I spent some time out this weekend looking to see what birds had moved into the
area. Along the Blue Ridge Parkway, Blue-headed Vireos, Black-throated Green
Warblers, Pine Warblers, and Louisiana Waterthrushes are common. Juncos are
still in groups and are common above 3000 ft. Around the Lexington area, Tree
Swallows, Northern Rough-winged Swallows are common along the Maury River and
on Saturday I saw my first Barn Swallows of the season. I have some Tree
Swallows building nests already at my research site and I have several pairs of
Bluebirds with eggs. I found a Black-and-white Warbler, several pairs of
Blue-gray Gnatcatchers and Yellow-throated Warblers along the Maury both
Saturday and Sunday. This morning I watched a Wood Duck land in a tree and was
lucky enough to get some photos of it. I still find it odd to see a duck
perched in a tree. Near Natural Bridge VA (Locher Tract) I found a late female
Purple Finch and singing Swamp Sparrows. Common Mergansers are still present
and in large numbers for us. Over the past two years, we have had COME
breeding along the Maury River.
I've posted a some photos of the Yellow-throated Warbler and Wood Duck on my
Flickr site, if you are interested.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/vmibiology/
Dick Rowe
VMI Biology Dept
