Birding In and Around "The Mon"

 Dan and I are enjoying a four day stay in a small well-equipped cabin in Blackwater Falls State Park near Davis WV. The weather is cooler than  normal by about ten degrees so that has meant that the mornings are in the 30's and the afternoons are in the 50's. As long as the sun is shinning it's a great time for spring birding. Depending on what elevation we have found ourselves, spring is either just beginning with leaf buds  or deeper into the season with nearly full tree canopies. 

There are several wonderful and wild places  that converge in this part of the Mountaineer State. Blackwater Falls State Park, Canaan Valley State Park, Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, and Monongahela National Forest "The Mon." 

Some of these places are very wild and all have great opportunities for spring birding!

At 7;30 a.m. when the sun hit the forested tree tops on the Lindy Point Overlook Trail in Blackwater Falls State Park, we were greeting by a singing Magnolia Warbler, one of several migratory songbirds we saw on the one mile round trip trail. A Black-throated Blue Warbler drew our attention with his song.

A Red-breasted Nuthatch foraged a lichen covered tree. These birds are sometime seen in our Falls Church VA park in fall but they breed up in the mountains.

We are used to seeing the Carolina Chickadee back home, with their "chick-a dee-dee-dee" song but up in the mountains of "The Mon" we were thrilled to hear the high pitched "feeeed me" song of the Black-capped Chickadee before seeing the bird which looks nearly identical to the Carolina Chickadee. The song distinguishes the species.

The view that greeted us at trail's end was nothing short of spectacular...

 We left the trail and headed to the falls overlook, a gentle accessible trail with a wonderful view of Blackwater Falls.

 

Out of the park and on the road through the Canaan Valley, we took a walk on the Freeland Road boardwalk in the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge.

This .6 mile walk meanders through bog and wetland and stands of the endangered Canaan Spruce. common Yellowthroat, Red-winged Blackbird, Song Sparrow (below, top) , and American Goldfinch (below, bottom) filled the air with music.

 On Tuesday afternoon we took a ride up to the Dolly Sods. Elevations there range from 2,500 feet to 4.700 feet. The vegetation there is bog and heath more typical to southern Canada. Before climbing the winding gravel Forest Road number 19 and 75 up to the Sods, we drove the winding hardtop Lanesville Road through what is best described in West Virginia as a "hollar". Small rolling farm fields and meadows and a rocky river describe this lovely landscape.

 

A special treat in the meadows bordered by post and wire fencing were Eastern Meadowlark and the Bobolink. Both birds are quite camera shy and kept their distance.

 

After seeing these wonderful birds, we crossed into Dolly Sods but we had a lot of gravel road to climb to get to the top.

 

The eastern border of Dolly Sods in Forest Road 75. It's quite straight as you can see.

We drove about eight miles to 3,999 feet elevation at Bear Rocks. The weather was more close to winter with north-west wind, spiting rain and even icy snow flakes!

Dan was a good sport standing near the edge of the overlook as the wind whipped around us. As you can see the trees even grow according to the wind up here. Dolly Sods Wilderness is over 17, 000 acres and used to serve as training grounds for soldiers in WW2. There are signs warning about unexploded bombs and grenades. And people hike and camp all over this place! 

Wild places are great but so is coming back down the mountain!

Warblering at Belle Isle State Park, Lancaster VA

 We arrived at Belle Isle just after sunrise on Thursday, May 6th. The air was brisk as a cold front has blown through the day before. We were hoping that migratory warblers would  be hunkering down in the park while the north breezes persisted. 

Along the track that took us through open fields, pine forests, marsh and meadow, we heard and saw quite a few warbler species. Some allowed us good views, but others remained more skulky in the dense under story and tall grasses.

A pair of Blue Grosbeak fed along the path allowing us to walk within 5 years before flying to the cover of bayberry on the edge. This is the showier male with his rusty brown female nearby.

 

We spied Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs probing the muck around the edge of the marsh. Good to see them this time of year as they will migrate to northern Canada.

 

The unmistakable rising call of the Prairie Warbler greeted us as did this small bird gleaning bits of insects from spider webs. After taking a bite, he would open his beak wide and sing.

