Week Eighteen got off to a to a bit of a slow start – not really in terms of birding but at least in terms of the time I spent birding. The time I did spend birding, though, was pretty great. I started the week off with a visit to the Petersburg National Battlefield, where the Park Tour Road yielded Hermit Thrush, Eastern Phoebe, and Red-tailed Hawk as new Virginia birds for me. Most of the rest of Monday was spent writing, but I closed out the day with a walk at the Fendley Loop of Pocahontas State Park, there hearing a Northern Flicker and a couple Pine Warblers, as well as getting great looks at a Summer Tanager.
Tuesday morning I began working my way towards Powhatan State Park, snagging new Virginia birds in Northern House Wren and Cape May Warbler on the way and then having a great time at the park itself with notable birds including Hairy Woodpecker, Acadian Flycatcher, Blue-headed Vireo, Savannah Sparrow, Orchard Oriole, Baltimore Oriole. Blue-winged Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler, Northern Parula, Prairie Warbler, and Scarlet Tanager. After Powhatan I headed to Bear Creek State Park, where I heard a calling Belted Kingfisher and spotted a flyover Green Heron, and from there I made my way to Twin Lakes State Park, where Red-headed Woodpeckers and Summer Tanagers were calling in abundance.
The 30th continued the trend set by the, as I spent the morning at James River State Park, spending a couple hours birding after making myself some breakfast and picking up Warbling Vireo, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and Yellow Warbler as new Virginia birds, as well as enjoying the many Prairie Warblers and rounding out my vireos with Red-eyed Vireo, Yellow-throated Vireo, and White-eyed Vireo. After departing James River most of the rest of the day was spent continuing to get work done on my computer, but as the day’s heat died down I headed to the Saunders-Monticello Trail for a great hike that produced Purple Finch and Chestnut-sided Warbler.
The morning of Thursday the 1st I met Louis Sokolow at the Observatory Mountain in Charlottesville, where we had a great morning of birding. Right off the gate we heard multiple calling warblers, including Black-and-white Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, American Redstart, and Northern Parula. As we worked our way up the mountain my first-of-year Magnolia Warbler joined the fray, and not long after we spotted an incredible flock of 26 Chipping Sparrows. By the time we parted ways we had racked up 42 species in just under two hours, and before Louis left he gave me a recommendation for where to get started on West Virginia – the same advice I’d been given a few days earlier by some birders at the bird walks at the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge on the 27th.
Despite still having a full day yet ahead of me, I didn’t get any more birding done on Thursday. I had hoped to wrap up my computer work in just a few hours but it ended up taking me until around 8pm, after which I called it an early night to prep for my big day tomorrow. When I rose in the morning, following the advice of Louis et al., I headed to Briery Branch Road, starting what would prove to be a legendary day of birding at the George Washington National Forest. Right from the start of the day Worm-eating Warbler, American Redstart, and Ovenbird were present basically nonstop as I drove up the mountain towards the Briery Branch Reservoir. As I continued my way up Briery Branch Road towards the Briery Branch Gap, Hooded Warbler and Black-and-white Warbler joined in with the previously mentioned warblers as species of abundance, and by the time I crossed into West Virginia I had already had a great morning – and I was just getting started!
Almost as soon as I crossed into the West Virginian side of the Briery Branch Gap I happened across a couple of Red Crossbills and my first-of-year Canada Warbler, and as I continued down the mountain through the Shenandoah Wildlife Management Area I heard the distinctive drumming of a Ruffed Grouse and was amazed by the number of Black-throated Blue Warbler as well as the diversity of warblers; sixteen different warbler species including my first-of-year Blackpoll Warbler! When I reached the bottom of the mountain I spent some time driving around the field-filled valley I found myself in, tracking down birds like Eastern Meadowlark and Warbling Vireo, and then working my way north along the road in search of cell service. I never did find a reliable signal, but upon seeing a sign pointing directions up a mountain and to a lake I decided to turn – decision that would pay dividends almost immediately. As I made my way up towards Spruce Knob Black-throated Green Warblers became thicker than I have ever experienced any warbler being, and the farther I ascended I began encountering singing Winter Wren, Blackburnian Warblers, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Dark-eyed Junco, and my first-of-year Least Flycatcher.
Upon reaching the top of the Spruce Knob, which I hadn’t realized was the highest point in West Virginia until I was there, Blackburnian Warblers became incredibly thick, and there were points where I could hear them almost nonstop. After making myself some lunch I began heading down the other side of the mountain towards Spruce Knob Lake, hearing a calling Yellow-bellied Sapsucker on the road down and Black-billed Cuckoo once I arrived at the lake itself. Out on the lake was a lone female Red-breasted Merganser, and while I stood there scoping the water I heard a calling Osprey and spotted a flying Bald Eagle. Throughout this whole time I didn’t have any cell service and had no idea how long it would be to continue on rather than heading back the way I came, but given how incredible the birding had been so far I continued on into the unknown.
