Route 610, VA 9/6/2020

All photos are © Marshall Faintich

I headed up to Route 610 this morning, and once again, stayed off of the Blue Ridge Parkway knowing that there would be a ton of holiday weekend traffic on the parkway. I started off at the old tower and heard a Hooded Warbler, but avian activity was really quiet.

Photo Unavailable
Northern Cardinal

As I headed south on 610, I saw an animal walking about a hundred yards in front of me. It looked to be about the size of a fox, but taller with much longer legs. I was only able to get a couple of quick shots through my car windshield, and think that it must have been a bobcat.

Photo Unavailable
Bobcat(?)

I continued all the way down to the intersection with the Blue Ridge Parkway near mm. 4. It was quiet all the way, so I turned around and headed back. I ran into Huck Hutchens near the old tower, and he said he had seen a nest near Elk Mountain Road that looked like a vireo nest, but he saw a female Chestnut-sided Warbler bringing nesting materials to it. He showed me the nest, but the warbler was not there.

Photo Unavailable
Nest

Huck and I headed south on Route 610, and ran into a couple of other birders we know. Huck and I stopped about halfway down 610 when there was a flurry of avian activity. We add five more warblers there, although they were flitting around in dense vegetation so quickly that my photos aren't that great. But I did get one decent photo of a Cerulean Warbler, and this is the latest date I have ever seen one.

Photo Unavailable
Cerulean Warbler