I spent a couple of days over the holiday camping an birdwatching in Rockingham
and Highland Counties. I tallied 14 species of warblers (plus one more (
hoodeds) along Skyline Drive). 71 species overall. The cool weather,
beautiful scenery, (and great birds) were a nice break from Northern Virginia.
Many warblers were still singing. The first night I camped up along Flagpole
Knob in Rockingham County. Birds included Barred Owl, yellow rumped, chestnut
sided, BTB, BTG, ovenbird, black and white, yellowthroats, pine, redstarts,
veeries, black capped chicadees (common in all of the higher elevation areas),
blue headed and red eyed vireos. Cedar waxwings were also common at many of
the higher elevations. The road to Reddish know is paved and not too difficult
(watch the potholes), the road to Flagpole knob requires a 4X4 with good
clearance -- a good place to hike. From there I headed to Highland County and
initially birded along the rural roads -- seeing many grassland birds (vesper,
song, field, and chipping sparrows, bobolink, E. meadowlark), many swallows
including one cliff swallow (along 643), red tailed hawks and a bald eagle
overhead, TVs, red headed, flicker, and downy woodpeckers; yellow warblers --
including one (immature?) that I tried to turn into a wilson's. To get there
from Reddish Knob -- drop off into West Virginia and head out to 220 S.
In the afternoon, I headed out to Paddy Knob. Patty Knob trail heads off to
the left just before the knob. It cuts back hard from the road and runs along
the ridge . It is very wet with lots of puddles to navigate. The birding was
great -- three mourning warblers, canada, kentucky, many chestnut sided, black
and white, blue headed vireos, Broad winged Hawk, scarlet tanager, and on....
The Mourning warblers were not singing but gave a hard "chuck" call -- I
hunkered down until they popped out. At one point, I had a mourning, kentucky,
and canda in one bush. To get there, take 84 to the WV border and look for a
forest road (55) off to the left. I drove over on rt 600 (very pretty). Forest
Road 55 is a pretty good road -- gravel - but in good shape. I spent a second
night around the Locust Springs picnic area -- all the way at the point of
highland county. What a cool place. wood thrushes, magnolia warblers, BTG,
chestnut sideds, black and white, pine, yellow rumped, yellowthroats. There is
a wet area along Bucks Run trail (beavers?) that is worth exploring. To get
there, I went up Laurel Fork Road (642) and over 106. The roads were passable
but I was glad I was in a jeep. Lots of switchbacks, elevation changes, a few
wet areas, muddy. You can also get to this area from WV from rt 28,
The next day I explored the Christian Run, Cold Spings area, interesting
habitat -- with my only Kestrel of the weekend and breeding Brown thrashers --
more wood thrushes, veeries, magnolia warblers, and chestnut sideds. The fields
had field sparrows, the thrashers, and towhees. This area is open and
accessable from forest road 457 (off of 642) -- it goes through some private
land, but opens up onto National Forest.
The weather was beautiful -- I mostly missed rain except at night. I dipped on
a few of the local specialties -- golden winged warbler, black billed cuckoo,
and alder flycatcher, but the Mourning Warblers and the beauty of the area made
it well worth the trip.
Here are a few pictures of the highlights...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73831614@N00/sets/72157634507818112/
