Juvenile Dark-eyed Junco
I expected this morning's outing to be about the same as yesterday up on the parkway, but it didn't turn out that way. It was a bit hotter and muggier, but there was an almost complete, thin cloud layer, and the lack of wind made for a very hazy day. I started off on the parkway at the Shenandoah Valley Overlook (mm. 2.9). Other than seeing an Eastern Towhee, I only heard an Ovenbird and a Hooded Warbler, but didn't see either of these warblers. I wondered if the warblers were down the hill along Route 610, so I headed back to mm. 2, and birded south on 610. It was really quiet there as well. I did see a few female/first year American Redstarts, but every time I tried to get a photo, a vehicle drove by and scared the warbler away.
Juvenile Dark-eyed Junco
By the time I got back onto the parkway at mm. 4, I was thinking that this might turn out to be a poor outing. I saw a juvenile Chipping Sparrow.
Juvenile Chipping Sparrow
Juvenile Chipping Sparrow
My next stop was at the north, lower end of the cirque (mm. 7.5), where yesterday, I had heard Ovenbirds, saw a male Black and White Warbler, and a Worm-eating Warbler. The first birds I saw there were two Blue-headed Vireos. I had already heard Red-eyed and Yellow-throated Vireos this morning, so this species was my third vireo of the morning. One of them had really a boldly colored underside.
Blue-headed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
A female Black and White Warbler showed up, as well as a Worm-eating Warbler.
Black and White Warbler
Black and White Warbler
Worm-eating Warbler
Worm-eating Warbler
Worm-eating Warbler
American Redstarts should be easy to photograph on my route, but the only photos of this species I got today were a distant female/immature bird and unfotunately, a male lying on the road shoulder that must have been hit by a car.
American Redstart
And then I got lucky. A family of five to seven Cerulean Warblers showed up, and spent a lot of time foraging in the vegetation along the parkway. I saw an adult male, but it was busy flying back and forth, and never landed close or in view for a photo. But I got lots and lots of photos of the rest of the family. The first one was an adult female.
Female Cerulean Warbler
Female Cerulean Warbler
Female Cerulean Warbler
Female Cerulean Warbler
Female Cerulean Warbler
Female Cerulean Warbler
I saw another female that might have been a different bird, as its wing bars looked different.
Female Cerulean Warbler
Female Cerulean Warbler
There was another one that looked to be a first spring female, as its flight feathers looked to be more worn.
Female Cerulean Warbler
Female Cerulean Warbler
Female Cerulean Warbler
All of the above females might have been the same bird, but looked different because of lighting. I then saw a first spring male molting into its adult plumage.
First spring male Cerulean Warbler
First spring male Cerulean Warbler
First spring male Cerulean Warbler
First spring male Cerulean Warbler
First spring male Cerulean Warbler
First spring male Cerulean Warbler
First spring male Cerulean Warbler
First spring male Cerulean Warbler
A juvenile Cerulean Warbler was molting into its first year plumage.
Juvenile Cerulean Warbler
Juvenile Cerulean Warbler
Juvenile Cerulean Warbler
Juvenile Cerulean Warbler
Juvenile Cerulean Warbler
And I saw another male Cerulean Warbler in first fall plumage (note streaking on back and sides of crown).
First fall male Cerulean Warbler
First fall male Cerulean Warbler
First fall male Cerulean Warbler
First fall male Cerulean Warbler
So there were at least five different Cerulean Warblers there: Adult male, first spring male, first fall male, juvenile, and female, and possibly as many as seven if the females I saw were different birds. Well, that was neat!
I continued south to the upper end of the cirque, and then onto Hickory Springs and Three Ridges Overlooks, but didn't see any warblers. I headed back north, and got onto Route 610 at mm. 4, where I two more Hooded Warblers, and got a few photos of an Ovenbird.
Ovenbird
Ovenbird
Ovenbird