Bird Songs Workshop
Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary, 
Beaverdam Knoll and Blue Ridge
Asheville, NC 
Wednesday, May 14, 2008

7:30 AM seemed early and somewhat cool when we assembled at Beaver Lake but despite the traffic noise, we still managed to see and more importantly (today) hear a great selection of both summer resident and migrant species. Yellow Warblers were the most obvious singing their rhythmic songs loudly above most of the other birds. Gray Catbirds and Song Sparrows were also loud as we tried to pick out the singers around us. American Redstart, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and House Wren all added to the avian chorus, while we talked about how to identify and remember the different song types. A walk along the lake shore did not produce a male Baltimore Oriole, but several Orchard Orioles and a singing Warbling Vireo gave us great views. Lunch was at our house on Beaverdam Knoll, where a family of Carolina Chickadees had a nest in the box on the front porch and a male Magnolia sang from one of the Norway Spruces in the garden.

A cold light rain came in the afternoon as we climbed high into the Blue Ridge- even above where the spring leaves had barely begun to unfurl. There was not too much bird song; maybe it was the cool weather that had the birds all out looking for food in the bare trees along the roadside. Black-throated Blue and Canada Warblers barely took any notice of us as they snapped up insects and several male Blackburnian Warblers were fighting over newly acquired territories. A pair of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers was feeding on a nearby birch and 4 Veery fed along the quiet roadsides. All gave us outstanding views. While most of these higher elevation birds were barely adding their songs to our birdsongs workshop, we were treated to quite a show. We're not complaining at all.

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