Blue Ridge Parkway, VA 9/29/17

All photos are © Marshall Faintich

They're back! Well, sort of . . . A cool and dry front moved through overnight, and I hoped that it would usher in migrating warblers. I decided to try my usual route along the first 14 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway, detouring off onto parallel Route 610 between mm.2 and mm. 4. I had a late start and arrived there at 10:30 this morning. It was fairly quiet along Route 610 until just before my exit back onto the parkway, when I saw multiple birds flying in and out of a large tree. Near the top of the tree was a good-sized flock of Cedar Waxwings (mostly juveniles), and a Blue-headed Vireo was foraging close to the ground.

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Cedar Waxwing

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Blue-headed Vireo

The middle of the tree was loaded with warblers! They stayed mostly in this one tree, with some of them occasionally flitting about to one of the nearby trees, and then returning to this tree. I saw at least seven warbler species in this one tree.

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Black-throated Green Warbler

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Black-throated Green Warbler

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Black-throated Green Warbler

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Northern Parula

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Northern Parula

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Cape May Warbler

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Cape May Warbler

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Cape May Warbler

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Cape May Warbler

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Cape May Warbler

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Blackburnian Warbler

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Blackburnian Warbler

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Blackburnian Warbler

I got a quick look at one warbler that I think was a Pine Warbler based on its head appearance and undertail pattern.

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Pine Warbler

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Tennessee Warbler

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Tennessee Warbler

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Tennessee Warbler

There was one warbler that might have been the same bird as the above Tennessee Warbler, but it looked a bit different. I think that it is another, or possibly the same Tennessee Warbler, but it might be an Orange-crowned Warbler. Any opinions?

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Tennessee(?) Warbler

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Tennessee(?) Warbler

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Tennessee(?) Warbler

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Tennessee(?) Warbler

But the real stars of the show at that tree were several Bay-breasted Warblers.

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Bay-breasted Warbler

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Bay-breasted Warbler

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Bay-breasted Warbler

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Bay-breasted Warbler

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Bay-breasted Warbler

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Bay-breasted Warbler

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Bay-breasted Warbler

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Bay-breasted Warbler

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Bay-breasted Warbler

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Bay-breasted Warbler

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Bay-breasted Warbler

Now I was pumped, and couldn't wait to see what other warblers I might find. When I got to the upper end of the cirque near mm. 7.5, there was a small flock of warblers. I got quick photos of another Tennessee Warbler [update: more likely a Philadelphia Vireo] and a Magnolia Warbler, and saw a Black-throated Blue Warbler and an American Redstart. But wouldn't you know it, less than a minutes later, streams of cars and motorcycles drove by in both directions and scared all of the warblers into the woods. I stayed there about 15 more minutes, didn't see any more warblers, and hardly any more cars. All I saw after that was a Yellow-billed Cuckoo.

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Tennessee Warbler [update: more likely a Philadelphia Vireo]

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Magnolia Warbler

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Yellow-billed Cuckoo

It was now past noon, and the birds were taking their afternoon siesta.


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