer picture quality---
This is a beautiful area and the estate has great views of the mountains and of open pastures. Our time in the area was very limited and I was not really planning to do much birding, but decided to walk around the grounds of the estate for a while before it opened for a formal tour. Unfortunately the morning was cloudy and foggy, not really good for photography. But I was curious to see if I might see some of the local species in the area which we do not have in eastern North Carolina during the summer, including Black & White, Worm-Eating, Hooded, and Palm warblers as well as the American Redstart. I was able to spend about an hour and a half wondering around the field edges and even though it was a terrible photo day, was able to get a few fair bird shots. One of the interesting sights was the amount of wild blooming chicory in the fields.I was able to get several species in the short time I was there, and I suggest if you visit here, take a stroll--the birding is great!!
See pics below with some shots of the house and grounds---- Please excuse the poorer picture quality---
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