My cousin, Dan Kendrick, came for a visit and ,of course, we enjoyed our
favorite pastime together! On the evening of the 18th we found some nice birds
in the Breaks Park; Pine, Yellow-th, Black& White& Hooded Warblers, Ovenbird,
Red-eyed Vireo, Scarlet Tanager, Kingbird,Cedar Waxwing and Great-crested
Flycatcher, to name a few. The next day, we decided to bird Buchanan
County,beginning our day at Poplar Gap/Southern Gap. In spite of morning
showers, we found a lot of action at the gaps. Blue-winged Warblers were
singing on territory in several locations as well as White-eyed Vireo and
Yellow-breasted Chat. Prairie Warblers were located and a female Blue Grosbeak
was sighted( we BC birders have been hoping to find nesting Blue Grosbeaks
there-we'll see). The biggest surprise came when a Northern Harrier appeared,
caught a thermal, gained altitude and sailed of to the North. Has to be a late
date for that bird! We enjoyed lots of Meadowlarks, Red-wings and more
Grasshopper Sparrows than you can imagine. A displaying Turkey Gobbler even
made an appearance! Northern rough-winged and Barn Swallows were noted and a
couple of crows harrassed a raven. After a lunch in Grundy we made our way to
Compton's Mountain for a rendevous with Roger and Lynda Mayhorn. Immediately,
we saw Purple Martins,Tree Swallows, R-t Hummingbirds, Bluebirds, Yellow and
Yellow-th Warblers. On Roger's trail through the woods, we found R-E Vireo,
Hooded Warbler, Scarlet Tanager and in the brushy tangles at the end, a
Blue-winged Warbler seemed to be on territory. Roger took us out to the
cemetary in the woods where we saw Cerulean Warblers , Yellow-th Vireo,
Sharp-shinned Hawk and a Chipping Sparrow that we had tried to call a
Worm-eating(ever done that?). We checked the Mountain-top Golf Course and on
the road back to Roger's a Hen Turkey and young scurried out of the way as we
approached. She had at least 10 young . We could hear her cluck to them as she
managed to hide them in the tall grass and bushes below the road. The hen then
walked out into the open and moved away from her babie's hiding place. Good
mother! Back at Roger's, we had great looks at a male Baltimore Oriole and a
late appearance of a Pine Siskin. We had quite a few other sightings at the
Mayhorn's ie; Red-bellied and Downy Woodpecker, Towhee, Red-sh Hawk... A great
time for all! Next morning, the 20th, as we left my place, a Green Heron
watched us from his perch in a tree near the creek, sending us off with a good
start! Dan and I decided to bird more in the Breaks Park, in particular, the
Garden Hole/Camp Branch area. Northern Parula and Kentucky Warbler were found
near the beginning of the Garden Hole Road along rt80. As we walked along the
road from "Goodbird Hollow" to the Camp Branch crossing we were serenaded by
Vireos, Ovenbirds,Hooded Warblers and Redstarts. At the crossing, we found
Louisiana Waterthrush and Swainson's Warbler and a distant Black-th Green
Warbler.Blue-headed Vireo could be heard from the pull-out at the top of the
hill before going down to the river. The best find at the river was another
Green Heron. We finished our Breaks Park birding by picking up the Blackburnian
Warbler near the Visitor's Center and catching a Black Vulture flyover. Back at
my place, preparing for Dan's departure, an Orchard Oriole sang out to be the
last bird added to the list. Our list for the 3 days was around 83 species. Dan
, if you had only stayed one more day, you could have added the Cape May
Warbler that showed up in the Norway Spruce in my backyard this morning!
DaveR/Breaks,VA
