Red-eyed Vireo
I headed up to Route 610 this morning and birded between mm.2 and mm. 4 of the Blue Ridge Parkway, and then did a little more birding up on the parkway. I ended up with a good mix of birds including 3 warbler species.
Red-eyed Vireo
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Molting Blue Jay pretending to be a vulture
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Hooded Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
The third warbler species may have been a first fall female Cerulean, but more likely was a Bay-breasted Warbler.
Bay-breasted(?) Warbler
White caterpillar
Unidentified caterpillar
It was a miserable day to be birding - on and off drizzle, and light to dense fog. But I was out birding, so it was a good day! I met up with Huck Hutchens on Route 610 near mm. 2 of the parkway. There were quite a few birds flitting around high in the trees right at the start, but they were tough to identify given the weather conditions. I was sure that some of them were Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Scarlet Tanager, and three warbler species: American Redstart, Chestnut-sided Warbler, and Blackburnian Warbler. We also heard a Hooded Warbler.
American Redstart
Blackburnian Warbler
Farther down Route 610, we encountered another flock of birds that included American Redstart, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Black and White Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Blue-headed Vireo, and a Red-breasted Nuthatch. We also heard another Hooded Warbler.
American Redstart
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Black and White Warbler
Worm-eating Warbler
Blue-headed Vireo
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Red-breasted Nuthatch
We got onto the parkway, saw and heard an Ovenbird near Hickory Springs Overlook, and heard another Hooded Warbler at the 3 Ridges Overlook.