The weekend started at 8am on Fri. with Webb Smith and myself at Humpback
Rocks VC on the Blue Ridge Pkwy, where we got the only two birds of the
weekend that we didn't see in Highland Co.: Black Vulture & Cerulean Warbler.
After leaving there we met up with Neale Smith and Bev Leeuwenberg at
Ramsey's Draft at 11:30, and the 4 of us birded together until Sat. evening
when Webb returned to Arlington. This am Bev, Neale & I birded Locust
Springs, Allegheny rd., Snowy Mntn., and finished up the weekend at the
Potomac Creek Bridge (Rts. 642 and 220). We ended in Monterey at 1:30 pm. The
4 of us totalled as a group 108 species, by far the most any of us had had on
a June weekend in highland Co.
The Bird of the trip, by far, occured as follows: We had just turned onto
Rt.601 and gone about .7 of a mile, and were admiring 2 Broad-winged Hawks
soaring over our heads when eagle-eyed Webb called out: male RED CROSSBILL on
top of a hemlock on the right side of the road. Over the next 20-30 minutes
we watched it, and about 8-10 other crossbills fly in and out of the Hemlock
grove voraciously feeding and twittering. As we got ready to move on Neale
spotted more Crossbills across the road sitting leisurely in in a small
grove of Oaks, and we watched at least two large flocks move into and out of
the Oaks and the Hemlocks. We estimated one flock at 30 Crossbills, and the
total # at 50-60. To say the least we were stunned and jubilant, and when we
moved on after an hour they were still coming, going, eating, and resting.
Other birds of note included:
1. 21 species of Warbler (we missed only Kentucky) plus a Brewster's at
O'Bryans. We saw: Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat (at O'Bryan's),
Worm-eating (at Ramsey's Draft), Blackburnian (at Ramsey's, FR 55, and Locust
Springs), Magnolia (Locust Springs),, Yellow-rumped ( 2 singing at Locust
Springs, but never seen), Ovenbird, Black-throated Blue & Green,
Chestnut-sided, Yellow, Pine, Hooded, Redstart, Parula, LA Waterthrush
(Ramsey's Draft and Potomac Creek Bridge), Canada (FR 55 and Allegheny Rd.),
Mourning (incredible looks at a singing - for at least 20 minutes- male atop
a sparsely leafed tree on FR55), and Golden-winged (at O'Bryans but also on
Rt.250 at an old site, now very over-grown, on the West side of Bullpasture
Mntn. right by the Battle of McDowell sign and across from a wire fence
surrounding the Highland Co. Collection Site - it was singing loudly and
clearly seemed to be on territory) - oops, forgot; Black & White too.
2.Least Flycatchers; common on FR55 but also 2 singing at the Potomac Creek
Bridge
3.Willow flycatchers: 2 at Hidden Valley in Bath Co.
4.Barred Owl -calling behind the house we were staying in on Rt. 84 about 2
m. from it's intersection with Rt.220. That's a county bird for me - does
anyone know how common they are in highland Co?
5.Grasshopper Sparrow - singing in the fields below our house.
6.Vesper Sparrow - 3 on Rt. 601 after we saw the Crossbills, and with Horned
Lark, and Savannah Sparrow.
7.GOLDEN EAGLE- until the Crossbills our trip bird: seen soaring at the
intersection of Rt. 614 and Rt. 250 - a long way from the Bluegrass Valley
8. Bald Eagle - an adult soaring and seen from the Confederate Breastworks on
Shenandoah Mntn.
We also had 5 species on nest or building them:
a. Cedar Waxwing - at our house
b. Chestnut-sided Warbler - sitting on a nest on FR55
c. Pewee - ditto on 55
d. Orchard Oriole - feeding young in a nest at Potomac Creek Bridge
e. Baltimore Oriole - on nest at the Bridge
The only birds we missed and had hoped to see: Black-billed Cuckoo, Ruffed
Grouse, Cliff Swallow, and Kentucky Warbler.
What a great weekend
Gerry Weinberger & Neale Smith
Doswell
Webb Smith
Arlington
Bev Leeuwenberg
Fairfax Station
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