I met up with Tink Moyer at the park a little before 10:00 this morning. Birding started out slowly, but really got interesting. We ended up with 6 warbler species: American Redstart, Black and White, Cape May, Common Yellowthroat (quick look only), Northern Parula, and Yellow-rumped, along with about 25 other avian species. I was really happy to get some good Cape May Warbler photos. While I have taken hundreds of Cape May Warbler photos, almost all of them have been during autumnal migration when males do do not their full breeding plumage.
Black and White Warbler
Black and White Warbler
Black and White Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
American Redstart
Northern Parula
Northern Parula
Northern Parula
Northern Parula
Cape May Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Cedar Waxwing
Great Crested Flycatcher
Red-shouldered Hawk
Pileated Woodpecker
We also saw the mangy fox that I had photgraphed last year at this park. It looked a bit healthier, but still a bit strange looking for a fox.
Fox
It was noon and Tink had afternoon errands to run, so I headed up to the parkway and birded along Route 610 between mm. 2 and mm. 4 of the parkway, and then on the parkway to Three Ridges Overlook (mm. 13.6). I saw 8 warbler species up there: American Redstart, Black and White, Cerulean, Chestnut-sided, Hooded (no photos), Ovenbird, Pine, and Worm-eating, giving me 12 warbler species for the day. I also got a quick look at a Swainson's Thrush with a poor photo taken from inside my car.
American Redstart
American Redstart
Black and White Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Ovenbird
Ovenbird
Ovenbird
Ovenbird
Pine Warbler
Pine Warbler
Worm-eating Warbler
Worm-eating Warbler
Swainson's Thrush
We are really lucky to see Cerulean Warblers. They breed all along the Route 610 and the first 14 miles of the parkway. One of my favorite parkway stops is at the southern end of the large cirque near mm. 7-1/2. This afternoon, I got really lucky. A female Cerulean Warbler was gathering nesting materials right in front of me at that location, and I got my best-ever photos of a female Cerulean.
Cerulean Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Well, that was a good birding day! I ended up with 42 avian species.
Old Trail; Crozet, VA; 5/11/2022After birding for almost 5 hours and 6 miles yesterday, I took it easy this morning and did a shorter hike here in Old Trail. I added at least 10 more avian species to my two day list, including 4 warbler species, giving me 14 for these two days. Note that even though Yellow-breasted Chats were removed from the wood warbler family a few years ago, I still count this species on my warblers photographed by year list. This is the second year in a row that this species has shown up in Old Trail. I saw another Yellow-rumped Warbler, another Common Yellowthroat, and also added Yellow Warbler.
Common Yellowthroat
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat