Blue Ridge Parkway, VA 6/3/2022

All photos are © Marshall Faintich

Old Trail; Crozet, VA; 6/2/2022

A line of strong thunderstorms moved through the area late afternoon, and we were out of power for 3-1/2 hours. A huge Tulip-tree Silkmoth took refuge on our front porch.

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Tulip-tree Silkmoth

Blue Ridge Parkway and Route 610; 6/3/2022

I met up with Tink Moyer at the old tower on Route 610 a little before 10:00 a.m. Tink was moving a large tree branch that was completely blocking the road, and must have come down in yesterday's storm. We birded along Route 610 and the parkway between mm. 4 and mm. 13-1/2. I turned around and birded the same route going north, and ended up with 25+ avian species. With a pair of Chestnut-sided Warblers remaining at Hickory Springs Overlook (mm. 11.8), 8 breeding warbler species can be found Between Rockfish Gap and Reids Gap: American Redstart, Black and White Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Ovenbird, Pine Warbler, and Worm-eating Warbler.

I saw and photographed 6 of them, heard Pine Warblers along their usual location in the pine trees near mm. 3, and am fairly confident that I heard the chip call of a Black and White Warbler. I hadn't realized that Black and White Warblers make this chip call until seeing a female Black and White Warbler foraging and making this call a couple of times during the past month. Sibley's app doesn't list this call, but the iBird Ultimate app does. I also heard a warbler song near mm. 8 that I know that I have heard before, but could not remember what warbler it was, nor did I see the warbler. It must have been an alternate song for one of the warbler species.

American Redstarts, Cerulean Warblers, and Ovenbirds were heard/seen at many locations and Hooded Warblers and four or five locations. Dense leaf foliage made seeing and photographing warblers a challenge.

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Cerulean Warbler

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Cerulean Warbler

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Cerulean Warbler

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Cerulean Warbler

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Cerulean Warbler

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Cerulean Warbler

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Hooded Warbler

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Hooded Warbler

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Hooded Warbler

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First summer male American Redstart

I saw an adult male American Redstart with some leucistic (white) wing and tale feathers. Even on an immature bird, these feathers would be yellow before molting into orange.

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Adult male American Redstart

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Adult male American Redstart

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Adult male American Redstart

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Chestnut-sided Warbler

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Worm-eating Warbler

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Worm-eating Warbler

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Ovenbird

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Ovenbird

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Ovenbird

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Ovenbird

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Red-bellied Woodpecker

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Yellow-throated Vireo

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Scarlet Tanager

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Scarlet Tanager

Just before heading for home, I ran into Huck Hutchens who had been birding most of the same route, and had seen many of the same birds. He confirmed seeing a Black and White Warbler. Huck also reported turning right on Route 610 where it rejoins the parkway near mm. 4, and finding a Kentucky Warbler down that section of Route 610. This may have been the same Kentucky Warbler that I saw on Route 610 near Old Elk Mountain Road on May 15. However, going down Route 610 to the west can be tricky because of road conditions.


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