Friday, June 3, 2011

Birding and Hiking Shenandoah Nat'l Park

For Camera Critters  and Scenic Sunday I have a post on some of the wildlife and scenery we saw at Shenandoah Nat'l Park last weekend.

Last Sunday hubby and I went on a daytrip to Shenandoah National Park. I love driving on the Skyline Drive, hiking the trails and looking for birds. It was a birdie day. I heard and saw lots of Redstarts, Scarlet Tanagers, Flycatchers, Phoebes and there were lots of Towhees and a Veery.

We also saw our first wild turkey along the Skyline drive and some deer along the drive and on the trail we hiked.

  A view of the Applachian mountain ranges from the Skyline drive ovelook.



Deer on the Limberlost trail


An unknown butterfly on the trail



 There were many Indigo Buntings singing along the trail and along the Skyline Drive


An overlook of the Shenandoah valley from the Appalachian trail.
I believe this is a Veery seen along a stretch of the Appalachian trail we hiked.

  Some of the wildflowers seen along the Limberlost trail. I think they are wild Columbine?



To see Scenic photos from around the world visit Scenic Sunday   and more wonderful and cute critters please visit Misty Dawn's Camera Critters.  Thanks to the Holleys of Scenic Sunday and to Misty for hosting this fun memes and thanks for stopping by my blog to see my post.

31 comments:

  1. We have not yet been to Shenandoah National Park; it is on our list. Your pictures are beautiful - looks like it was a great day!

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  2. such gorgeous territory! whew those views!

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  3. We drove Skyline Drive one day before you! One of these days, we are going to be sightseeing somewhere, look up and say "hey I know you!" We didn't hike any of the trails. We did stop at lots and lots of overlooks though! We saw a wild turkey too, crossing the road! We saw three deer, which included one fawn.

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  4. Wow that looks like a beautiful park! Love the bunting and the flowers are gorgeous...

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  5. Oh My Heart... One of my favorite places. We love the Skyline Drive area... We were there two summers ago... Want to go back.... I'm SO jealous!

    Thanks for sharing the gorgeous pictures.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  6. Hi - great set of pictures. I may well be off the mark but the butterfly looks like one called the Comma in the UK - there is a similar species in the US called the Eastern Comma Butterfly - I don’t know if there is a Western one! - but it may be a starting point to put a name to it. Even if you can’t it's still a nice thing to see!

    Cheers - Stewart M - Australia

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  7. Gorgeous shots! We are about 2 hours from Shenandoah. We have plenty of mountains close by too :-)

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  8. Absolutely INCREDible!!!! Each and every photo. I also like the mist in the hills for your blog header too.

    Baby Herons and a Tern Chick is my Saturday post.

    Do come over and say howdy if you can find time in your day!! Your visit will make me a happy camper!!! Have a great weekend.

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  9. Wonderful! I've never seen an indigo bunting before. Your wildflower does look like columbine, although I've never seen it wild before, and I'm no expert.
    — K

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

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  10. Eileen, just gorgeous. The landscape and all the wonderful critters you saw! Thanks for doing the traveling and then sharing!

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  11. You always have amazing captures. Lucky you!

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  12. Thanks for the tour of this beautiful scenic area. Great images!

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  13. Great hike with great pics!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  14. Hi Eileen, You've taken excellent pictures. I have never seen either a Veery or an Indigo Bunting. I sure would love to see both. Have a super nice day!

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  15. Lovley photos but that deer looks really skinny.

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  16. How lucky you were to hike in the park. My husband did the AT and we have been to the park on numerous occasions, but I have never hiked in it. We stayed one night at the old wooden lodge which was a real treat. He loved your shots. I have been begging him for ages to take me up from here in Lexington to do some of the day hikes. After showing him your photos tonight, maybe I will get my way. Your birding shots are awesome. Great captures.

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  17. Beautiful critter shot! The butterfly is gorgeous.

    Late visiting for CC, hope you can take a peek at my Camera Critters too. Thanks!

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  18. Beautiful shots of the countryside and all the lovely creatures in it!

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  19. It's great to see your pictures Eileen and see that Shenandoah doesn't just exist in songs or the movies. Lovely landscapes.

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  20. Wow.. the place is beautiful to visit. I love all your photos. Thank you for taking us there.

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  21. I've probably said this before, but I sure like going birding with you. You have a marvelous eye and know just when to click your camera for a great shot. Thanks again! You might appreciate this article.

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  22. Eileen these are incredible photographs - what a treat to see these wonderful creatures and the scenic views - WOW!

    So glad that I visited today, well actually every day that I do... your posts are beautiful.

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  23. Hi Eileen your photos are fantastic. You made me think of doing a hiking trail too. I love walking while taking pictures and enjoy the beauty around. The birds are beautiful and yes that wild columbine is beautiful. Thanks for sharing!

    Shy Robin

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  24. Beautiful landscape photos. You did have a good birding hike. The Veery is special.

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  25. Gorgeous shots, Eileen. That first one is simply breathtaking!

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  26. yes, the last one is a Columbine, we call it Akleja. I have some on my balcony.

    The butterfly also flies in Sweden. It´s caleld Comma. Se my post:
    Butterfly

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  27. Hi, I just landed here from Scenic Sunday Photo Challenge.

    The photos are great. I can appreciate how quick you have to be to capture such great animal shots. v.nice.

    Bella Vida by Letty
    Have a great weekend.

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  28. This post brings back a lot of fond memories, and I really enjoyed your photographs.. As you know I was just there last week, but I used to spend so much more time there than I do know. I need to go more often. I think the park is one of the closest spots to heaven on earth that there is.

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  29. LOL! I had to laugh when I read your post as yesterday I said aloud to myself "Well, this is definitely I birdie day!" And here you typed the same thing!!!!
    Your photos are just so gorgeous (as usual) I think it is columbine too, and it is lovely. I envy you your phoebes.
    But guess what! I got my shot of the Blue Grosbeak. It may not be the best, but I got it!
    WoooooHooooo!

    Love that new header photo. In the midst of drought, it looks like heaven!
    meggs.

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  30. so peaceful and beautiful, wishing to get there someday

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Have a happy day, Eileen

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