This morning Steve Grimes and I birded Mill Mountain in Roanoke,
starting at the Star Trail access point on Riverland Road and ending
at the Roanoke Star at the top of the mountain. We finished the
morning with a good 56 species.
Not long after we started up the trail, we were treated to singing
CAPE MAY, BLACK-THROATED BLUE, and BLUE-WINGED WARBLERS, and got a
"rare" look at a singing TENNESSEE WARBLER. We also encountered a
COMMON YELLOWTHROAT near the water tank and had both ORCHARD and
BALTIMORE ORIOLES in the power line cut.
We returned to the car and drove up the mountain, parking near the
clearing on the left, where we heard a NASHVILLE WARBLER. We then
drove up to the star and birded around the overlooks, where we found
more Cape Mays, heard a YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, and chased a song that
turned out to be a beautiful BAY-BREASTED WARBLER.
Interesting. I can't remember ever having Cape Mays, Bay-breasteds,
and Tennessees in April, before the big "peak" of migration when
Blackpolls and other birds are here in good numbers. Every spring is
different, though.
Full eBird checklist is below.
Wes Teets
Buchanan, VA
* * *
Roanoke City/Mill Mtn, Roanoke City, US-VA
Apr 30, 2015 7:10 AM - 9:40 AM
Protocol: Traveling
3.0 mile(s)
56 species
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 4
Mourning Dove 2
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1
Chimney Swift 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 3
Downy Woodpecker 3
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 1
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Great Crested Flycatcher 1
Blue-headed Vireo 2
Red-eyed Vireo 5
Blue Jay 27
Barn Swallow 1
Carolina Chickadee 2
Tufted Titmouse 3
White-breasted Nuthatch 2
House Wren 1
Carolina Wren 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Wood Thrush 3
American Robin 6
Gray Catbird 3
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling 1
Ovenbird 1
Worm-eating Warbler 1
Blue-winged Warbler 1
Black-and-white Warbler 1
Tennessee Warbler 1
Nashville Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 1
Cape May Warbler 4
Northern Parula 1
Bay-breasted Warbler 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler 2
Pine Warbler 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler 7
Black-throated Green Warbler 2
Eastern Towhee 2
Chipping Sparrow 3
Song Sparrow 2
White-throated Sparrow 2
Scarlet Tanager 3
Northern Cardinal 3
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1
Indigo Bunting 2
Brown-headed Cowbird 4
Orchard Oriole 1
Baltimore Oriole 1
Pine Siskin 1
American Goldfinch 1
House Sparrow 1
View this checklist online at
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S23152126
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)
