Blue Ridge Parkway, VA 9/1/2019

All photos are © Marshall Faintich

On Friday, I had 10 warbler species at Pocosin Cabin on Skyline Drive, and an 11th warbler species much closer to the start of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Yesterday, two birding friends of mine had 17 warbler species at Pocosin Cabin, so it's clear that the first significant wave of migrating warblers along the Blue Ridge Mountains is underway. Pocosin Cabin is about 60 miles north of the start of the parkway (driving distance), so some of those warbler species might be much closer to the start of the parkway by now. I decided to try my luck up on the first 12 miles of the parkway (and parallel Route 610 between mm. 2 and mm. 4). There was fog at those elevations that ranged from light and wispy to very dense, so birding conditions were not ideal. I encountered my first mixed flock on Route 610 around mm. 3-1/2. Several Carolina Chickadees were making a racket, so I stopped for a look. There were at least 3 warbler species there: Chestnut-sided, Black-throated Blue (female), and Black-throated Green, as well as Blue-headed Vireo and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. Most likely, there were more species, but a passing car and talkative walkers came by, and the flock moved away from my view.

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Black-throated Blue Warbler

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Chestnut-sided Warbler

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Black-throated Green Warbler

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Black-throated Green Warbler

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Blue-headed Vireo

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Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

I re-entered the parkway and drove south. The fog got more dense as I drove. I didn't see any birds at the cirque (mm. 7.5), but heard a Pewee there. I stopped again at Hickory Springs Overlook (mm. 12) where I have been seeing a Hooded Warbler just to the north of the overlook, and it was still there.

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Hooded Warbler

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Hooded Warbler

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Hooded Warbler

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Hooded Warbler

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Hooded Warbler

I turned around and headed north, and got back onto Route 610 at mm. 4. I found another small flock of warblers with some chickadees.

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Male American Redstart

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Tennessee Warbler

At this point, I decided to get out of the fog and try nearby Ridgeview Park in Waynesboro. The park was fairly "birdy," but I only found warblers in two locations.

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Chestnut-sided Warbler

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Female American Redstart

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Female American Redstart

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Female American Redstart

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Blackburnian Warbler

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Blackburnian(?) Warbler

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Red-eyed Vireo

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Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

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Cedar Waxwing

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House Wren and Ruby-throated Hummingbird

I got a quick look at another bird that I think was a female Baltimore Oriole, but the photo below is all that I saw of this bird.

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Baltimore Oriole (?)


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