Magnolia Warbler
I awoke to sunny skies and no fog on the nearby mountains! What was that strange yellow ball in the sky? :-) With late afternoon and evening rain in the forecast, as well as rain for tomorrow, I took advantage of the good weather and went up to the Blue Ridge Parkway to look for warblers. But the parkway was fairly quiet. I ony saw one warbler - a distant Magnolia, two Yellow-billed Cuckoos, a Scarlet Tanager, some woodland species, and the underside of a bird that I think might have been a Blue-headed Vireo.
Magnolia Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Eastern Towhee
Unidentified species - BH Vireo?
I drove the first 14 miles of the parkway, and decided to exit at Reids Gap and to try the Rockfish Valley Trail again for two reasons. I wanted to see if I could re-locate the Connecticut Warbler I had seen yesterday, and I wanted to look for another bird that I did not put in yesterday's report. While on the downstream trail yesterday, I saw a warbler-sized bird with a dark bluish gray head and a dark back, fly into some pokeweek and disappear. I didn't see it again, and it had started to drizzle, so I headed for home. When I re-read the eBird posting by Ezra Staengl last night, he had reported a Mourning Warbler in the pokeweed, and his photos looked like a male still in breeding plumage. That may have been the bird that I saw, so I wanted to look for it again.
My first stop was the south end of Glenthorne Loop where I had seen the Connecticut Warbler. There were very few birds there, but hundreds of migrating Monarch butterflies dripping from the trees.
Monarch butterflies
Monarch butterflies
I then went to he north end of the trail to look for warblers. I saw two Common Yellowthroats, and a third warbler that was either a Common Yellowthroat. or perhaps a Wilson's. I didn't see any other warblers there.
Common Yellowthroat
Common Yellowthroat/Wilson's ?
Gray Catbird
I decided to head for home in Old Trail (Crozet). Before calling it a (birding) day, I decided to take a short hike along the Lindy Bain trail near my house. One of the frist birds that I saw there was a Gray-cheeked Thrush. I saw this species last autumn in almost the same location.
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Gray-cheeked Thrush
A bit farther down the trail I saw two Common Yellowthroats, and some Indigo Buntings. One of the Buntings was an adult male molting into non-breeding plumage.
Common Yellowthroat
Common Yellowthroat
Indigo Bunting
Indigo Bunting
Indigo Bunting
Carolina Wren
I then saw a bird that was probably another Indigo Bunting. First, it was close by, and part of its head was blocked by vegetation.
Indigo Bunting?
It then flew. I'm fairly certain that the next composite of two photos is the same bird, but unfortunately, slightly out-of-focus. This bird seems to have very bold eye rings that I would not expect to see on an Indigo Bunting. Any comments would be appreciated.
Indigo Bunting?
I ended my hike with some close-up photos of a Red-eyed Vireo and a Northern Parula. Perhaps I should have just birded close to home.
Red-eyed Vireo
Northern Parula
Northern Parula
Northern Parula
Northern Parula
Northern Parula
Northern Parula