Blue Ridge Parkway, VA 8/18/2020

All photos are © Marshall Faintich

It was a beautiful day to be birding up on the parkway. The only problem was that it wasn't very "birdy," and I really had to work hard to get 24 avian species. As I drove home, I thought that the 5+ Cerulean Warblers I logged this morning would be the highlight of the morning, but when I started processing my photos, the number #1 highlight of the outing changed. I started out on Route 610, and saw a few species. There was a Great Crested Flycatcher near to where I saw one yesterday, but I only got backlit photos today.

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Great Crested Flycatcher

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Hooded Warbler

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Ruby-throated Hummingbird

I got back onto the parkway and stopped at the upper, south end of the cirque (mm. 7.5). It was very quiet when I first arrived. A Red-tailed Hawk flew away, and then avian activity increased.

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Red-tailed Hawk

I saw a male and a female American Redstart, and then watched two first fall Cerulean Warblers forage in the dense vegetation while at least one more Cerulean Warbler, possibly two of them, sang from high up in the trees.

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Female American Redstart

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First fall Cerulean Warbler

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First fall Cerulean Warbler

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First fall Cerulean Warbler

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First fall Cerulean Warbler

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First fall Cerulean Warbler

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First fall Cerulean Warbler

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First fall Cerulean Warbler

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First fall Cerulean Warbler

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First fall Cerulean Warbler

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First fall Cerulean Warbler

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First fall Cerulean Warbler

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First fall Cerulean Warbler

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First fall Cerulean Warbler

I headed south and stopped at Hickory Springs Overlook (mm. 12), and hiked south to the mm. 12 road post. Along the way, there was a flurry of avian activity, and I started taking photos. I saw at least one Red-eyed Vireo, and a male and female Cerulean Warbler, making it 5+ Cerulean Warblers for the morning.

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Red-eyed Vireo

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Female Cerulean Warbler

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Male Cerulean Warbler

When I got home and started processing photos, I saw that there was another species in that flurry of activity. It was a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. It's a rare migratory species here, and a week earlier than shown in the Virginia "Goldbook," and four days earlier than the extreme early date in the "Goldbook." But August 18 is the same earliest date I have seen one in Virginia, matching this date in 2014 when I saw one on the Rockfish Valley Trail. Had I realized what I had photographed, Iwould have tried to get better photos of it.

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Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

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Yellow-bellied Flycatcher


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