Monday, July 4, 2011

Birding & Hiking Catoctin National Park

With this post I am linking up with That's My World and World Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

This past Sunday, hubby and I hiked the 3 mile roundtrip trail to Chimney and Wolf Rocks in Catoctin National Park here in Maryland. The first bird I sighted was the Wood Thrush ...right on the trail in front of us as we started up the trail to the Chimney Rock formations.

The Wood Thrush  is a breeder in the eastern US and is found in mature deciduous forest. It populations have undergone a decline in recent decades for unknown reasons. A guess on my part for their decline would be the loss of forest and clear cutting. After all the forest is their habitat and home. The Wood Thrush is reported to have one of the most beautiful songs of all the North American birds. It was wonderful to hear them while we were walking along the trail.


The Chimney Rock formations offer some great views of the mountains.





The Eastern Wood Pewee was another bird I heard along the trail to the Chimney and Wolf Rocks.  Along with the Wood Thrush, this Wood Pewee was another bird we enjoyed hearing as we hiked along the trail. They have a cute sound  "pee-ah-wee"   sounds almost like their name.


After stopping at Chimney Rocks we continued on the the Wolf Rock formations.







It was at the Wolf Rock that I noticed these five-lined skinks together. They had a  tail area was a pretty blue.





Here is a list of the birds I saw during my hike at Catoctin National Park: Wood Thrush, Wood Pewee, Great Crested Flycatcher, Red Eyed Vireo, Scarlet Tanager, Pileated Woodpeckers, Ovenbirds, Chickadees, Bluejays and Crows.

Thanks for stopping by to see my post and I hope you visit both That's My World and   World Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes.  Thanks to the hosting group: Sylvia, Wren, Sandy , Fishing Guy and Klaus of That's My World and thanks to Springman for hosting World Bird Wednesday and to Michelle of Nature Notes.

I hope everyone has a great week :)

51 comments:

  1. I love to see those birds, but I like the tracking trail as well.

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  2. I love the wood thrush and Pee-wee too. I never have trouble hearing several pee-wees, but do have trouble spotting them.

    dan

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  3. thanks!! very nice! brought back some memories of when sam & i hiked up chimney rock...i think it was a hundred degrees out...august...there was supposed to be a waterfall when we reached the top...but the drought...no rain...made the waterfall a TRICKLE!!

    love the bird!! very nice looking!!
    the blue tailed skinks are beautiful...when i see them around here...i always hope they sit still for a minute so i can get a picture!!
    Happy Fourth!!

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  4. i love the shot of the pines with those huge rocks. just so beautiful. thanks for sharing your walk with us!

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  5. Thank you for taking us on this walk with you. Very informative and the photography captured the beauty so well. Happy Independence day!

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  6. Thanks for taking us on another lovely nature walk Eileen. Happy 4th of July!

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  7. You sent me to my bird book with your peewee pic: I saw a very similar bird just outside my kitchen window not long ago. It looked almost identical to yours, but since I live in Idaho, it probably isn't the same. There is a western peewee...maybe that's what it was! Or not...the willow flycatcher's pic in the book was closer...and the description of the call was closer, too.

    Thanks for coming by!

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  8. Sounds like a great hike, Eileen. That looks like 'my' kind of hike. I probably wouldn't know many of the birds --by sound or sight--but I would enjoy the hike and the views....

    Great pictures of the Thrush and Pewee.

    Happy 4th
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  9. Looks like a great place to see... Many thanks for sharing.

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  10. Hi Eileen, Great photo's today! I have occasionally seen the Pewee's here in my backyard. I have never seen the Wood Thrush or the Skink. Have a super nice Independence Day and wonderful coming week!

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  11. What a terrific hike you've taken us on, Eileen! Love your photos! And what a beautiful place! Hope your holiday weekend has gone well! Enjoy!

    Sylvia

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  12. Beautiful and interesting photos from your walk :)

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  13. that's a wonderful place to go for a stroll. hope you had a fabulous 4th of July.

