Blue Ridge Parkway, VA 8/30/2020

All photos are © Marshall Faintich

I suspected that eastern migrating birds would be backed up until after the remnants of Hurricane Laura passed through the mid-Atlantic area yesterday afternoon, and then would head south. This morning, I checked the Birdcast radar, and it did show that there was good bird movement through Virginia overnight. I headed up to the Blue Ridge Parkway and Route 610 to see what might have arrived. When I arrived at 9:15, it was fairly overcast and a bit windy. I got onto Route 610 at mm. 2 of the parkway. At the old tower, I logged 12 avian species, but most of them were high up in the tree canopies where there was more light. I got quick views of many birds flitting around, and got poor photos of a Chestnut-sided Warbler and an American Redstart. I heard the dawn song and the chink call of a Hooded Warbler, but could not see it.

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Chestnut-sided Warbler and American Redstart

I continued south on 610, and the sun started to emerge. About a mile or so down the road, I stopped at one of my favorite warbler sites. I didn't see any warblers there, but got my second Yellow-bellied Flycatcher up there this month. This is a rare species to see here in Virginia.

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Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

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Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

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Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

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Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

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Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

I got back onto the parkway at mm. 4, and headed south. At Hickory Springs Overlook (mm. 12), I heard the dawn song of another Hooded Warbler, and then the chink call of two more Hooded Warblers, but could not see any of them. I did, however, see a small black bear there.

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Black bear

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Black bear

I continued south to 3 Ridges Overlook (mm. 13.5). I heard the chink call of my fifth Hooded Warbler of the morning. I got a quick look at it as the warbler flew low in dense vegetation. I decided to wait it out for a photo. I could hear its call getting closer and closer to me. When it was just on the other side of a bush less than 10 feet from me, I was sure I could get off a shot at any time. But then, four "walker-talkers" passed right behind me, and the Hooded Warbler headed deeper into the woods.

So I headed back north, and got onto Route 610 again. The sun was bright and the winds mostly calm by now. Less than a mile south of mm. 4, I stopped when there was a flurry of avian activity - Carolina Chickadees, American Goldfinches, Tufted Titmice, juvenile Chipping Sparrows, Red-eyed Vireos, and some warblers.

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Red-eyed Vireo

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Carolina Chickadee

One of the warblers was a confused, first fall female Cerulean Warbler. It was gathering nesting materials! The late date for Cerulean Warblers here is September 14, so I don't know why it was nest building, unless it was repairing a nest damaged by the storms.

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Cerulean Warbler

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Cerulean Warbler

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Cerulean Warbler

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Cerulean Warbler

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Cerulean Warbler

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Cerulean Warbler

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Cerulean Warbler

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Cerulean Warbler

I got my first Tennessee Warbler of 2020.

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Tennessee Warbler

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Tennessee Warbler

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Tennessee Warbler

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Tennessee Warbler

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Tennessee Warbler

And ther were at least two, possibly three, Blackburnian Warblers.

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Blackburnian Warbler

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Blackburnian Warbler

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Blackburnian Warbler

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Blackburnian Warbler

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Blackburnian Warbler

Well, that was neat! I made a quick stop at the Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch, and added Red-tailed Hawk and Bald Eagle to my day list.

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Red-tailed Hawk and Bald Eagle

I stayed there a bit longer than I had planned. A male and a female Ruby-throated Hummingbird kept coming to the feeder at the hawk watch. While I have lots of good and close-up photos of female and juvenile male Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, I have very few good photos of adult males, so I took a bunch of shots to see what I might capture.

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Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird

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Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird

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Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird

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Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird

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Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird

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Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird


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