Not long after leaving the lake I arrived at a cleared out, hilly grasslands area that I learned after the fact was an eBird hotspot known as the Sinks of Gandy. In those fields I heard my first-of-year calling Bobolink, and shortly after heading back into the woods another first-of-year in Cerulean Warbler joined the fray. Along Middle Mountain Road I spotted a Bay-breasted Warbler and heard a couple calling Veery, both first-of-year birds. Eventually I arrived at US-33 – and after some time driving I came across cell service and was able to submit my backlog of eBird checklists. I hadn’t realized it, but I had already reached 100 species for West Virginia in this day of driving blindly through back-country mountain roads.
The day wasn’t over yet, though! Soon after getting service I drove by a fishing access spot along the road and pulled over for a quick checklist, hearing a calling Willow Flycatcher while there, and then headed to the town of Elkins where I made myself some dinner and went for a walk at Glendale Park. As it got dark out I headed north from town towards the Teter Creek Wildlife Management Area, where Green Heron, Spotted Sandpiper, and White-eyed Vireo brought my West Virginia total to 116, surpassing the 114 I had on my first days both Arizona and Louisiana, putting West Virginia as my best first day I’ve had in any state this year and making it only the third to reach 100 on the first day. Before the day ended I snagged Eastern Whip-poor-will and American Woodcock on my way back to the Elkins Walmart, where I spent the night.
Day two in West Virginia got off to just as great a start as day one when I arrived at the Kumbrabow State Forest, where Canada Warbler and Chestnut-sided Warbler were both present en masse, and they were joined by a plethora of other warbler species. Eventually I arrived to the location that would define the day, Williams River Road, where I spent several hours birding by car, hearing over a hundred different singing American Redstarts as well as a bunch of Blackburnian Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Northern Parula, Ovenbird, Least Flycatcher, and Red-eyed Vireo.
Once I finally wrapped up at Williams River I stopped by Summersville Lake State Park for a short walk that produced both Swainson’s Warbler and Kentucky Warbler, and then I continued on to New River Gorge National Park. Fayette Station Road at the National Park was incredibly gorgeous, the constant sound of water flowing over the rockfaces joining with the multitude of singing warblers including Louisiana Waterthrush, Hooded Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, and another Swainson’s Warbler.
Sunday was the lesser of my first three days in the Mountain State, though I still had a great time as I worked my way north, birding along a few rural roads and hearing an abundance of ever warbler with “yellow” in the name, as Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-throated Warbler, and Yellow-rumped Warbler defined the day. There were also a good numbers of Cerulean Warbler, American Redstart, and Blue-winged Warbler throughout the day.
Despite the shorter post this week, Week Eighteen was one of the most spectacular weeks of birding I have ever had in my life. The biggest reason for this is the sheer number of warblers; I don’t usually talk about numbers too much outside of notably large flocks, but I just want to take a second to share the list of warblers and a couple other notable species seen just this week. So, the following are some of the spectacular numbers from this week: 400 Red-eyed Vireo, 161 Eastern Towhee, 197 Ovenbird, 36 Worm-eating Warbler, 25 Louisiana Waterthrush, 1 Northern Waterthrush, 18 Blue-winged Warbler, 120 Black-and-white Warbler, 4 Prothonotary Warbler, 2 Swainson’s Warbler, 2 Tennessee Warbler, 1 Nashville Warbler, 2 Kentucky Warbler, 52 Common Yellowthroat, 86 Hooded Warbler, 265 American Redstart, 5 Cape May Warbler, 17 Cerulean Warbler, 85 Northern Parula, 40 Magnolia Warbler, 2 Bay-breasted Warbler, 82 Blackburnian Warbler, 112 Yellow Warbler, 52 Chestnut-sided Warbler, 1 Blackpoll Warbler, 145 Black-throated Blue Warbler, 1 Palm Warbler, 15 Pine Warbler, 59 Yellow-rumped Warbler, 35 Yellow-throated Warbler, 12 Prairie Warbler, 411 Black-throated Green Warbler, 47 Canada Warbler, and 64 Scarlet Tanager.
Most of those species counts are higher in a single week than I would typically expect to see in a full year back home, with week eighteen accounting for more than half of the Black-throated Blue Warblers, Black-throated Green Warblers, Canada Warblers, and Blackburnian Warblers I have seen in my entire life. May has always been my favorite month for birding, but this May has already surpassed every other I’ve ever had in the first few days. With a whole month left for birding I am eagerly awaiting what the east coast will bring as I head back towards the coast next week and spend the rest of the month working my way north.
Happy Birding!
eBird Trip Summary:
First and foremost - thank you to anyone who chooses to support me in this insane adventure of mine. When I initially had this idea and began planning I didn't even consider the possibility that others would want to support me, but I am extremely grateful to those who have reached out to do so. For those who are interested in supporting me, I have set up a Patreon, which can be accessed by clicking the logo to the left (or you can send me a message via the contact page). Again, thank you for your incredibly generous support!
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Follow me on my journey to see 100 species in every Lower-48 State during 2025, experience some of the incredible places and events in American birding, and meet and bird with as many local birders as possible along the way.
Posts will be made every Wednesday (I will try to have them out by 5pm, but situationally they might be a bit later) and will cover the previous Monday through Sunday. Additional posts will be made periodically with no set schedule.