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  14. This looks like a nice hike. I'd have to be careful on that trail, though, so that I wouldn't trip on the rocks!

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  15. Wonderful shots from your hiking trip at the national park.

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  16. Wonderful photos. That's the kind of hike I love, with trees, rocks, and wildlife.

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  17. Great captures of your world. I am always thrilled seeing your shots.

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  18. Ooh, such a clear capture of the Pewee! I do not think I've heard one before, but would love to one day! How fortunate that you were able to go on a hike again! Thanks for taking us too through those wonderful photos! :) Happy 4th!

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  19. I love your bird photos, and glad that you had a wonderful hike.

    Beautiful pictures of nature!

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  20. I love your bird photos, and glad that you had a wonderful hike with so many beautiful things to see.

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  21. Sad about the wood thrush. Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  22. Lovely walk! I love seeing all the birds you capture with your lens.

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  23. Eileen what a super post - I love this hike you and your husband took. The topography reminds me a lot of the countryside around here with the rock faces and pines... the long views you have are spectacular. Thanks so much for taking us along on your hike. What a wonderful day. And thanks for dropping by my blog with your good wishes for the 4th of July. Always lovely to hear from you!

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  24. i love rocks and trees and birds, this trail has them all, thanks for bringing us to a very relaxing and exciting walk.

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  25. Great nature and a bit of a rocky world. Beautiful view on the pic nr 3. And so many bids..:-)
    Happy week to you!

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  26. Wow that looks so gorgeous! I think the Wood Thrush is such a pretty bird and I love, love, love Pewees!
    Great post Eileen, thank you for sharing!

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  27. What a great hike. Cant wait for fall to start hiking again..TOO Hot here now for it. Great list of bird sightings too and Excellent photos too--thanks for sharing this!

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  28. All that woodland beauty, plus bird songs. What a wonderful place.
    — K

    Kay, Alberta, Canada
    An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

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  29. This must of been a nice treat to hear the song along the trail..they green is so pretty. Hope you and your family had a wonderful 4th Eileen-

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  30. Hi there - nice story - I like the skink, always good to find some form of lizard!

    Stewart M - Australia

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  31. Thanks for sharing this lovely post with me. Love the nature and photos.

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  32. Looks like a great outing! Lovely shots of nature and birds.

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  33. Looks like a great hike. I love your shots of the trail, the views and of course the birds.

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  34. Awesome hike Eileen, Thanks for taking us along! I'm huffing and puffing just reading it!

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  35. I know this place very well. I used to live in Waynesboro, PA.

    Fabulous captures Eileen!

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  36. sad that your wood thrush is in decline, so is our song thrush

    Lovely series of photos

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  37. you have so many great places to visit. Today I was most attracted to that little lizard. Never seen one striped like that. :)

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  38. Wonderful shots - birds and scenery!

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  39. Beautiful birds and scenery. It sounds like a great hike.

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  40. What a great place Eileen. Lovely views, and lovely birds; perfect.

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  41. Looks like you had a lovely day, and you got some beautiful photos too!

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  42. Great birds, Eileen. I've been there, but before I was birdwatching. Thanks for sharing the photos - they bring back good memories.

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  43. What a gorgeous place to hike! It's nice you were able to see so many varieties of birds.

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  44. I love your view of the mountains. We haven't been hiking in too long - my family prefers other forms of recreation.

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  45. what gorgeous speckles on the thrush! A wonderful place for a hike, are there still any wolves there to howl from wolf rock?

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  46. I keep saying that I need to take a walk in the woods before is really fills out to see what birds I can find....lovely place to hike Eileen...

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  47. Eileen, not only to you find beautiful walking trails but you always find a great variety of birds. The Pewee is one I have never seen before, it is a sweet looking little bird.

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  48. What a beautiful hike Eileen! The Wood Thrush was a great omen to begin your walk. What a great bird!

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  49. What a beautiful area. It's so nice to see the wood thrush. Haven't seen one of those in many years

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Have a happy day, Eileen

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