 Belle Isle SP is in their breeding range and most likely this little fellow will take up residence there.

Along the bayberry edges of the marsh we spied at a distance another yellow-hued warbler. We soon identified the bird as a female Prothonotary Warbler. These birds are cavity nesters preferring swampy flooded areas. 

Later in another area of the park Dan saw the male of the species. This was the first time we had the fortune of seeing these bright yellow warblers at Belle Isle.

The meadow before the path ends at the Rappahanock River shore was full of birdsong from Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, and Indigo Bunting.

In the pines the song of the Eastern Wood-pewee drew out gaze high to see this little somewhat drab flycatcher adding it's distinctive "pee-o-wee" song to the morning chorus.

 We drove across the park to the  small forested area near the canoe and small boat landing where the squeaky wheel call of the Black and White Warbler greeted us in the shade.

Next we drove to the visitor center where construction was underway to stabilize the shoreline in an environmentally friendly manner, creating a living shoreline rather than piling large rocks creating a rip-rap border which serves no ecological purpose. The path through the meadow was closed but we enjoyed seeing the barn Swallows nest building in the eaves of the visitor center despite the artificial snakes nailed to the rafters.

The light sconces were acceptable perches under the porch roof too!

The four hours in Belle Isle SP yielded 50 different species of birds including three Bald Eagles, two adult and one juvenile soaring and swirling around each other. If you go to Belle Isle, you are pretty much guaranteed to see Bald Eagles and more!

Yellow-crowned Night Heron Brief Spring Courtship

 This morning, my friend Sarah texted me that she saw a Yellow-crowned Night Heron in the park at the end of our street here in Falls Church. This migratory heron comes to our area in spring looking for love and looking to breed. Dan and I were very lucky to catch a brief but very cool courtship display by the male. Here is the brief but beautiful love story...

In the small muddy creek off the raised boardwalk, we first spotted the female doing a little fishing.

Keeping a respectable distance we watched her checking out the creek but she decided to fly up onto the railing. This was very nice for us as we stood so still as she decided to walk toward us on the railing. I already had my camera raised and got these shots which didn't phase her one bit. She even allowed me to get a close up of her beautiful eyes.

Crayfish are a favorite food for these elegant birds and we must have not looked like crayfish so she dropped down into the creek on the other side of the boardwalk. That was when we noticed there was a male Yellow-crowned Night Heron skulking in the grasses a short distance from her. My long camera lens wouldn't capture both of them, so I snapped a quick bad photo on my i-phone.

See him back there? The female was clearly fishing as she slowly walked along the creek bank.

The male decided to walk through the undergrowth toward her. Then in a flash he raised his feathers in a full-on courtship display.

I captured it just before the male took a leap onto the female which lasted less than a blink before she flew off and perched in a tree about 15 yards away.

 

Meanwhile, the male stood dejectedly on the creek bank...

 

And there you have it, a first for us in seeing these wonderful waders have a brief courtship. Perhaps she will allow him another try. As we left the park we saw the female in the distance, through the spring forest, just the top of her head as she found another more private part of the little muddy creek in which to get her lunch. Love will have to wait, no doubt, until her tummy is full.

Back To Belle Isle: Winter Edition

 The drive from our river place to Belle Isle State Park in Lancaster, Virginia was winter beautiful. Overnight a light snow had fallen and the fields of were dusted in a bright white sprinkling between harvest stubble and roadside grass. The sky was that wonderful crisp winter blue when the humidity is next to zero and the sun shining in a nearly cloudless sky. The snow was melting before our eyes as the sun rose higher and the temperatures rose above freezing.

Belle Isle in winter is, as in most wild winter landscapes, a play of contrasts. Bare tree limbs, brown grasses, fields nearly flat with soil laid bare from fall harvests, and clear water reflecting the sharp blue sky are what makes this landscape a delight to spend a mid-January morning. 

 

 

 The birding was winter typical meaning that birds we expected to see at Belle Isle in winter gave us great views even if some at a distance. Song Sparrows and White-throated Sparrows foraged on the roadside and edges of the fields.

