Blue Ridge Parkway/Route 610, VA 9/7/18

All photos are © Marshall Faintich

One of the observations that I realized after 5+ years as the birding activity manager at the Rockfish Valley Trail in Nelson County, was that birds, especially warblers, were significantly fewer in the shaded areas of the trail than in sunlit areas, and it wasn't until the previously shaded areas became sunlit, when birding would be much better in those areas. Perhaps the birds wanted to warm up in the sunlight, or perhaps could see the insects more easily, or perhaps it was easier for me to spot the birds; most likely some combination of all three factors.

I hadn't planned on going birding this morning as rain had been forecasted, but I awoke to mostly sunny skies and decided to see what warblers might be up on the parkway today. I decided to skip Route 610 between mm. 2 and mm. 4 as I headed south on the parkway. There hadn't been many birds there the past few days, and with the lower elevation of the September morning sun, most of that route was heavily shaded. Route 610 was super for warblers last autumn, but I think that it was later in the month and into October, when some of the leaves had already fallen, and thereby more sunlight was hitting the trees there. So my first stop was at the north (lower) end of the cirque near mm. 7.5, where we had seen 10 warbler species yesterday. But it was still shaded when I arrived, almost an hour earler than yesterday, so I left my car there and hiked up to the southern end of the cirque.

When I got there, I ran into two birders from the Augusta County Bird Club whom I know, and they had already seen five warbler species at that location. The warblers remained active there for almost an hour, and in addition to the warbler species I was able to photograph, I saw a Black and White Warbler fly across the parkway, and heard the chink call of a Hooded Warbler - probably the same one was saw at that spot yesterday.

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Cape May Warbler

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Cape May Warbler

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Cape May Warbler

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Tennesee and Cape May Warblers

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Tennesee and Cape May Warblers

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Tennesee(?) Warbler

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Worm-eating Warbler

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Worm-eating Warbler

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Blackburnian Warbler

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Blackburnian Warbler

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Red-eyed Vireo

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Eastern Wood-Pewee

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Female Indigo Bunting

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Ruby-throated Hummingbird

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White Caterpillar

I then stopped at Hickory Springs Overlook (mm. 12). This can be a really good stop for warblers, but hasn't been very productive for a while. I heard the chink call of another Hooded Warbler, and saw a few other avian species.

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Eastern Wood-Pewee

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Pileated Woodpecker

And then I heard warbler call that sounded unfamiliar to me. It was in the dense vegetation close to the west side of the parkway. I got closer. At one point, I saw an unmarked yellow breast through the brush. The I saw a brownish back, but couldn't get a good look at it. I tried to take some photos. Every time I thought it might show itself, a car would go by and scare it away from the road shoulder. After about five minutes of this, another car stopped at the overlook. A woman got out, walked over to me, and asked what I was looking at. Well, that was it for this bird. After she left, I stayed there for about 30 minutes. Every once in a while, I could hear its call farther down the slope, but couldn't see the bird. I checked Sibley's app for brown and yellow warblers, and its call sounded just like that of a Kentucky Warbler. When I got home and looked at my photos, there was one shot with some of the bird in the photo - the bold white eye-ring identified it as a Nashville Warbler.

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Nashville Warbler

I turned around, made another stop at the cirque, but didn't see any warblers this time. I continued north, and this time got onto Route 610 at mm. 4, hoping that the higher sun angle might illuminate the trees there. I did stop at one place where there was good avian activity. I saw a Least Flycatcher, and a bright yellow bird flew into one of the trees and disappeared. I got a partial photo of it, and it could have been one of a few warbler species, but I think that Yellow Warbler is the most likely.

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Least Flycatcher

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Yellow(?) Warbler

I continued on 610 to the Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch, and only stayed there for a few minutes, but long enough to see a Bald Eagle.

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Bald Eagle


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