FreeLists / bristol-birds / [Bristol-Birds] A bundle of sapsuckers

["Wallace Coffey" <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Bristol Birders:
Today (6/17),  Ron Harrington and I changed our plans at the last minute and 
went sapsucker seeking.  It was a good day !

We were able to discover Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers on three breeding 
territories in the Jefferson National Forest of Grayson County, VA.

Just after completing our Cornell Birds in Forested Landscape survey in the 
Fairwood Area of the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area,  we decided to do 
some spot checking over route we had not sampled.

We headed up the four-mile length of the 'Possum Creek jeep trail along Stone 
Mountain to the "Scales" at 4,400 feet elevation at the Appalachian Trail and 
Pine Mountain.   We got on the Forest Service back country Route 613 at 8:30 
a.m.   We spent the morning in impressive habitat.

Our first bird was a drumming and calling male at 4,060 feet about 2.5 miles 
up.  The second came just a 1/2 mile further at 4,200 feet when a female came 
to a tape recording of the sounds of a screech-owl being mobed by chickadees.  
The thrid was at 4,300 feet when a male responded to a tape and came for a 
close look at 3.5 miles up.   

About 1.5 miles up from the bottom we did see an Eastern Screech-owl flapping 
through the canopy after we just happened to stop and was walking near where he 
evidently was roosting along the road :-)

U.S. Forest Service biologist Cecil Thomas wrote to say he had found two 
sapsucker males on Wednesday -- one at Grindstone Campground and the other 
along State Route 600 about half way up to Elk Garden. 

At 4,280 feet today on the jeep trail, Ron and I saw a Black-throated Green 
Warbler gathering nesting materials in the road and flying off down the slope.  
Canada Warblers are in full song in good numbers and so is the Veery.

Let's go birding.....

Wallace Coffey
Bristol, TN



 
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