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Ridge Junction Reverie



Dwayne Martin posted a trip to Ridge Junction OL that intrigued me
because it spoke of many Tennessee Warblers that he was seeing there.
So early this Sunday morning in the thick darkness I drove 54 miles from
home to this overlook which is just east of the turn to the Mt. Mitchell
State Park.

I forgot about birding as I looked at the eastern rounded mountains and
the valley just north of the OL.  In the dawning light there was a
symphony of monotones.  In the valley below where snow white clouds.
The bowl of mountains was uncompromisingly black.  But the clouds above
where pearl white to gray.  Where the sun was trying to peak through,
the clouds where tinged with reds and orange-beautiful.  On either sign
of the overlook sign where tall conifers and birches or ashes that
marched up the steep slope to the mowed margins of the Blue Ridge
Parkway.

After walking around the overlook area, I began to see silhouettes of
warblers that were flying from the tall conifers on the west side of the
overlook.  Eight by 7:17 am; another two at 7:21 am; 5 at 7:25 am;
another followed at 7:26 and 7:31 and then four at 7:34 AM.  All of
these warblers were silhouettes but they were unlike birding at Jackson
Park lately.  Instead of walking for an hour and finally hitting a small
party of warblers associating with chickadees and titmice, I was seeing
a migrating parade that really lasted from 7:05 till about 9:00AM. I
wanted to try and count them all, but I failed.  I am sure there was
between 50 to 100 warblers in total.

Finally I saw a movement in a willow or ash and I could see the lime
green crown and nape and back and the white eyering of an immature
Chestnut-sided Warbler (7:38 AM).  At 7:43AM and 7:56 AM and 8:00 AM, I
saw the big yellow cheek patch of immature Black-throated Green
Warblers.  Into the confers on the west side a small party of Cedar
Waxwings landed in the early morning light looking very beautiful.  I
walked around overlook again during a lull and saw a male American
Goldfinch ablaze in the dawn light, sitting on the top of  a small
spruce.

The warblers came again at 7:51 AM.  I definitely saw a very green
looking warbler with white undertail coverts and no wingbars, a
Tennessee Warbler, a year bird!  This was a definite sighting, but I
suspect there must have been 15 other TEWAs with it throughout the magic
hour and a half that I saw the warblers migrating over the overlook.  A
pedestrian Eastern Phoebe followed as an American Crow flapped over.
The crow surprised me because I thought only Common Ravens considered
this area their territory.

The minutes flew by, but then way up in the conifer, I saw a wiggle
movement.  I saw a yellow green belly with longitudinal stripes from
neck to lower belly--not just on the flanks.  The stripes where fuzzy
and not definite like those on a waterthush.  After consulting Sibley's,
I decided that I have seen an immature Cape May Warbler!!
A pair of accipiters eluded me, but I managed to see a a pair of
migrating Chimney Swifts.  Then a new finch perched on the Spruce where
the goldfinch had been, it was a Pine Siskin.  At the end of this magic
time about 8:54 AM the willows again wiggled and there was a Blue-headed
Vireo.  As I turned to get into my car a Ruby-throated Hummingbird
buzzed by.

Thanks Dwayne for sharing with us your post about this wonderful outlook
near Mount Mitchell State Park.

John Lindfors
Hendersonville, NC