Appalachian Trail (Route 443 - 501)

We backpacked this section of the trail Friday night into Saturday without bins, so it was mostly "birding by ear." Among those most frequently heard were: Eastern Towhee, Scarlet Tanager, and Gray Catbird. At the Penn's Shelter area campsite, I got a glimpse of a Black-throated Blue Warbler and Jenny got good looks at a Scarlet Tanager to which I was totally oblivious because I was reading The Hobbitt.

Birds also heard during the trip were:
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Wood Peewee
Yellow-throated Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Blue Jay
Common Crow
Tufted Titmouse
Carolina Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Wood Thrush (ID'd by Jody)
Robin
Cedar Waxwing (thanks to Jenny's great ear!)
Black-throated Green Warbler
Northern Parula
Ovenbird

Common Yellowthroat

Chipping Sparrow

Northern Cardinal

Indigo Bunting

Common Grackle

As we passed Route 625 and headed past Fisher's Lookout (where we saw a few Turkey Vultures), we heard the distinctive "pick" of a Hairy Woodpecker and were able to catch a glimpse of it at the very top of a dead tree. That's the first Hairy I've seen in a least four years.

If you go this way, be careful of the poison ivy as there is tons of growing close on the trail. So far, I've been lucky although I have a few suspicious spots on my calf that can't decide whether they want to break out or not.

If you want to know more about the backpacking adventures we had go to our Backpacking Blog: http://inezbackpacking.blogspot.com/. Jenny will be posting our antics there.