Ceruleans and others on warbler road, Glenwood/Pedlar ranger district, Boutetort County

[C Croy]

Several birders (7) met on May 10 to kick off the breeding bird survey season with a morning session up warbler road. We usually start on the James River near Arcadia (the parking area just past the bridge over the James River, exit 168, SR 614), go to Solitude Swamp to see about prothonatary warblers (didn't hear any), then North Creek Campground and make our way up to the Sunset Fields overlook on the Blue Ridge Pkwy on FS 812. This year, the cerulean warblers are particularly plentiful. At several stops, we had 4-6 males singing one on top of the other. The largest concentration was in an area that had received heavy icestorm damage about 8-10 years ago, so the overstory canapy has high structural diversity, especially on the right side of the road. All total, we counted 19 ceruleans on the way up to Sunset Fields on FS 812. On the way back to Roanoke, I took the Parkway to Hwy 460 and counted an additional 12 ceruleans singing next to the Parkway, between Sunset Fields to the Upper Goose Creek Valley overlook. By that time, it was after 1:30pm, so think I hit the afternoon doldrums as I continued southward. Other highlights were northern waterthrush next to the James River, a dark-eyed junco pair feeding nestlings next to FS 812 near the Blue Ridge Pkwy, and a northern harrier flying the Blue Ridge at Sunset Fields. By the way, if anyone would like to see American chestnuts blooming, there is a group of them next to the Pine Tree Overlook. They are large shrubs, as they all have the chestnut blight and periodically die back, but a group of 5-6 are actively putting out blooms, which you don't often get to see. From North Creek campground up to the Parkway and down to Pine Tree Overlook, periodic cicadas made quite a racket in the background.

 

Birds as they were encountered on the trip:

 

Eastern towhee

Caroline wren

Northern waterthrush

Great-crested flycatcher

Yellow-throated vireo

Indigo bunting

Orchard oriole

Yellow-breasted chat

Field sparrow

Northern cardinal

Bluejay

Amercan goldfinch

Red-bellied woodpecker

Cedar waxwing

European starling

Common grackle

Mourning dove

Rock dove

Tufted titmouse

Turkey vulture

Black vulture

Blue-gray gnatcatcher

Eastern phoebe

Ruby-throated hummingbird

Eastern wood-pewee

Yellow-billed cuckoo

American redstart

Canada goose

Carolina chickadee

Red-eyed vireo

Scarlet tanager

Red-shouldered hawk

Ovenbird

Acadian flycatcher

Louisiana waterthrush

Cerulean warbler

Hooded warbler

Black-throated green warbler

Black and white warbler

Canada warbler

Black-throated blue warbler

Dark-eyed junco

Rose-breasted grosbeak

Northern harrier

Chestnut-sided warbler

Veery

Blue-headed vireo

Eastern bluebird

 

 

Carol

 

Dr. Carol Croy

Blacksburg, VA