VA Birders,
Today, Saturday, June 29, Two members of the Buchanan Co. Bird Club birded
High Knob VA in Wise County. My good friend, David Raines and myself, Roger
Mayhorn, had started birding the 4165 ft mountain by about 7:30 AM. With the
temperature staying between 65F-74F all day it made for great hiking and
birding. I felt sorry for the poor souls down in the valley enduring the 80+
degrees with high humidity.
We started off the morning with a Black-throated Green, which was to be only
one of eleven warbler species we would see throughout the day. Veerys were
singing or calling everywhere.
The Canada Warblers were busy in the Rhododendron while the Chestnut-sided
Warblers were busy in the trees feeding or carrying food to young ones. The
Dark-eyed Juncos kept us entertained with their song, which to me sounds
like the ringing of a tiny bell.
The flycatchers kept us busy distinguishing between Eastern Phoebes and
Eastern Wood Pewees. The Acadian Flycatchers were making themselves heard
and every now and then we would here the "che-bek" of a Least Flycatcher.
A Red-shouldered Hawk kept calling from the same area on the mountain, and
later in the day a Red-tailed gave us great looks as he circled lazily in
the sky. It was a great day to be outside and the birds cooperated as well.
We ended the day with a total of 43 species and the list didn't include some
of the more common species that we would have found down in the valley such
as: Northern Cardinals, Blue Jays, Cowbirds, Starlings, Chats, Song
Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows, Red-winged Blackbirds, etc.
Following is our complete list:
Black Throated Green Warbler 2
Chestnut-sided Warbler 12 (1 female)
Blackburnian Warbler 2 (1 striking male)
Canada Warbler 8
Magnolia Warbler 5
American Redstart 4 (2 female)
Black-throated Blue Warbler 8
Northern Parula 5
Black-and-white Warbler 3
Louisiana Waterthrush 2
Ovenbird 2
Veery 19
Dark-eyed Junco 15
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 2 males (1 immature)
Red-eyed Vireo 6
Blue-headed Vireo 7
Eastern Phoebe 5
Eastern Wood Pewee 6
Acadian Flycatcher 4
Least Flycatcher 3
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 8
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 1
Chimney Swift 1
Eastern Towhee 6 (1 female)
American Robin 12
Scarlet Tanager 10 (2 female)
Cedar Waxwing 15
American Goldfinch 4 (1 female)
Carolina Wren 1
Tufted Titmouse 2
Carolina Chickadee 1
White-breasted Nuthatch 4
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 2 (1 female)
Brown Thrasher 1
Gray Catbird 5
Indigo Bunting 8 (1 female)
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Common Raven 2
American Crow 8
Turkey Vulture 2
Roger Mayhorn
Grundy, VA
Buchanan County
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