Venture
in the Blue Ridge, Asheville, NC Venture
in the Blue Ridge, Asheville, NC
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Fog was hanging over Asheville and the lower elevations when we began our day, but the number of birds in the trees at the Folk Art Center indicated that we might have a good trip ahead of us. And what a day it turned out to be. Many of us had never seen a movement of birds such as this for a long time - if ever. Due to the recent storms and rain, the Blue Ridge Parkway was closed past Bull Gap, but that did not matter as we had enough birds to keep us happy all morning. Thrushes, grosbeaks and tanagers were all busy feeding on the Virginia Creeper berries and Muscadine grapes and with patience we managed to see Gray-cheeked, Wood and Swainson's Thrushes. One of the biggest surprises of the day was the number of Red-headed Woodpeckers flying over and most seemed to be immature birds, although they never perched for very long at all. Tennessee Warblers were passing through in waves and the numbers must have been a lot higher than the 100+ individuals we recorded. A total of 15 warblers for the day indicated the huge passage of birds this morning and this included species that both breed locally and migrants from the far north. Other highlights were at least 6 Philadelphia Vireos - a genuine rarity here and early winter visitors such as Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Brown Creeper. Let's home this is not an indication of an early winter! As the bird activity had really calmed down after lunch, a few of us drove down to Beaver Lake Sanctuary to look for any birds at lower elevations, where the biggest surprise was a very early White-throated Sparrow.
| Birds | |
| Turkey Vulture | Blue-headed (Solitary) Vireo (5+) |
| Osprey (1) | Yellow-throated Vireo (1) |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk (1) | Red-eyed Vireo |
| Chimney Swift | Philadelphia Vireo (6) |
| Red-headed Woodpecker (7) | Tennessee Warbler (100+) |
| Red-bellied Woodpecker | Chestnut-sided Warbler (5+) |
| Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (1) | Magnolia Warbler (1) |
| Downy Woodpecker | Cape May Warbler (1) |
| Hairy Woodpecker | Black-throated Blue Warbler (2) |
| Northern Flicker | Black-throated Green Warbler (5+) |
| Pileated Woodpecker | Blackburnian Warbler (2) |
| Eastern Wood-Pewee (2) | Yellow-throated Warbler (1) |
| Eastern Phoebe (2) | Bay-breasted Warbler (10+) |
| Blue Jay | Blackpoll Warbler (1) |
| American Crow | Black-and-white Warbler (1) |
| Northern Raven (1) | American Redstart (2) |
| White-breasted Nuthatch | Common Yellowthroat (1) |
| Brown Creeper (1) | Hooded Warbler (1) |
| Carolina Wren | Scarlet Tanager (25+) |
| Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Hd) | Rose-breasted Grosbeak (40+) |
| Gray-cheeked Thrush (5+) | Northern Cardinal |
| Swainson’s Thrush (40+) | Indigo Bunting (5+) |
| Wood Thrush (10+) | Eastern Towhee (Heard) |
| American Robin | Red-winged Blackbird (1) |
| Gray Catbird (1) | House Finch |
| Cedar Waxwing (2) | American Goldfinch (1) |
| Beaver Lake | |
| Additional species not seen earlier in the day | |
| Pied-billed Grebe (1) | Mourning Dove |
| Canada Goose | Brown Thrasher (1) |
| Mallard | Northern Waterthrush (2) |
| Great Blue Heron (1) | Song Sparrow |
| Cooper’s Hawk (1) | White-throated Sparrow (1) |