Blue Ridge Parkway, VA 4/21/2022

All photos are © Marshall Faintich

I went up to the parkway and parallel Route 610 this morning under mostly cloudy skies. The good news was that there weren't a lot of leaves on the trees, and that made locating birds a lot easier. The bad news was that there weren't a lot of leaves on the trees, and that meant there weren't a lot of birds to see! We're still a good week away from good birding there, and really need a warm week for the leaves to open. I got onto the parkway at Rockfish Gap, and then onto Route 610 near mm. 2 of the parkway. I stayed on 610 until mm. 4 of the parkway, and had at least 20 avian species. I'm fairly sure that I saw an owl flying through the trees, and may have heard a Brown-headed Cowbird, but didn't count either of these unconfirmed species.

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Downy Woodpecker

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Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

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White-throated Sparrow

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White-throated Sparrow

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Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Along the straight stretch of 610 near mm. 3-1/2 of the parkway, I located a pair of Pine Warblers where they usually nest each year, and got my first of the season (in Virginia) Black and White Warbler there as well.

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Pine Warbler

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Pine Warbler

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Pine Warbler

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Pine Warbler

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Black and White Warbler

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Black and White Warbler

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Black and White Warbler

I returned along 610, and then got back onto the parkway. I saw a Mourning Dove near the Rockfish Gap Overlook, and pulled onto the gravel pull-off around mm. 1-1/2 between the Rockfish Gap and Afton Mountain overlooks. I heard a Hooded Warbler, and after a while photographed my 9th warbler species in 2022.

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Hooded Warbler

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Hooded Warbler

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Hooded Warbler

This morning's list:

Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
American Crow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Bluebird
Black-and-white Warbler
Pine Warbler
White-throated Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
American Goldfinch
Common Raven
Northern Cardinal
Red-bellied Woodpecker
White-breasted Nuthatch
Mourning Dove
Hooded Warbler


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