Andrew Clem home
Andrew Clem banner

Blog post


Monthly archives
(all categories)


November 8, 2021 [LINK / comment]

Birding in July: a few random "hot spots"

(NOTE: Once again, I have fallen way behind -- four whole months -- in documenting my birding activities in this blog. I am getting caught up, however, and will continue to do so.)

After midsummer, birds aren't quite as active, devoting most of their attention and energy to feeding and caring for their young fledglings, rather than ostentatiously singing and courting. Likewise, my birding activity in July was diminished compared to the month of June. On the third day of the month, I headed to the Bald Mountain trail, located at mile marker 22 along the Blue Ridge Parkway. I was hoping to see one of the Black-throated Blue Warblers that Marshall Faintich had reported there a week or so previously. On the way there, I stopped at the Three Ridges overlook, near Wintergreen, and saw an Indigo Bunting or two. Soon after arriving at the primary destination, I spotted a Dark-eyed Junco singing. It's always odd to see those "winter" species so close to home during the summer months. Most of them breed in northern latitudes, but some choose higher elevations in Appalachia. I saw a few of the usual warblers, but the highlight of the day was a family of Red-breasted Nuthatches.

Montages 2021 Jul 3

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Indigo Bunting, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Black-and-white Warbler, Dark-eyed Junco, American Redstart, Hooded Warbler, and Ovenbird. (Bald Mountain trail and Three Ridges overlook, July 3)

Three days later, July 7, I led an Augusta Bird Club field trip to Reddish Knob and vicinity, with four other members in attendance. As usual there were Chestnut-sided Warblers at the open meadow along Briery Branch Road just before you reach the top of the mountain, and in several places along the crest of the mountain. Along the dirt road leading northward to Bother Knob, we saw several Cedar Waxwings, Chipping Sparrows, as well as a Yellow-rumped Warbler and a possible Veery. None of us saw the Mourning Warbler which had been reported in that area a week or two earlier, however. The big highlight was a Red Crossbill spotted in a tree top by Tom Roberts at the road intersection where they are often seen. Driving toward Reddish Knob we saw a family of Blue-headed Vireos, very active and amusing, but difficult to see in the poor light. It started to rain again at the summit, so as soon as we enjoyed another good look at a Chestnut-sided Warbler, we headed home.

Montages 2021 Jul 7

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Red Crossbill (F or juv.), Red-breasted Nuthatch, Blue-headed Vireo (juv.), Black-throated Green Warbler, Brown Thrasher, Eastern Wood Pewee, and Chestnut-sided Warbler. (Reddish Knob & vicinity, July 7)

Four days after that, I did a solo expedition to Highland County (where the bird club usually does a field trip in early June), but my preliminary stop at the Ramsey's Draft picnic area yielded the biggest surprises. There I had a great closeup view of a Northern Parula, along with a Blue-headed Vireo, a Canada Warbler, and two or three Black-billed Cuckoos. I was astonished by the latter two species, which are quite uncommon.

Crossing into Highland County, just north of the town of Blue Grass I saw a guy with a big camera by the side of the road, and stopped since I assumed he was a birder. It turns out that he was more of a general nature photographer who was visiting from Pennsylvania. He pointed out the bird he saw in a nearby tree: a young Bald Eagle! Then I drove north to the former home of Margaret O'Bryan, where I was hoping to see a Golden-winged Warbler. There I met a nice couple who work with the Virginia Society of Ornithology; they explained that the VSO had acquired the house and surrounding land, which was great news. In that vicinity I saw some Orchard Orioles, House Wrens, and glimpsed some warblers, but not the one I was looking for. Next to the house I noticed this bench, which had just been delivered and unwrapped:

Margaret OBryan bench

This bench was built to commemorate the life of Margaret O'Bryan, an enthusiastic birder who always welcomed us to her home when we did field trips to Highland County. Click on the photo to see it full size.

Montages 2021 Jul 11

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Northern Parula, Blue-headed Vireo, Black-billed Cuckoo, Canada Warbler, Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagle (juv.), and Orchard Oriole (F). (Ramsey's Draft & Highland County, July 11)

On Friday July 15, I paid a brief visit to Bell's Lane, and soon after arriving spotted two (later three) Green Herons in the small pond that is shrouded by bushes. By aiming my camera just right through the branches, I managed to get a great photo of one of them. I also saw some Eastern Kingbirds and a loud House Wren, along with the others listed below.

Montages 2021 Jul 15

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Eastern Towhee, Belted Kingfisher, Eastern Kingbird, House Wren, Green Heron, and (center) Cedar Waxwing.

Early in the morning of July 27 I went back to Bell's Lane with Jacqueline, and we soon spotted a Red-shouldered Hawk in a tree not far away. I also had a tantalizing glimpse of a Great Crested Flycatcher and the other usual summer residents of that area.

Montages 2021 Jul 27

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Eastern Phoebe, Indigo Bunting, Peregrine Falcon, American Redstart, Chestnut-sided Warbler, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak (male). (Shenandoah National Park, July 27)

Individual photos of some of the birds in the above montages can be seen on the Wild Birds chronological page.

Posted (or last updated or commented upon): 09 Nov 2021, 1: 33 AM

(unformatted URL)
      .



This post is over a week old, so comments are closed.


© Andrew G. Clem. All rights reserved. Your use of this material signifies your acceptance of the Terms of use.


Hits on this page (single blog post) since July 2, 2007:

Category archives:
(all years)



This (or that) year's
blog highlights

Blog highlights have been compiled for the years 2010-2012 thus far, and eventually will be compiled for earlier years, back to 2002.


Explanation

The "home made" blog organization system that I created was instituted on November 1, 2004, followed by several functional enhancements in subsequent years. I make no more than one blog post per day on any one category, so some posts may cover multiple news items or issues. Blog posts appear in the following (reverse alphabetical) order, which may differ from the chronological order in which the posts were originally made:

  1. Wild birds (LAST)
  2. War
  3. Science & Technology
  4. Politics
  5. Latin America
  6. Culture & Travel
  7. Canaries ("Home birds")
  8. Baseball (FIRST)