[EMAS] Another Late Migrant Surge - Ridge Junction/BRP/128
- From: Marilyn Westphal <mjwestph@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: carolinabirds <carolinabirds@xxxxxxxx>, "emas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Audubon Society" <emas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2014 16:50:49 -0400
Mark and I have been waiting for a good weather day (low winds mostly) to
head back up to Ridge Junction and today was the day. It proved to be
quite a bonanza. Bill Haddad also showed up and we birded together most of
the morning. Birds were heading NE to SW as usual with most flying across
the lower end of 128 with over a thousand birds total counted, obviously
most not getting identified as there were way too many. Most common were
Tennessee and Bay-breasted Warblers, followed by Black-throated Green,
Black-throated Blue, and Cape May Warblers, Ruby-crowned Kinglets,
Blue-headed Vireos, Blue Jays and smaller numbers of a bunch of other
species. Complete list below.
Ruffed Grouse (strolling across the road)
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 1
Downy Woodpecker - 1
Hairy Woodpecker - 1
Northern Flicker - 6
Yellow-throated Vireo - 2
Blue-headed Vireo - 19
Philadelphia Vireo - 1
Blue Jay - 32
Common Raven - 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch - 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 14
Swainson's Thrush - 1
Am. Robin - 2
Warblers included:
Black-and-white - 1
Tennessee - 78
American Redstart - 2
Cape May - 9
Magnolia - 1
Bay-breasted - 66
Blackburnian - 2
Black-throated Blue - 7
Palm - 1
Yellow-rumped - 11 (argh, this means the beginning of the end of migration)
Black-throated Green - 19
Eastern Towhee - 1
Savannah Sparrow - 1
Dark-eyed Junco - 5
Scarlet Tanager - 1
Rose-breasted Grosbeak - 5
Pine Siskin - 3
American Goldfinch - 3
We also stopped over at Bald Knob Ridge to check a spot where we had left
some equipment several weeks ago and were surprised to find that 1. our
equipment was still there and hadn't been touched and, 2. a flock of Red
Crossbills was still present.
Another beautiful morning, too, sunny, clear with lots of leaf color. Mt
Mitchell is past peak, but lower down still has a ways to go before
reaching peak. Leaf-peeper crowds sure have arrived, though.
Marilyn
--
Marilyn Westphal
Hendersonville, NC
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- » [EMAS] Another Late Migrant Surge - Ridge Junction/BRP/128 - Marilyn Westphal
