Augusta County, VA 6/14/18
All photos are © Marshall Faintich
Dense foliage has made it difficult to locate warblers for the past couple of weeks. Walt Childs and I hadn't been up to Hite Hollow Road in the Allegheny Mountains off of Route 42 this year because of all of the rain and possibly poor mountain roads because of the rain. Hite Hollow can be a good place to find warblers, especially during migration, and we thought it worth a try, as there had been a few days without rain in the area. And getting out of the high valley temperatures at cooler mountain elevations was also a plus.
View from the east side of Hite Hollow Road
| | |
Once we passed the road off to the shooting range, we started to encounter some good birds. There were at least two Ovenbirds, some Red-eyed Vireos, and several other species. I am sure that I heard a Hooded Warbler, that along with the Ovenbirds, yielded two warbler species right away. I may have heard American Redstarts and Worm-eating Warblers, but wasn't sure enough to count them yet. We also saw an Eastern Wood-Pewee working on its nest.
Ovenbird
Ovenbird
Red-eyed Vireo
Eastern Wood-Pewee
A short distance farther, just after we started the ascent to the summit, I heard at least three avian species making a commotion, so I got out of the car to take a look. I saw a large bird fly about 100 feet into the woods. At first, I thought it was a hawk, but soon realized that it was a Barred Owl. The dark areas around its eyes indicated that it is a young owl that doesn't have complete adult plumage. It didn't stick around very long and disappeared deep into the woods.
Barred Owl
Barred Owl
As we drove up the windy gravel road, we didn't see many birds, and the ones we did see or hear were mostly in deep foliage. There were a good number of Chipping Sparrows, a few Scarlet Tanagers, and at least one Pine Warbler (warbler species # 3 for the day).
Chipping Sparrow
Pine Warbler
Pine Warbler
Closer to the summit, we saw Eastern Phoebes, another flycatcher that was probably a Pewee, a Cedar Waxwing, some Indigo Buntings, and one huge Wild Turkey.
Cedar Waxwing
We took a short break at the summit for a quick lunch before heading down the west side of the mountain. In previous trips to Hite Hollow, I had seen many more warblers going up the east side than coming down the west side, but today was just the opposite. Perhaps the shaded and cooler west side was more inviting for the birds? Soon after starting down, there was another commotion in the vegetation along the road. I got out of the car, and a male American Redstart flew back and forth close to me. We thought that perhaps there was a nest nearby.
Male American Redstart
Male American Redstart
The Redstart then flew back into the brush, and now three birds were making a fuss. I was able to get a quick look at a Worm-eating Warbler, and good looks at the third bird - a Black and White Warbler (warbler species 4, 5, and 6 for the day).
Worm-eating Warbler
Black and White Warbler
Black and White Warbler
A bit farther down the road, there was more avian activity - a Blue-headed Vireo, at least two Black-throated Blue Warblers, and we heard and then saw a Black-throated Green Warbler, but it disappeared into foliage before I could get any photos of it (warbler species 7 and 8 for the day).
Blue-headed Vireo
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
We continued down the west side, and stopped soon afterwards when we saw at least five Ovenbirds flying back and forth in the woods. There may have been other warbler species with them.
Ovenbird
We reached the bottom, and then headed north along the wooded gravel road. A strange woodpecker flew in front of the car and then into the woods. All we saw was its backside. Its bright red head came all the way down from its crown to its back, and its back looked to be golden brown with black stripes like that of a Northern Flicker, but it did not have a white rump, and its shape reminded me of a flying Pileated Woodpecker. Walt and I saw the same features and we really weren't sure what species we had seen. We finally decided that it must have been a Red-bellied Woodpecker, and that the sunlight coming through the trees made its black and white striped back look golden brown with black stripes. We continued north to Old Parkersburg Turnpike, and headed back up and over the mountain. We heard more vireos, American Redstarts, and B&W Warblers, but didn't spend a lot of time trying to find them. We did stop when we saw another large bird fly and then perch a bit farther down the road. It was another Barred Owl - this one looked to be an adult.
Barred Owl
Barred Owl
Barred Owl
Barred Owl
Barred Owl
We turned north on Route 42, and then turned east for a quick drive through Swoope. We added several more species to our day list, ending with 48 avian species for the day. Not too bad for a hot, almost summer, day!
Eastern Bluebird with a bit of nesting material
American Kestrel
We stopped on Cattleman Road near Livik. We saw at least three Common Yellowthroats, and a brilliantly colored, male Yellow Warbler with bold chestnut breast stripes flew in front of me. That made 10 warbler species for the day. I was able to get some photos of the Common Yellowthroats, but the Yellow Warbler disappeared into the tree foliage.
Common Yellowthroat
Common Yellowthroat
Common Yellowthroat
Old Trail, Crozet, VA; 6/15/18
With very high temperatures forecasted for this afternoon, I took a quick, early morning hike from my house before it go too hot. I saw 15 avian species.
Eastern Bluebird with its breakfast
I think that the Yellow Warbler hotline was activated by this species, letting other warblers know that I was disappointed not getting a Yellow Warbler photo yesterday in Swoope. Near the end of my morning hike, a male Yellow Warbler put on a show for me.
Yellow Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Augusta County trip list (6/14/18)
Turkey Vulture
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Wild Turkey
Mourning Dove
Rock Pigeon
Barred Owl
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Kingbird
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Blue Jay
Common Raven
American Crow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Carolina Chickadee
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
Wood Thrush
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Pine Warbler
Worm-eating Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Indigo Bunting
Eastern Towhee
Song Sparrow
Eastern Meadowlark
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
American Goldfinch