Central Virginia 5/8/2022

All photos are © Marshall Faintich

I had wondered if Friday night's severe thunderstorms had caused a migrating warbler "fall out," and the Birdcast radar showed almost no avian migration through Virginia Saturday night. Were there a lot of migrating species up on the Blue Ridge Parkway? But when I looked out the window from my home in Crozet, the Blue Ridge Mountains were hidden by fog. However, the VDOT traffic cameras didn't show any fog at Rockfish Gap, so perhaps the parkway was above the fog?

It was cold, cloudy, and breezy with a little bit of spitting drizzle. When I started birding near the old tower on Route 610 near mm. 2 of the parkway, it was about 10:00 and the temperature was only 39 degrees. I didn't see very many birds, although I heard one Cerulean Warbler, one American Redstart, and a few Ovenbirds. I did get to see a Barred Owl and a pair of Wood Thrushes.

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Wood Thrushes

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Barred Owl

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Barred Owl

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Barred Owl

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Barred Owl

I got back onto the parkway at mm. 4 and headed south. Soon after passing the Humpback Rock Visitor's Center at mm. 5, I encountered dense fog. I took the parkway all the way to Reids Gap, but there was dense fog all the way. I turned around and made my way back to Route 610 at mm. 4. It was now 38 degrees. I did get to see one Hooded Warbler. It was fairly dark and I had to take photos with a slower than normal shutter speed. This Hooded Warbler turned its head quickly during one of my shots that resulted in an interesting photo.

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Hooded Warbler

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Hooded Warbler

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Hooded Warbler

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Hooded Warbler

Well, it was now 11:00. I decided to try Ridgeview Park in nearby Waynesboro. The park was loaded with birds, and I logged 7 warbler species there: American Redstart (4), Cape May (1), Chestnut-sided (2); Magnolia (2), Northern Parula (1), Yellow-rumped (4), and I heard 1 Common Yellowthroat. That gave me 10 warbler species for the day. I also saw a pair of Baltimore Orioles there, and by the time I left, I had logged about 30 avian species for the outing.

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American Redstart

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American Redstarts

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American Redstart

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Cape May Warbler

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Chestnut-sided Warbler

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Chestnut-sided Warbler

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Chestnut-sided Warbler

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Chestnut-sided Warbler

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Magnolia Warbler

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Magnolia Warbler

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Magnolia Warbler

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Magnolia Warbler

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Magnolia Warbler

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Magnolia Warbler

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Magnolia Warbler

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Magnolia Warbler

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Magnolia Warbler

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Northern Parula

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Yellow-rumped Warbler

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Yellow-rumped Warbler

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Red-eyed Vireo

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Baltimore Oriole

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Baltimore Oriole


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