Trip Report

I have always enjoyed driving and walking up Curtis Creek Road. This mostly unpaved road snakes its way from Old Fort up to the Blue Ridge Parkway. From mixed pine and deciduous forest, the habitat changes to Northern hardwoods and a trace of spruce-fir when we reach the summit. As well as driving slowly up the road we also walked a good distance enabling us to see and hear a lot more. The biggest surprise and certainly the bird of the day was the abundance of Swainson’s Warblers. At almost every stop in the appropriate habitat we could hear at least 1-2 singing males, with some even showing themselves albeit briefly. This species is probably common all along the escarpment, although accessible habitat probably prevents us knowing their true numbers. We continued up the road enjoying plenty of Northern Parula, Black-throated Green Warbler and Scarlet Tanager and it’s always fascinating to pick up additional species as one climbs in elevation. By the time we reached the top of the road Dark-eyed Juncos had appeared, and Blue-headed Vireos were far more common. This is the beauty of Curtis Creek Road- as one drives up in elevation the make-up of species changes adding endless variety to the day.