It was rather cloudy this morning when Walt Childs and I went up to the Blue Ridge Parkway to look for warblers. There were Cerulean Warblers, Hooded Warblers, and American Redstarts all along the first eight miles of the parkway; Ovenbirds, Worm-eating Warblers, and Black and White Warblers in a few locations; and I heard one Pine Warbler where I saw one a week ago. Mountain flowers were blooming.
Cerulean Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Hooded Warbler
Hooded Warbler
Hooded Warbler
American Redstarts
American Redstart
American Redstart
Worm-eating Warbler
Mountain flowers
We saw our first of year Indigo Buntings along with several other woodland species.
Indigo Bunting
Indigo Bunting
Eastern Towhee
I heared a small bird near the ground that was making a buzzy noise - four or five buzzes and then a break. I heard this sequence repeat for several minutes as the bird moved back and forth about 20 feet one way and then back again, but could not locate the bird to see it. I did record the sound if anyone can help me identify the species. Other birds singing are also on the recording. Click here to hear the recording.
Walt and I then went to Ridgeview Park in Waynesboro, where we saw first of year White-eyed Vireo, Chestnut-sided Warbler, and Nashville Warbler.
White-eyed Vireo
Nashville Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Pileated Woodpecker
We drove over to a local pond to see our 50th avian species of the morning - a Black-crowned Night-Heron.
Black-crowned Night-Heron