I'm passing on this note from Ryan Smith, currently living in NC.
Also, I don't remember reading any posting from the June VSO field trip to
Mt. Rogers. I'm sure Virginia birders would appreciate a report (at least
the highlights) from that trip. /John Spahr
-----Original Message-----
From: Ryan Smith [mailto:ryan_smith@xxxxxxx]
Sent: Monday, July 12, 2004 2:34 PM
To: Spahr MD, John
This is a bit dated already, and it's a bit south of the area you're
combing, but excited by your charge to seek out high elevation breeders
(actually a desire to get out of the sweltering Piedmont), I spent last
Tuesday (July 6) in the Mount Rogers area. Despite a persistant wind that
seemed to threaten to wash out the day, I got 41 species from Grayson
Higlands SP up to Mt Rogers and added 8 more at Whitetop Mtn. Most notable
bird, I think, was 2 'Myrtle' Warblers, one very beautiful male and one
possible female or young male (I had only a brief backlit look at this
bird), just before entering the spruce forest on the Mt Rogers spur trail
off the AT. Saw them in a very birdy spot with several Magnolia Warblers,
some kinglets, a couple of nuthatches and a chickadee with many juncos
around. I suppose I might have called it a loose mixed flock in other
seasons. Male sang at least once that I heard, but didn't seem to be acting
too territorial. It was hard to follow him, and very hard to pick him out
through the din of juncos added to the wind. A Myrtle was also seen at
Clingman's Dome in the Smokies that weekend. Have they been present as
breeders in Mt Rogers area in recent years?
I also managed to hear and find one singing Purple Finch on my way back down
the AT toward Grayson, in the camping areas a little past the AT shelter.
Missed Swainson's thrush (know anything about their current status at Mt
Rogers?), empids, Y-b sapsucker, Northern Saw-Whet Owl, and horned lark.
Good numbers of most of the other high elevation species (Red-breasted
Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Yellow-Crowned Kinglet, etc) though only 2
chickadees (any idea if the Black-capped in Mt Rogers area are rather pure?)
and 2 Winter Wrens. Good numbers of most the other high and mid elevation
warblers, Blackburnian only at Whitetop, very high numbers of Magnolia at Mt
Rogers (one of the 2 or 3 most abundant birds near the top), only two Canada
Warblers all day. When the wind died down enough, heard many, many Hermit
Thrushes at Mt Rogers. Lots of sparrows (field, vesper, song, chipping,
junco, towhee), four or five Bobwhite along Rhododendron Gap trail.
They were cutting red spruce in the nice stand about 1/2-3/4 mile up the
forest road to Whitetop Mtn. Said the 'pine beetle' had been found in a few
and were trying to contain it. While birding far enough up the road to get
away from the harvest noise I had a flock of crossbills fly over (I've
visited this spot twice and had this happen both times), blackburnian and
black-throated blue there. An Accipiter also blasted across the road into
the forest up the road. There was a Kestrel working the fields near the
top.
Cheers,
Ryan
_________________________________________
Ryan Smith, Freshwater Ecologist
The Nature Conservancy
6114 Fayetteville Rd., Suite 109
Durham, NC 27713
ph-(919) 484-7857 ext.150; fax-(919) 484-7357
ryan_smith@xxxxxxx <mailto:ryan_smith@xxxxxxx>
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