Wintergreen Area 9/16-18/13

All photos are © Marshall Faintich

Fall migration this year has been late and unusual. Small clusters of migrating birds have shown up in various places, but there have not been wide spread sightings of migrating birds. It's almost as if migrating birds are backed up north of here and waiting for the signal to go. For example, 478 migrating raptors were counted up at the Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch on September 16th, but 8,244 of them came through on September 17th.

I have been looking for migrating birds here in Stoney Creek (Wintergreen), on the Rockfish Valley Trail, and up on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Some of my hikes these past three days were on my own. Walt Childs went with me to the Rockfish Valley Trail and the Blue Ridge Parkway on September 18th. The only really heavy cluster I saw these past three days was late this morning (September 18) at m.m. 7.5 on the parkway, where there were about 24 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and five warbler species: Chestnut-sided, Blackburnian, Blackpoll, Tennessee, and Nashville. Magnolia Warblers and Common Yellowthroats were seen both in Stoney Creek and on the Rockfish Valley Trail, a Palm Warbler in Stoney Creek, and a Black-throated Green on the RV Trail.


Magnolia Warblers


Blackburnian Warbler


Blackburnian Warbler


Chestnut-sided Warblers


Blackpoll Warbler


Blackpoll Warbler


Blackpoll Warbler


Tennessee Warbler


Nashville Warbler


Common Yellowthroat


Common Yellowthroat


Black-throated Green Warbler


Palm Warbler


Rose-breasted Grosbeak


Rose-breasted Grosbeak


Rose-breasted Grosbeak


Rose-breasted Grosbeak


Blue Grosbeak


Indigo Bunting


American Goldfinches


Eastern Phoebe


Red-eyed Vireos


Wild Turkey



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