Hello, Virginia Birders,
Sixteen members of the Cape Henry Audubon Society enjoyed briskly-cold,
relatively dry weather on their almost-annual winter trip to Highland County,
Jan. 31, Feb. 1 and 2. Freezing drizzle, fog, and a traffic accident near
Charlottesville on Friday brought I-64 to a 3 1/2 hour standstill and prevented
some of our group from arriving until Saturday; but their perseverance paid
off. Exciting birds were seen by all on Saturday and Sunday.
A red-phase Screech Owl perched in the hollow of the Black Locust at the east
end of Rte. 644 was the highlight of the Friday-evening scouting. Luckily, it
was still using the same perch on Saturday morning and offered a great photo
event. Three dark-phase Rough-legged Hawks were seen at various spots along
Rte. 637. both north and south of Rte. 250. At least 5, and probably 6 Golden
Eagles were spotted over the weekend, up around Snowy Mountain, as well as down
around Bolar. Two were watched at leisure, wheeling together on Sunday morning
over the Jackson River along Rte. 220. Red-tailed Hawks were common throughout
the county and several pairs were seen, both perching and soaring together.
Kestrels were common, and some of those were paired, too.
We searched long and hard for Ruffed Grouse, driving miles of suitable habitat
both north and south of McDowell, but had no luck. Later, our hostess at the
motel said she saw one while driving home from work. It was just standing on
the side of Rte. 250. Ouch! A consolation prize was finding a flock of 21 to 24
Wild Turkeys in the "Seldom Seen Hollow", north of McDowell. They were far
enough away to not be disturbed by our group and we were able to set up scopes
for extended viewing..a real treat!
We haunted all the known bird-feeder spots in the county, in McDowell, down at
Clover Creek, and at the Beverage's in Monterey. No Evening Grosbeaks, Purple
Finches, Pine Siskins or Redpolls could be found..or even imagined! This is
just not the year! However, we did find two American Tree Sparrows at Clover
Creek, along with a Red-breasted Nuthatch, many Black-capped Chickadees,
Juncos, Cardinals, and Golden-crowned Kinglets. More Red-breasted Nuthatches,
along with White-breasted, were found with many American Goldfinches at feeders
south of Monterey at "The Highlands" neighborhood, a known grosbeak spot in
previous years.
A female Hairy Woodpecker put on a close-up and vocal show, picking through low
shrubs across from the Stonewall Grocery in McDowell. Pileateds, Red-bellieds,
Downys, and Flickers were seen and heard throughout the county, but we couldn't
buy a Red-headed Woodpecker anywhere..a real disappointment. No Sapsuckers,
either. Another frustrating moment occurred on Sunday morning. Several of us
heard, but no one could ever see, a Loggerhead Shrike on the southern end of
Rte. 637. Always one of our target birds, the shrike remained just beyond our
reach. We found one Horned Lark, but could not turn up the Lapland Longspur
reported earlier along Rte. 637 on VA-BIRD. Most cattle feed lots held only
Starlings or Rock Doves. Ugh!
As always, we ended our Highland weekend parked along the big hairpin curve on
Shenandoah Mountain, just down from the Highland/Augusta County line. The
almost mythological Red Crossbills did not favor us this year. But they did
last year..so I'm sure we'll do it again!
The frosty ridgelines of Highland County were spectacularly beautiful this
trip. The foggy atmosphere on Friday put a frozen rime on every twig above
3,500 feet. This glistening wonderland remained throughout the day Saturday and
only started melting on Sunday morning. The temperature soared to over 50 F.
Flocks of Bluebirds started singing, along with Black-capped Chickadees, Tufted
Titmice, Song Sparrows and Carolina Wrens. We had to start shedding our heavy
parkas and gloves. It seemed that Spring had arrived overnight. Highland County
is always full of surprises and we think the Groundhog was mistaken yesterday!
Good Birding!
David L. Hughes
C.H.A.S. Field Trips
Portsmouth, VA
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