I just spent 3 days in Highland and managed to go birding all 3 mornings. The
Bobolinks are here in good numbers in the Bluegrass Valley. All the resident
warblers are in place both in the valley and the mountains, including an early
Golden-winged and a very early Mourning Warbler. The only migrant warbler was
a singing Nashville this morning on Jack Mtn. Other high elevation breeders
like Red-breasted Nuthatch, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Brown Creeper & Winter Wren
were also seen/heard in appropriate habitats. The asterisks (*) below indicate
early arrival dates for the species listed. Surprises include a Willet on a
pond near junction of US 84 and 640 (by the Wilson House). To my knowledge
this is the first record of this species in Highland. Another good bird for me
was a Lincoln's Sparrow in our backyard. I also managed to see all the resident
woodpeckers, with sapsuckers being the most prevalent. Quite a few Least
Flycatchers; the
Acadians just arrived today; no Willow or Alders as of today, but they should
arrive soon.
Another highlight was a 3 ft long melanistic (nearly black) Timber Rattlesnake
with a 7 button rattle, on Sounding Knob. E-mail me if you want to see a
photo.
The two lists that follow are for different dates and different locations.
Happy Spring,
John Spahr
Staunton & New Hampden
May 1 & 2 Bluegrass Valley, Laurel Fork area, Locust Springs
Canada Goose 16
Wood Duck 2
Mallard 1
Ruffed Grouse 3
Wild Turkey 3
Turkey Vulture 15
Bald Eagle 2 Including adult on nest
Broad-winged Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
American Kestrel 1
Killdeer 4
Spotted Sandpiper 2
Solitary Sandpiper 2
Willet (Western) 1 1 bird at pond by Wilson House (first record for
Highland)
Lesser Yellowlegs 3
Rock Pigeon 3
Mourning Dove
14
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1
* Black-billed Cuckoo 1
Eastern Screech-Owl 1
Barred Owl 2 (1 seen, 1 heard)
Chimney Swift 3
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 2
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-headed Woodpecker 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 7
Downy Woodpecker 1
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 2
Pileated Woodpecker 3
Least Flycatcher 8
Eastern Phoebe 5
Great Crested Flycatcher 2
Eastern Kingbird 2
Yellow-throated Vireo 3
Blue-headed Vireo 7
Warbling Vireo 1
Red-eyed Vireo 4
Blue Jay 3
American Crow 8
Common Raven 3
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 4
Tree Swallow 40
Barn Swallow 18
Black-capped Chickadee 4
Tufted Titmouse 4
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
White-breasted Nuthatch 4
Brown
Creeper 1
Carolina Wren 2
House Wren 2
Winter Wren 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2
Eastern Bluebird 12
* Veery 2 (not singing!)
Hermit Thrush 6 (very vocal)
Wood Thrush 4
American Robin 28
Gray Catbird 3
Northern Mockingbird 1
Brown Thrasher 7
European Starling 28
Ovenbird 14
Worm-eating Warbler 1
Louisiana Waterthrush 1
* Golden-winged Warbler 1 (first seen Apr 30)
Black-and-white Warbler 6
* Mourning Warbler 1 (way early date, May 2; male on Allegheny Ridge)
Common Yellowthroat 5
American Redstart 6
Northern Parula 4
Magnolia Warbler 7
Blackburnian Warbler 19
Yellow Warbler 18
Chestnut-sided Warbler 13
Black-throated Blue Warbler 9
Yellow-rumped Warbler 9
Black-throated Green Warbler 32
Canada Warbler 21 (all along the rhododendrons at Laurel Fork)
Eastern Towhee 18
Chipping
Sparrow 13
Field Sparrow 7
Vesper Sparrow 4 (rt 601)
Savannah Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 5
* Lincoln's Sparrow 1 (my 3rd Spring bird)
White-crowned Sparrow 2
Dark-eyed Junco 6
Scarlet Tanager 17
Northern Cardinal 2
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 5
Bobolink 12
Red-winged Blackbird 40
Eastern Meadowlark 28
Common Grackle 12
Brown-headed Cowbird 12
Baltimore Oriole 2
House Finch 4
American Goldfinch 28
House Sparrow 5
May 3 Jack Mtn, Doe Hill Rd & Sounding Knob
Canada Goose 4
Mallard 1
Wild Turkey 1
Turkey Vulture 12
Red-tailed Hawk 1
American Kestrel 1
Rock Pigeon 2
Mourning Dove 11
Barred Owl 1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 2
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee 5
Acadian Flycatcher 4
Least Flycatcher 2
Eastern Phoebe 5
Great Crested Flycatcher 2
Eastern Kingbird 3
Yellow-throated Vireo 4
Blue-headed Vireo 2
Red-eyed Vireo 14
Blue Jay 6
American Crow 2
Common Raven 2
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 8
Tree Swallow 24
Barn Swallow 21
Cliff Swallow 1
Black-capped Chickadee 4
Tufted Titmouse 6
White-breasted Nuthatch 2
Carolina Wren 2
House Wren 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2
Eastern Bluebird 7
Wood Thrush 3
American Robin 18
Gray Catbird 7
Northern Mockingbird 2
Brown Thrasher 4
European Starling 40
Cedar Waxwing 8
Ovenbird 7
Worm-eating Warbler 2
Louisiana Waterthrush 3
Black-and-white Warbler 2
Nashville Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 1
American Redstart 9
Cerulean Warbler 1 Rt 250 between McDowell and Head Waters
Northern Parula 3
Magnolia Warbler 2
Blackburnian Warbler 2
Yellow Warbler 16
Chestnut-sided Warbler 5
Black-throated Blue Warbler 1
Black-throated Green Warbler 4
Eastern Towhee 13
Chipping Sparrow 8
Field Sparrow 9
Savannah Sparrow 3
Grasshopper Sparrow 1 (not an easy bird in Highland)
Song Sparrow 4
White-crowned Sparrow 5
Dark-eyed Junco 3
Scarlet Tanager 5
Northern Cardinal 2
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 2
Indigo Bunting 5 (this was the first day I heard/saw them)
Bobolink 8
Red-winged Blackbird 95
Eastern Meadowlark 46
Common Grackle 12
Brown-headed Cowbird 2
Baltimore Oriole 8
House Finch 2
American Goldfinch 21
House Sparrow 5
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)
