VA-Birders,
We had excellent weather most of the weekend for the 52 participants in the
VSO's field trip to the New River Valley, with 94 species tallied.
Many thanks to Bill Akers and Jerry Via, who led the trips and put in many
hours in advance checking out the field trip areas to make sure the birds would
make an appearance when we arrived. :-)
We appreciated the snacks and beverages they provided as well as the assistance
from several members of the New River Valley Bird Club over the three days.
Highlights from Friday afternoon's trip along Poverty Creek and the New River
included great looks at Hooded Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, Baltimore Oriole
and Warbling Vireo.
On Saturday we visited Glen Alton and Kelly Flats in Giles County. Since they
are adjacent areas, we divided into two groups and spent a couple of hours in
each location before switching. Not everyone was able to see all the species,
but most were able to observe or hear Blackburnian, Chestnut-sided and Northern
Parula, along with Brown Creeper, Scarlet Tanager, Blue-headed Vireo and Cedar
Waxwings. The beautiful song of the Hermit Thrush was enjoyed by all.
After lunch we birded around Mountain Lake and the Biological Station. Lee
Adams spotted a Blue-headed Vireo flying into its nest at a distance. We were
able to get a scope on it so everyone had a treat getting to see this amazing
nest with the mother's head sticking out prominently. Here we also had Least
Flycatcher, Chestnut-sided Warbler, and Carolina race of the Dark-eyed Junco.
By 4:00pm it started to rain so we weren't able to look for Golden-winged
Warblers on our descent from the mountain.
The combined list of species from Friday and Saturday is shown in LIST 1 below.
On Sunday we spent almost three hours exploring a private farm in Craig County
off Route 42, between Newport and New Castle (LIST 2).
This was a hardy group, as we needed to cross a small stream twice heading over
to find the target birds and then again on returning. Some wore boots while
others switched to flip flops or even bare feet to get to the other side. We
looked quite elegant as we waded across, but I'm not sure any of our
photographers captured these special moments.
We had terrific views of Grasshopper Sparrow, as one was seen through the scope
and another sat briefly on a nearby fence post. Warblers spotted, but
unfortunately not seen by all, included Golden-winged, Worm-eating, Hooded and
Yellow. Both Baltimore and Orchard Orioles were present, and a Willow
Flycatcher was heard as we returned from the field. Eastern Meadowlarks
alternated sitting on power lines and fence posts.
Several raptors made an appearance, including Merlin, Coopers Hawk, American
Kestrel and Red-tailed Hawks.
Several people departed for home at that point, but 4-5 carloads, led by Bill
and Jerry, headed over to Rt. 700 to try for the Golden-winged Warbler, and
they successfully located it, getting great looks. As Bruce Richardson reported
earlier, he and Janet Paisley skipped the farm trip and headed directly to Rt.
700 Sunday morning. They were also able to view and photograph a gorgeous male
GWW.
My husband Lee and I had a surprise encounter on Rt. 615 as we headed towards
I-64 via the back roads. A large (35-40 lb) BOBCAT crossed the road in front of
us, then paused on the embankment to turn and look at us, giving us a unique
opportunity to see this beautiful creature's face (from the safety of our car).
What a spectacular ending to an already special week-end.
Thanks to all who attended, and if you took photos that you'd like to share on
the VSO website, please send them to me.
The two lists of species are shown below.
Meredith Bell
Hayes, VA
VSO Field Trip Co-Chair
LIST 1: Field trips on June 17 and 18. On June 17, the group covered Poverty
Creek down to the New River and others roads leading back to Rt 460. On June
18, we covered Kelly Flats, Glen Alton, Rt 613 up to Mountain Lake and the area
around the Biology Station.
84 species
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Mallard
Wild Turkey
Great Blue Heron
Green Heron
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Red-shouldered Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Killdeer
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Acadian Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
Veery
Hermit Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Pine Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Louisiana Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Scarlet Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Baltimore Oriole
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
LIST 2: Sunday, June 19, field trip to private farm in Craig County
44 species
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Merlin
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Willow Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Carolina Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
Cedar Waxwing
Golden-winged Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Worm-eating Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Eastern Towhee
Field Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Scarlet Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Indigo Bunting
Eastern Meadowlark
Common Grackle
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
American Goldfinch
