Hello, birders.
I birded the North Ridge Trail, Piedmont Overlook
Trail and the Visitor Center area on Sunday, where I
saw a good variety of migrants. I also birded part of
Edmonds Lane, which runs into the park. The day
started cloudy with some showers off and on but by
late morning the showers were gone and the sun was
out. The area near the North Ridge Trail and South
Ridge Trail intersection is a place that birders don't
seem to get to but if you are up for a hike (maybe 3
mi. one way, mostly uphill) it can be a nice place to
bird. I was hoping for good stuff there today and I
wasn't disappointed. Some birding highlights:
- RUFFED GROUSE, heard 2 birds drumming, 1 just above
the intersection of the No. Ridge and So. Ridge
trails. 1 near Appalachian Tr. not far from No. Ridge
Tr. I've still never actually seen a grouse at this
park but I do here them from time to time. All have
been past the NR/SR Trail intersection.
- WILD TURKEY, heard 1 or 2 gobbling from quite far
away
- AM. KESTREL, 1 pair
- RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, I did not specifically search
for them, but I heard 4 birds.
- WARBLING VIREO, I heard two singing along Edmonds
Lane
- SWAINSON'S THRUSH , 1. Have hardly ever seen this
sp. here.
- warblers - TENNESSEE, YELLOW, B.T. BLUE, PRAIRIE,
BLACKPOLL, CERULEAN (Usual spot. 3, from area where
NR/SR Trails meet to another 1/4 mi. up the NR Trail -
great looks at at least one of these males. I missed
this species in the park last year so it was cool to
have them back. I hope they are still around in a
month when I'll be back through this area.), AM.
REDSTART, W-EATING, OVENBIRD, BOTH WATERTHRUSHES,
KENTUCKY (again, NR/SR intersection, great looks. Has
bred in area in past), HOODED, Y.B. CHAT (heard from
upper part of NR Trail, past SR Tr. May have been
along or at least near the pipeline cut.)
ROSE-BR. GROSBEAK
BLUE GROSBEAK
BALT. ORIOLE
RED-EYED VIREOS and WOOD THRUSHES were all over the
place, I think many were migrants.
Park Interpretor Kathy Budnie showed me a 4+ ft. long
Black Rat Snake near the back porch of the Bleak
House. It was a neat animal, rather docile, too.
There is a new trail in the park, the Ambassador White
House Trail. It runs from the North Ridge Trail just
above where it meets the Piedmont Overlook Trail, and
runs up to the AT. The AT has been rerouted slightly,
also. I won't have time to bird this new park trail
regularly but I hope to hike it at some point.
Scott Baron
Fairfax, Va.
Yahoo! Mail
Stay connected, organized, and protected. Take the tour:
http://tour.mail.yahoo.com/mailtour.html
You are subscribed to VA-BIRD. To post to this mailing list, simply send email
to va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx. To unsubscribe, send email to
va-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
