Skyline Drive, VA, 5/27/16

All photos are © Marshall Faintich

With afternoon temperatures getting close to 90, Walt Childs and I decided to go birding at higher and cooler elevations. We drove to Pocosin Cabin, just off of Skyline drive near mm 59.5. The trail leading to and past the cabin crosses the Appalachian Trail, and is a good place to find warblers, but warblers did not turn out to be the highlight there today.

There are a few parking places just off of Skyline Drive, and after parking we hiked to the cabin. Along the way, we saw a few Cerulean Warblers and American Redstarts, as well as a pair of Least Flycatchers.

Cerulean Warbler

First year male American Redstart

Least Flycatcher

We didn't see any other warblers at the cabin, or beyond it (for about 1/2 mile), but we did see some other interesting avian species. A pair of Carolina Chickadees were nesting in a tree cavity close to the ground, and they were busy flying back and forth from their nest. At one point, one of the chickadees emerged carrying a fecal sac to dispose of away from the nesting site.

Carolina Chickadee

Carolina Chickadee carrying a fecal sac

Carolina Chickadee

A male and a female Rose-breasted Grosbeak were in the same area. The male was foraging high in the trees while the female was gathering nesting materials near the ground.

Female Rose-breasted Grosbeak

There were a variety of other woodland species there, and we heard a pair of Veerys singing.

Gray Catbird

On our hike out from the cabin, we saw a small reddish-brown frog, and heard another pair of Veerys. This time, one of the Veerys flew close to the trail.

Frog

Veery

We logged 20 avian species at Pocosin Cabin. We then drove to Hillandale Park in Harrisonburg where we added five more woodland species, and then made a quick stop at Silver Lake in Dayton, ending the trip with about 30 avian species, one frog, and a few chipmunks.

Osprey

Laughing Gull

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