Hi all,Baxter Beamer and I spent the day birding Augusta and Rockingham
Counties today targeting some mountainous areas in hopes of picking up some
interesting finches etc. It turned out to be a nice day of birding with some
good highlights. On our way west to the Allegheny Mountains we stopped at the
Fishersville Quarry where all the Geese were flying off the pond as we arrived
and we couldn't pick out any Cackling or GWF. The 12 Redheads continue. Down
at Guthrie Road near Stuart's Draft we had 35 Horned Larks (nothing mixed in)
and 3 N. Harriers.
Our first mountain spot was the Reddish Knob area where we had a Ruffed Grouse
along Forest Road 927 (Rockingham Co.) as we approached Briery Branch Gap. At
first we had no luck with Red Crossbills at the usual spot at the gap, so
headed up to the top of Reddish Knob (Augusta Co.). Bird life was, as
expected, fairly quiet but we found a nice flock of 5 Black-capped Chickadees.
Near the top of Reddish Knob we did some bushwacking and found a barren area
among the woods (yes, on the VA side of the ridge! :) ) with 1 male Red
Crossbill graveling. Of all my times seeing Red Crossbills in the Reddish Knob
area they've always been in Rockingham County or Pendleton County, WV rather
than Augusta, so this was quite a treat! The bird provided very good views
from close range. We then headed back down to Briery Branch Gap and were
greeted by 6 more Red Crossbills (three males, three females) upon our arrival.
After leaving the Reddish Knob area we set our eyes on Shenandoah National Park
in the Blue Ridge Mountains, across the Shenandoah Valley. Along the way we
stopped at Silver Lake and saw the long-continuing Long-tailed Duck as well as
2 Redheads and 2 Lesser Scaup. We also stopped off on Nicholson Rd near Elkton
where at the railroad crossing we had 1 Lapland Longspur mixed in with about 20
Horned Larks, quite possibly one of the three birds found at this location
during the snowstorm last week.
We entered Shenandoah NP at Swift Run Gap along Hwy 33 and headed south along
Skyline Drive for the 40 mile ride down to Rockfish Gap. Birding was slow
along the way with highlights including a Sharp-shinned Hawk and 4
Golden-crowned Kinglets near Sawmill Run Overlook (Augusta Co.). The real
highlight was 5 late-season Black Bears not yet denned up (a subadult and a sow
with three cubs 0.5 mile down the road from them), approximately 10 miles north
of Rockfish Gap. We ended the day at dusk at Beagle Gap with a Hermit Thrush
and 2 Barred Owls. Disappointingly, no Woodcocks and the Saw-whet Owl did not
cooperate, though we had to leave just as it was getting fully dark at 6pm.
Thanks to my mom for driving us around on this day of birding, and Good Birding
to everyone,Gabriel MapelNew Hope
