North Ridge and Valley Trip, July 2&3, 2004
To further learn about the diversity and abundance of bird life in the
northern Virginia reporting region for the new Virginia Birding journal, I set
out
to investigate the area between Shenandoah NP (SNP) west through Fort Valley
(Page and Shenandoah Cos.) to the western ridge that forms the boundary with
West Virginia in Shenandoah Co. I was on my own July 2, and linked up with
Matt
Orsie the next day.
The trip sampled a wide-range of habitats and yielded 93 species (5 vireo and
15 warbler species); all were the expected mix save for one blue-winged
warbler song on Devil's Mtn Road which, since I did not observe the bird, has
been
recorded as winged-warbler sp. - note that Golden-winged Warbler breeds just
northwest over this ridge in W. Virginia. What follows is a brief description
of the approach used and summaries for several key locations.
The point count technique was used wherever possible on the morning routes,
stopping for ca. 5 minutes every 0.3 to 0.5 miles as well as in-between stops
in special habitats or overlooks; the goal was to get a nearly complete picture
of birdlife along these routes. The early afternoon route in Fort Valley was
done similarly, but near the end, and outside the valley in Page Co.,
opportunistic birding was done, i.e., it was getting hot and I was getting very
tired! No nocturnal birding was attempted.
Shenandoah National Park - July 2
All birders visiting the Ridge and Valley area of Virginia should go to SNP.
Spectacular scenery and an equaling amazing species mix found here are
duplicated in few other places, esp. in the northern portion of the state. My
trip
was from the Front Royal entrance to Thornton Gap and took about 5 hours and
netted 57 species. Trip highlights were adult female Cerulean Warbler feeding
juvenile next to the road, Broad-winged Hawk, E. Screech Owl at 9am,
Blue-headed Vireos (Hogback Mtn), Common Ravens, Veerys, ten species of warbler
incl.
Chestnut-sided, Kentucky, Louisiana Waterthrush (singing), and YB Chat,
Rose-breasted Grosbeak, D.E. Junco, and a Black Bear (10 feet in front of my
car nr
Little Hogback Mtn overlook; I was out of the car at the time!). The top 10
species for this trip and tallies were: Red-eyed Vireo (83), Indigo Bunting
(75), E. Towhee (65), Wood Thrush (56), E. Wood Pewee (28), Scarlet Tanager
(26),
Acadian Flycatcher (23), Cedar Waxwing (17), Ovenbird (17), and Hooded Warbler
(17).
Fort Valley, Page and Shenandoah Counties - July 2
You enter from the subtly signed road at New Market Gap west of Luray on Rt
211. My early (&hot) afternoon visit resulted in a surprising 55 species in 4
hours. The southern end of the valley near the first trail parking lot has
Blue-headed Vireos and a great view of the Shenandoah Valley. The next 7 miles
of George Washington NF road has one of the highest densities of Red-eyed
Vireos I have encountered! Small numbers of 9 species of warblers were
detected
including Prairie, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Hooded. Also noted were Wood Duck
family on a pond, Red-shouldered and Red-tailed Hawks, and Common Grackle.
All the chickadees here were verified Carolina, but Black-capped has happened
historically. This location may be a great spot during migration! The top 20
species were: Red-eyed Vireo (43), Barn Swallow (38), Turkey Vulture (29),
Indigo Bunting (24), E. Towhee (18), Am. Crow (16), Chipping Sp. (15), Acadian
Flycatcher (12), No. Cardinal (10), and Red-winged Blackbird (9).
Luray (Page Co.) area - 2 July
I drove some of the back roads northwest of Luray but east of the So. Fork
Shenandoah River late in the afternoon. Highlights were a colony of ca. 40
Cliff Swallows in small red barn on Rt 654. Whilst scoping the birds, an adult
Black-crowned Night Heron flew over. Also noted nearby were Green Herons.
Warbling Vireo was found on the South Fork. Both oriole species were in a
field
that held a Grasshopper Sp. This area is worth a more detailed morning
investigation!
At the end of the day, I noted ca. 510 Common Grackles flying north over corn
fields from New Market along Rt 11.
Wolf Gap and Devils Mtn area (Rt 675) - 3 July
The heat and humidity were taking its toll when Matt and I began this route
from the turnoff on Rt 42 - very hazy conditions, sticky, & ugh! It felt like
the middle of summer. It was about 5-10 degree cooler on the ridge at 3000
feet and the last of the cicadas were still "whirrring". We walked the Big
Schloss Mtn. trail from the Wolf Gap campground only about a quarter mile (this
may be profitable on a June visit!). Highlights of our 3 hrs on this route
were
our first Great Blue Heron flying over, Black-billed Cuckoo, Blue-headed
Vireos, six Black-capped Chickadees (verified by song or call and plumage & no
Carolinas obs. on this route!), 6 species of warbler plus the aforementioned
winged-warbler sp., and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks - we tallied 53 species. The
top
10 species were: Barn Swallow (34), Red-eyed Vireo (27), Indigo Bunting (24),
Am. Crow (15), Am. Robin (13), Mourning Dove (12), E. Starling (11), Scarlet
Tanager (11), Chipping Sp. (10), and Worm-eating Warbler (10).
Fetzer Gap and Jerome area (Rt 720) - 3 July
The second half of the morning found Matt and I driving up to Fetzer Gap
outside of Baseye, another 3000 foot location. But this area is very different
from Wolf Gap - younger forest and a smaller density of neo-trops compared to
Wolf Gap! Also, all chickadees were Carolina and both Carolina Wren and No.
Cardinal were observed near top. We then took the back roads through Jerome
and
ended with 55 species after 3 hrs. Highlights were Broad-winged Hawk
returning our call to it, Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, White-eyed Vireo,
Common
Raven, and 7 species of warbler including No. Parulas along Stoney Cr (Rt 717),
Prairie Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, and Common Yellowthroat. The top 10
species were: Barn Swallow (27), Red-eyed Vireo (21), Northern Mockingbird
(21),
Chipping Sp. (19), Indigo Bunting (19), E. Towhee (15), Common Grackle (7),
Am. Crow (13), Carolina Chickadee (10), and E. Starling (10).
And with that we ate lunch at Woodstock and parted ways; I then began a less
than 2 hr drive back home to Alexandria.
Kurt Gaskill
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