Blue Ridge Parkway/Route 610, VA 8/6/18

All photos are © Marshall Faintich

The persistent rain moved out of the area, and it was replaced with sun and very hot temperatures. I decided to go birding at higher and cooler elevations. I got to the parkway at 10:00 a.m., and took my usual route along the first 12 miles of Route 610/Blue Ridge Parkway. Once again, the foliage was very dense, making seeing and photographing birds a challenge. My first stop was the the Rockfish Gap Overlook (mm. 2), where I saw a male Cerulean Warbler and a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird, and heard a Hooded Warbler, an Eastern Towhee, and an Indigo Bunting.

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Male Cerulean Warbler

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Male Cerulean Warbler

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Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Soon after getting onto Route 610 at about mm 2. of the parkway, I stopped at the entrance to the old tower and birded along the road. I saw 11 avian species there, including 4 warbler species: American Redstart, Cerulean, Black and White, and Worm-eating. One of the warblers took a a few minutes for me to identify. It was a juvenile female Cerulean Warbler that still had some its brown feathers. This little one was out foraging with its mama.

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Juvenile female Cerulean Warbler

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Juvenile female Cerulean Warbler

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Female Cerulean Warbler

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Female Cerulean Warbler

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Worm-eating Warbler

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Worm-eating Warbler

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Female American Redstart

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Black and White Warbler

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Eastern Wood-Pewee

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Eastern Wood-Pewee

By the time I exited Route 610 and re-entered the parkway near mm. 4, it was 11:30 and I had already logged 21 avian species. The parkway was fairly quiet, at least for avian activity, until I got to Hickory Springs Overlook (mm. 12), where I got quick looks at a male and a female Hooded Warbler.

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Male Hooded Warbler

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Silvery Checkerspot


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