In an attempt to familiarize myself with Highland County and explore some
new territories for the upcoming foray, I got a pre-dawn start from
Waynesboro. I arrived at the ridge of Shenandoah Mountain and the eastern
border of Highland County by 0615. At the Confederate Breastworks on US 250
I heard a few songsters such as Wood Thrush, Ovenbird and Black-throated
Green Warblers. A quarter of a mile downhill into Highland County a Ruffed
Grouse flew from the side of the road. I took that as an omen of a
potentially good day.
My route then took me through Monterey to the northwest corner of the
county. However, before I got to Monterey I detoured north on 629 and back
west on 631. Just as I reached the "suburbs" of Monterey I heard and
promptly saw my first Golden-winged Warbler of the year. About 3 miles west
of Monterey near the top of Monterey Mtn I heard the repeated "che-BECK ing"
of a Least Flycatcher, surprisingly the only empid for the day. Turning
north of 637 yielded multiple groups of tinkling Bobolinks, notably near the
intersection with 646. A pair of Red-headed Woodpeckers was working an oak
tree and fence posts at the intersection with 639. Just before 637 joins
640 I had my second singing Golden-winged Warbler. Proceeding onto 642 and
heading west towards Allegheny Mountain ridge, a Horned Lark was twittering
away on a wire fence. Incidentally, the views of the mountains and of
Bluegrass Valley were breathtaking. I wound up 642, stopping here and
there, hearing and actually seeing a bunch of birds. In fact, I saw my
first Ovenbird of the year, after hearing scads in the Blue Ridge this
spring. Ovenbirds were actually not that common out here and were
outnumbered by Magnolia Warblers. I also heard and saw my first
Black-throated Blue Warbler with one male coming within 3 feet in response
to pishing -- quite a treat. Several Blackburnians were singing on
territory in or near some tall conifers. Two Cooper's Hawks were doing some
sort of aerial pursuit flight. A pair of squealing sapsuckers were heard
and well seen, allowing me to "hit the cycle" on the woodpeckers. I did not
drive over to Locust Springs given my time constraints and scheduled
appointments. I did view the periphery of some of the private lands south
of 642 that we will be able to access for the foray; these are some amazing
parcels of land that will be fun to explore. I met one colorful landowners
who was harvesting ramps for his annual "ramps and beer" weekend with his
son. By the time I descended back down the mountain it had warmed up
sufficiently for the vultures to be circling along with two Broad-winged
Hawks. Returning to 250 I turned right, ascending up the mountain again and
seeing/hearing some of the same birds. I discovered a dead-end road, 601,
near the WV border that runs the ridge of the mountain for a few miles. Here
more Horned Larks were encountered as well as Savannah Sparrows. In a small
grove of spruce trees I heard what may have been part of a Purple Finch
warble that never repeated after I got out of my vehicle. Don't really know
what that was!?
I then hightailed it through Hightown to Monterey to meet Sandy Bratton as
scheduled. Sandy and husband Bill are Highland County natives who know
nearly everyone in the county and seem to own a large part of it as well.
Anyway, she drove me up the state road towards nearby Sounding Knob. This
will be gated by June but we hope to get special access from DGIF for the
foray. I then followed Sandy to her home along 220, just south of the
Highland County line in Bath County. Sandy and Bill then gave me a personal
tour of some fabulous areas on either side of the Jackson River. It had
started to rain by this time in the late afternoon, so not much avian
activity was happening. Did see a subadult Bald Eagle carrying a dead
carcass of some sort. Also a Greater Scaup and 2 cormorants were in a large
farm pond just south of the Highland County line. Regrettably, I had to
leave as dusk approached. A wonderful day, nevertheless. I can't wait
until June, when I get to spend 10 days in this lovely part of Virginia.
The complete (I think) list:
Double-crested Cormorant (3 -- Bath County)
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Greater Scaup
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Ruffed Grouse (1 seen; I heard drumming)
Wild Turkey
Spotted Sandpiper
Killdeer
Rock Dove
Mourning Dove
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Chimney Swift
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Least Flycatcher (2)
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Blue Jay
Common Raven (quite common)
American Crow
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-Headed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Eastern Bluebird
Veery (1 singing)
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
White-breasted Nuthatch
House Wren
Carolina Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Horned Lark
House Sparrow
American Goldfinch
House Finch
Golden-winged Warbler (2)
Northern Parula (2)
Yellow Warbler (5or 6)
Chestnut-sided Warbler (3)
Magnolia Warbler (10, at least)
Black-throated Blue Warbler (6)
Black-throated Green Warbler (6-10)
Blackburnian Warbler (3)
Bay-breasted Warbler (1)
Blackpoll Warbler (1)
Cerulean Warbler (1)
Black-and-white Warbler (4)
American Redstart (3)
Worm-eating Warbler (1)
Ovenbird (4-6)
Louisiana Waterthrush (2)
Common Yellowthroat (3)
Canada Warbler (3, always in Rhododendron thickets)
Song Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Savannah Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow (only 1 buzz in field near Bluegrass)
Field Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Scarlet Tanager
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (several, including eye-level view of one 10 feet
away)
Indigo Bunting
Baltimore Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Bobolink (perhaps 12-15 total)
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