CBC Mountain Trip Day 1

Over the weekend my dad and I went to the Carolina Bird Club spring meeting in Asheville. We met a bunch of great people and saw a ton of birds. The first day we went to Curtis Creek and Mt. Mitchell. Our leaders were Mark Simpson and Doug Pratt, two well-known birders. Mark said he knew a great place just off the highway for Kentucky Warblers, so we went for them. The weather all weekend was rainy and I decided to scratch the picture rule for good, so we didn't have to get a photo to count the bird anymore! When we arrived at the spot, we heard a Kentucky singing. After about ten minutes of playback, it popped out and gave us great looks! # 192! Just a couple yards away, there was a Worm-eating Warbler singing. We didn't even have to use playback because it showed right out in the open for about 5 minutes, singing! #193! Our next stop was Curtis Creek Rd. is the Pisgah NF. Mark knew a great spot for Swainson's Warbler just off the highway. Right when we got out of the car, we heard two singing. After about ten minutes of searching, a nice male Swainson's popped right out into the open and sang for about 3 or 4 minutes! #194!



Swainson's Warbler

 

 

Once we actually got onto the road, we saw a ton of birds including Ovenbird, Rose-breasted Grosebeak, Black-throated Green Warbler, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue-headed Vireo, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Scarlet Tanager, and the last lifer of the day, Hooded Warbler. Our next stop was Mt. Mitchell, but the weather was so bad on the Blue Ridge Parkway, we couldn't see anything up on the mountain. We did stop at an overlook and got nice looks at an Ovenbird, Blue-headed Vireo, and FOY Common Raven. That was pretty much the end of the day, but just my dad and I decided to stop back by where we saw the Kentuckys. All we found was a female Black-throated Green Warbler on a nest. Day 2 next.