Flycatcher
I used to visit the Rockfish Valley Trail in Nellysford multiple times per week when I lived only a few miles away, but now go birding there very infrequently. I had been there about a month ago, and noticed the dense and tall vegetation, and thought that this trail might be good this autumn for migrating warblers. I had an errand to run in Nellysford today, so I asked Walt Childs if he wanted to meet me there and do some birding. We both parked on the gravel lot next to the Rockfish River and the trail kiosk. As soon as I got out of my car, I saw a large flycatcher perched at the top of a tree at the far end of the fenced field.
Flycatcher
Could it be an Olive-sided Flycatcher? This species is rare in Virginia, but I have seen one on the Rockfish Valley Trail nine times during previous spring or autumn migrations, and this species prefers to perch at the highest point on a dead branch to look for flying insects. Almost every time I had seen one on the trail in previous years, the Olive-sided Flycatcher was on the trail for two to three days before moving on. Walt and I had planned on heading downstream to look for warblers, but the prospect of an Olive-sided Flycatcher changed our minds, and we headed upstream. Along the way, we stopped to see a few Magnolia, Black-throated Green, and Black and White Warblers, a beautiful Red-eyed Vireo, and a few other species.
Magnolia Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Black and White Warbler
Red-eyed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
As we approached the end of the fenced field, I saw the flycatcher at work, and when it perched on a lower branch, I was able to confirm it as an Olive-sided. It did some flycatching, and finally flew up to its high post to search for more meals.
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Walt and then headed across Route 151 to search the downstream and Glenthorne Loop trails. To our dismay, we immediately saw that most of the downstream trail was closed as VDOT was doing a major project on the Rockfish River using large and loud equipment. Bummers! That was one of the best areas on the trail to look for migrating warblers. We navigated past the VDOT project, saw a few more birds past the first wooden bridge, and then headed back to the parking lot. We decided to drive on Glenthorne Loop and park off the road near the second wooden bridge to look there for warblers. The best bird we saw in that area was a non-breeding plumaged, male Scarlet Tanager. We also saw three Broad-winged Hawks and a Red-tailed Hawk, and ended the outing with about 30 avian species.
Scarlet Tanager
Red-tailed and Broad-winged Hawks
Grasshopper