It was a warm and sunny, but windy day in the mountains of Graham County, NC and what better place to be birding than the warbler-filled woodlands at Stecoah Gap? As well as enjoying our locally-breeding warblers, it's always nice to see a few migrants as they come though the western mountains. On this Venture we were lucky enough to see Palm, Yellow-rumped, Blackpoll and even a very uncommon Nashville Warbler on their way north. The bad freeze that occurred throughout the western mountains made birding much easier as many of the warblers had no leaves to hide behind - so we ended up with excellent views of Blackburnian, Black-throated Green and Black-throated Blue. The walking is always easy and the wildflowers add a lot to the overall experience of spring in the mountains. Now wonder that it is always one of our favorites! Here's to next year.
| Birds | |
| Turkey Vulture | Nashville Warbler (1♂) |
| Broad-winged Hawk | Northern Parula |
| Red-tailed Hawk | Yellow Warbler |
| Wild Turkey | Chestnut-sided Warbler |
| Mourning Dove | Black-throated Blue Warbler |
| Ruby-throated Hummingbird | Yellow-rumped Warbler |
| Downy Woodpecker | Black-throated Green Warbler |
| Pileated Woodpecker (H) | Blackburnian Warbler |
| Eastern Wood-Pewee (H) | Yellow-throated Warbler |
| Northern Rough-winged Swallow | Palm Warbler |
| Barn Swallow | Blackpoll Warbler |
| Blue Jay | Cerulean Warbler |
| American Crow | Black & White Warbler |
| Northern Raven | American Redstart |
| Carolina Chickadee | Ovenbird |
| Tufted Titmouse | Hooded Warbler |
| White-breasted Nuthatch | Scarlet Tanager |
| Carolina Wren (H) | Northern Cardinal |
| Winter Wren (H) | Rose-breasted Grosbeak |
| Blue-gray Gnatcatcher | Indigo Bunting |
| Wood Thrush (H) | Eastern Towhee |
| American Robin | Chipping Sparrow |
| Yellow-throated Vireo | Dark-eyed Junco |
| Blue-headed Vireo | Common Grackle |
| Red-eyed Vireo | American Goldfinch |
| Golden-winged Warbler | House Sparrow |