Meet at the parking lot across from the Red Creek Campground on Dolly Sods at 7 am

Leader: Aaron Graham

Friends of Blackwater is offering a chance for the public to watch migration of birds happen right before their own eyes. The geography at the Allegheny Front Bird Observatory sets up a funnel that sets a spectacle under the right conditions of thousands of songbirds including flycatcher, vireos, warblers, sparrows, and finches. This type of stationary count counts the entirety of identifiable birds coming by where the banding station only catches what comes low, giving a better understanding of the magnitude of birds that truly come through here. In late August several species are entering their migratory peak and several rarer migrations can and have been found during morning flight counts at the Sods such as Olive-sided Flycatcher, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, and Mourning Warbler. Bring a chair and stay to watch the beginning of the raptor movements as the morning progresses. I will be there at dawn so feel free to come earlier. This is a stationary count and will be standing at the same spot, about 0.1 from the parking lot.  Flights are weather-dependent so look for this to be rescheduled for the following day so please R.S.V.P in advance so we can have a chance to evaluate the weather conditions.