Virginia Birders,
My wife Michelle and I birded the reclaimed strip mine site at Guesses Fork
in Buchanan County (where VA-KY-WV meet) this morning. Even through we got
off to a late start we had a great morning of birding and the weather was
perfect. Blue-gray Gnatcatchers were at every turn and we also found good
numbers of Blue-headed Vireos as well as two White-eyed Vireos. I was
expecting Blue-winged and Golden-winged Warblers but we missed the
Blue-winged. The Golden-winged Warbler gave us great looks and was making a
two-noted Blue-winged call. We found two Ceruleans on the hike and one gave
us our best ever look at this species. We were hiking on a narrow ridgeline
and the bird was at eye level and about 30 feet away.
Other birds on the hike included a Solitary Sandpiper (at a marshy area on
top of the mountain), Red-winged Blackbirds, a single Broad-winged Hawk
heading north, lots of singing White-throated Sparrows and Field Sparrows,
and Northern Rough-winged Swallows.
On Thursday (April 14) my wife Michelle found a small group of Grasshopper
Sparrows at Poplar Gap Park here in Buchanan County. The area is part of a
large reclaimed mine site and normally hosts a large number of breeding
Horned Larks, Killdeer, and Grasshopper Sparrows each year.
Ed Talbott
Buchanan County Bird Club
http://www.bcplnet.org/birdclub/birdclub.htm
Migrants:
Blue-headed Vireo - 9
White-eyed Vireo - 2
Yellow Warbler - 1
Black-and-white Warblers - 12
Yellow-throated Warblers - 3
Hooded Warbler - 1
Cerulean Warbler - 2
Golden-winged Warbler - 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatchers - 15+
Broad-winged Hawk - 1
Solitary Sandpiper - 1
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