Venture
to Stecoah Gap & Talullah Wetlands
Venture
to Stecoah Gap
& Talullah Wetlands
Graham County, NC
Friday, April 23, 2010
It was a beautiful spring day at Stecoah and despite the somewhat slow
migration, there was quite a selection of newly-arrived spring warblers to
enjoy. We met at the Gap around 9 AM before slowly wending our way down the
trail. The wildflowers this year all seemed to bloom at the same time- Squirrel
Corn and Showy Orchis together! There were plenty of Blackburnians singing and
establishing their territories. 2 Ceruleans were easy to hear but as always,
somewhat difficult to get good views. A couple of Worm-eating Warblers were
moving through farther along the trail and the forest rang with the rhythmical
song of the Ovenbird. A brief stop in Robbinsville produced a nice male Orchard
Oriole before we moved onto Talullah. Afternoon in the wetlands can be a little
quiet but we managed to see a flyover Belted Kingfisher- maybe a local nester,
as well as hear several of the lower elevation species.
Simon Thompson
| Birds | |
| Canada Goose | Black-throated Blue Warbler |
| Turkey Vulture | Yellow-rumped Warbler |
| Broad-winged Hawk | Black-throated Green Warbler |
| Red-tailed Hawk | Blackburnian Warbler |
| Wild Turkey | Yellow-throated Warbler (Hd) |
| Mourning Dove | Cerulean Warbler (2) |
| Barred Owl (Hd) | Yellow-throated Warbler |
| Belted Kingfisher | Black-and-white Warbler |
| Red-bellied Woodpecker | American Redstart |
| Downy Woodpecker | Worm-eating Warbler |
| Pileated Woodpecker | Ovenbird |
| Northern Rough-winged Swallow | Hooded Warbler (Hd) |
| Barn Swallow | Scarlet Tanager |
| Blue Jay | Northern Cardinal |
| American Crow | Rose-breasted Grosbeak |
| Northern Raven | Indigo Bunting |
| Carolina Chickadee | Eastern Towhee |
| Tufted Titmouse | Song Sparrow |
| Carolina Wren | White-throated Sparrow |
| Ruby-crowned Kinglet | Dark-eyed Junco |
| American Robin | Red-winged Blackbird |
| European Starling | Common Grackle |
| Blue-headed Vireo | Brown-headed Cowbird |
| Red-eyed Vireo | Orchard Oriole |
| Golden-winged Warbler | American Goldfinch |
| Butterflies | |
| Eastern Tiger Swallowtail | West Virginia White |
| Red-spotted Purple | Silver-spotted Skipper |
| Spring Azure | |