Birding on Turks Gap Road (trail) heading south and uphill from the Sugar
Hollow Parking lot, this morning from 11-12:30. Peak fall color. Last
weeks mixed sparrow flocks appear to have passed on, although beaucoup de
white-throated remain, as well as many song sparrows. Several large flocks of
kinglets, 20+ birds, 90:10 ruby-crowned: golden-crowned. Dark-eyed juncos
more conspicuous than last week. Watched 3 Pileated at the top of a tree,
hanging on virginia creeper vines picking off berries. Only warbler was a
Palm near the beginning of the trail.
eBird has added Turks Gap Road to its list of public hotspots.
Pete Myers
White Hall
PS. Lone blue-headed vireo singing behind my house this morning, near White
Hall VA. Got a good look at it. I've been seeing small numbers of them
regularly here and on Turks Gap Road all fall. Keep expecting the most
recent sighting to be the last.
PPS. Walking along a path connecting my house to an outbuilding found a 2'
hog-nosed snake. Didn't notice it at first but had stopped to look because
I heard a carolina wren making an odd sound. The bird clearly didn't like
the snake's presence. Seems a bit late in season for a snake to be out, but
there it was.
