Bird Club Welcomes Spring Migrants

Walks Planned In Brushy Hills, On Parkway

Birds are in full song and breeding plumage as they continue their spring migration along the Blue Ridge flyway. Some are returning to nest in our neck of the woods, while others are stopping over on their way to more distant breeding grounds.

Just in time, the members of the Rockbridge Bird Club invite birders to join them on two of their favorite spring outings: a walk in Brushy Hills Preserve on April 27 and an excursion to Apple Orchard Mountain on May 4. Both outings are open to early risers, who will likely be rewarded with a dawn chorus.

Brushy Hills Walk

W&L ornithologist Paul Cabe will lead the club’s annual bird walk in Brushy Hills Preserve at 7 a.m. on Saturday morning, April 27. The walk is co-sponsored by Friends of Brushy Hills.

Brushy Hills features several wellmaintained, looping trails in native forest just outside Lexington. Participants will look and listen for a variety of woodland birds, including Scarlet Tanager, Ovenbird, Wood Thrush, Red-eyed Vireo, and Worm-eating Warbler.

Walkers will meet at the main trailhead (1010 Union Run) for an outing of about two hours. To reach the Preserve from Lexington, drive to the end of Ross Road (2.3 miles from city limits) and turn right on Union Run. Continue 0.6 miles to the spring house on the right, with a parking area and kiosk directly across the road.

To Apple Orchard Mountain VMI biology professor and nature photographer Dick Rowe will lead a half-day excursion to Apple Orchard Mountain to welcome back wood warblers and other spring migrants. The outing is scheduled for bright and early on Saturday morning, May 4.

Birders will meet at the Lexington Food Lion parking lot at 6:30 a.m. and then caravan to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Alternatively, participants may meet the group at 7:30 a.m. at the Sunset Fields pull-off (mile marker 78.4). From there, birders will follow the access road on foot to the top of Apple Orchard Mountain, a gradual up-and-back walk of approximately two miles, stopping often to look and listen. The group will return to Lexington mid-afternoon.

In addition to hearing a variety of wood warblers and catching glimpses of them as they flit through the trees, participants are likely to see returning Vireos, Tanagers, and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks.

For both outings, walkers are reminded to wear sturdy footwear and bring binoculars.

For more information or weather updates, check Rockbridge Bird Club on Facebook or send an email to Wendy Richards ([email protected]).