After reading Roger Mayhorn's posts and then Philip Kline's report of
all the warblers at Jewell Hollow Overlook (milepost 36 on the Skyline
Drive), I decided that at the first opportunity I would get myself out to
those warbler-ridden mountain ridges, and more specifically to the
above-named overlook.
Therefore, Saturday a.m., after birding the horse pasture right outside
the Hillside Motel outside Luray, we made our way up to the Jewell Hollow
Overlook. At first, there was nothing around but a WB nuthatch, so I
decided to take a little walk on the AT to a spot about a hundred yards
north of the wall of the overlook, and as I stood on a small rock
outcropping overlooking some blackberry bushes and other understory, I
began to berate myself for waiting so long to get there (10:00 a.m.),
but, in just a couple of minutes, things started popping, actually kind
of like popcorn getting hot, and slowly and then faster warblers started
appearing left and right. In order of appearance: (List from Nature
Trail at Big Meadows follows )
Tennessee warblers (6)
Magnolia "
Connecticut " (very close with excellent looks)
Pine "
Cape May "
Black-throated Green (6)
Orange-crowned (? After the spring O.C./Yellow debacle at the
Hunting
Creek Bridge, will never again be confident with
this I.D.)
Blue-headed Vireo
Eastern Tohee (female)
Chipping sparrows
This was all between 10:30 and 11:15 a.m. Then, just about 10 min. after
leaving the overlook, as we were driving south along the Drive, we
noticed some largish birds standing in the road, which I at first took
for young turkeys, but as we got closer, I was shocked to realize they
were a pair of ruffed grouse with their necks stretched out and up, which
stood their ground as we stopped just about 8 feet from them and probably
would have stayed there except another car coming up fast from the
opposite direction flushed them.
Then, after a break for lunch, the apple butter festival and some
downpours, we continued on to the Nature trail just below the Big Meadows
Campground where we were again surprised by another fall-out which, along
with many of the warblers mentioned above included:
Wilson's warbler
Black-and-white W.
Black-throated Blue W.
Blackburnian W. (very young-looking)
Cerulean female (? never saw one before)
Scarlet tanager female
All this was around 4:00 p.m. and they were down so close that even my
non-birding hubby could enjoy them without benefit of binoculars. The
mountain ridges are definitely the place to be in the Fall!
Edna
Aaron
Alexandria
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