On Sunday July 2, the family and I hiked Mary's Rock in Shenandoah National
Park, Rappahannock County. It was an easy hike 1.7 miles up to the top, with
an elevation of 3500 feet. I was delighted to hear the sweet, musical trill
of the Dark-eyed Junco singing, and I heard and saw a Blue-headed Vireo. A
Chestnut-sided sang, and Redstarts were all over the place, in pairs nesting
and readily responding to any pishing, so the whole family got great looks
at these pretty birds. Towhees were abundant! All in all a great afternoon
of birding and a terrific view from the top. I would recommend this hike to
everyone. Mary's Rock is at the intersection of Route 211 and Skyline Drive.
We parked at the Panorama restaurant and hiked up and down in a very
leisurely four hours.
By the way, when I went to enter the birds I saw into eBird, I found that
Mary's Rock had already been entered as a "Hot Spot" or a popular, public
birding location. This made this first-time data entry painless, another
pleasant surprise.
Cheers,
Phil
Phil Kenny
1731 Killarney Court
Vienna VA 22182-2133
philkenny1@xxxxxxx
H 703-255-5423
M 571-226-6690
