Trip Report
Summer Birds and Wildflowers
August 18, 2020
Guide: Simon Thompson
August can be hot even in the mountains, but today was one of the best as I believe the temperature never made it to 70F. We began along the Parkway with several stops along the way. The Mills River Valley Overlook (where the hawkwatching takes place) produced a very obliging warbler flock feeding in a Sourwood tree. Despite the chasing going on between the birds, we ended up with great views of Blackburnian, Black-throated Green and Black-and-white Warblers. A Yellow-billed Cuckoo was calling in the high trees but never showed himself. The birds were obvious, but we were also looking down to enjoy some late summer wildflowers. Virgin’s Bower was in bloom and many of the goldenrods and asters were just beginning to break. It was always a challenge to know whether to look down or look up or glance at the butterflies nectaring on the abundant blossoms.
We climbed higher in the Balsams, where we spend time figuring out some of the notoriously-difficult asters before enjoying the seepages along the Parkway. The rock faces are a watery garden of plants all finding their niche in the cracks and fissures of the granite. Big cushions of Sphagnum moss hosted Mountain Dandelion and Michaux’s Saxifrage and the best of all, the exquisite Grass of Parnassus. We eventually found Round-leaved Sundew in bloom nestled in the seepage and did our best trying to identify the St John’s Worts along the rock face.
It was a spectacular day in one of the most beautiful places in our area.
Summer Birds and Wildflowers
August 18, 2020
Birds: Species encountered: 24 species
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Blue Jay
Common Raven
Carolina Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Carolina Wren
Gray Catbird
Cedar Waxwing
American Goldfinch
Dark-eyed Junco
Eastern Towhee
Canada Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Black-and-White Warbler
Ovenbird
Northern Cardinal
Wildflowers: Species encountered: 49 species
Asiatic Dayflower
False Hellebore (fruit)
Rattlesnake Orchid
Orchid sp
Dutchman’s Pipe (leaves)
Pink Smartweed
Pokeweed
Starry Campion
Virgin’s Bower
Buttercup
Black Cohosh (fruit)
Umbrella Leaf (fruit)
Round-leaved Sundew
Michaux’s Saxifrage
Hairy Alumroot
Grass of Parnassus
White Clover
Pink Clover
Large Wood Sorrel
Spotted Jewel weed
Pale Jewel Weed
St John’s Wort (Appalachian, Dwarf and Mountain)
Evening Primrose
Water Hemlock
Filmy Angelica
Galax (fruit)
Common Milkweed
Carolina Phlox
Bee Balm
Wild Bergamot
Wild Basil
Hoary Mountain Mint
Self-Heal
Purple Gerardia
Pink Turtlehead
Greater Bluets
Southern Harebell
Mountain Dandelion
White Snakeroot
Joe Pye Weed
Green-headed Coneflower
Gray Sunflower (?)
Greater Coreopsis
Goldenrod sp
White Wood Aster
Aster sp
Fetterbush
Rosebay Rhododendron
Butterflies: Species encountered: 3 species
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Cabbage White
Silver-spotted Skipper