saturday birding at apple orchard mountain

We had a cool but lovely morning for birding at Apple Orchard Mountain this past Saturday, May 3rd.  There were 17 of us with a few others joining in as we hiked up the road into early Spring conditions.  Migrants were everywhere singing and cavorting around.  The sharp eyes and trustworthy ears of our leader, Dick Rowe, resulted in some first time sightings for some folks.  Here’s what we saw and/or heard:

Ovenbird
Scarlet Tanager
Red-eyed Vireo
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Veery
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Hairy Woodpecker
Blue-headed Vireo
Tufted Titmouse
Blue Jay
Eastern Towhee
White-breasted Nuthatch
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Canada Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Eastern Phoebe
Dark-eyed Junco
Downy Woodpecker
Red-tailed Hawk
Common Raven
Turkey Vulture
Pileated Woodpecker
Chickadee
Eastern Bluebird
American Goldfinch
Indigo Bunting (seen along the P’way while driving)

Wendy Richards


(eds. note: lots of great views of American Redstarts, Black-throated Blue's and Canada Warblers which are particularly striking.)

This is why we go up into the mountains to look for warblers during spring migration. Fewer leaves mean better views of the birds.
Photo by Lad Sessions

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