This Song Sparrow with its distinctive stripes and dark triangle shaped markings on either side of its throat foraged with a small flock of its same species on the edges of one of several parking lots.

Hundreds of ring-billed Gulls and Canada Geese gleaned the fields for grains of wheat left behind in the harvesting. Belle Isle State Park is unique in the state for renting its land for farming. 

The Ring-billed Gulls were also resting in profusion on the narrow beach of Porpoise Creek. If you look closely in the center of the photo you can make out a larger Herring Gull in the flock.

Way in the distance in one of the fields we saw a Bald Eagle hopping on the bare ground gathering nesting material. There is a huge and abandoned eagle's nest in the park as well as an active nest more hidden in the tree tops of the forested part of the park.

Other very distant views across Porpoise Creek revealed four Tundra Swans, visitors from the far north to these unfrozen waters where the food is abundant.

A lone Great Blue Heron fished patiently in the marsh.

In a woodsy wind break between the fields, wintering Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers drilled shallow holes in the trees to get the sap. The bird in the top photo is a male and the bird in the bottom photo is a female. And speaking of wintering birds we were thrilled to see the Brown Creeper, a small comma-shaped bird, methodically and slowly climbing a tree in search of any insects sheltering in the bark crevices. The curved bill is an effective tool at prying those tasty buggy morsels.

The trails marked with detailed posts were a little muddy in spots and some were a little cozy with borders of the brown remains of tall grasses and thick greens of the loblolly pines. Song Sparrows flitted across these paths finding a tall piece of grass with a few seeds still left behind, riding the grass, bending it to the ground where they took the seeds before flying to another to repeat the process.

 The boardwalk trail near the canoe launch was still encrusted with snow and ice making for a treacherous walk so we chose the dirt road to the water for a quick look.

Belle Isle is one of our very favorite places to bird. We saw 30 different species on this sunny Sunday. A great day indeed!

Not Every Outing Is A Winner

 A new year and we decided to beginning it by birding on a Saturday in what is arguably Northern Virginia's most popular birding destination: Huntley Meadows Park in Alexandria. We arrived right after sunrise and the parking lot was already a quarter full. This park with its forested trails and boardwalk over the wetland attracts scores of photographers as well as birders. Dan and I go for the birds first and take photos if the opportunity presents itself. 

You may or may not know that the American Birding Association (ABA) has rules of ethics for birders and one of them is not to stress or harass birds. Pretty obvious, right? It really applies to all of us who enjoy being in nature in what is basically the homes of our feathered friends.  At the park just off the boardwalk was a bird not commonly seen in Huntley Meadows: Clapper Rail. The amount of photographers crowding the boardwalk, all wearing masks, leaning over the railing to catch a glimpse of this reclusive, solitary bird tucked in the bracken looked like the paparazzi along the red carpet at the Oscars. One woman parked a stroller, packed full of thousands of dollars worth of optics, and a wide open tripod on the 6 foot wide passage. Social distancing was non-existent. We managed to catch a distant and brief glimpse of the Clapper Rail with our binoculars before moving away. Pandemic or not, it's just not a good idea to crowd a bird and possibly cause it stress. We moved quickly on to the less populated parts of the extensive boardwalk. 

We observed a male Red-winged Blackbird pulling bits from a swamp milkweed stem getting at the tasty matter inside.

 

A White-throated Sparrow stood out from the flock of dozens on the shadowy path. The sweet gum "ball" was in an interesting place when I took the photo.

Northern Shovelers dabbled the muddy bottom of the wetland so getting a photo of their entire head with distinctive wide bill was an exercise in futility. They were enjoying a nice breakfast away from the "rail madness" crowds. We enjoyed watching them eat as they do it so methodically and calmly. These birds breed in Western and Central Canada, and they also occur in Europe and parts of Asia. They are also monogamous. The female is headfirst with tail up just ahead of the male.

 

We arrived home at mid-morning and decided to walk to our neighborhood park, but the best bird we saw was while we were standing on the front porch. A beautiful Cooper's Hawk swooped to a small tree near the end of the house. 

Sometimes home can bring wonderful sights. And I just happened to have my camera. So the morning of birding ended on a very nice note.