Spring season in Monterey, VA was nothing but beautiful scenery, wildlife encounters, and great bird photography. We stayed at our favorite place, the Wilson House in Monterey, VA located in beautiful Highland County, VA. We went a little later than usual in the season and weren't sure if it would be as good due to the crab-apple tree flowers would be gone. The change up did us good though because we saw much more variety and not the standard normal birds we see. We ended up going out to different places and that we have never been to before. We were rewarded greatly! There were birds everywhere in the woods so we went to places that were remote, and to our surprise found more birds out there. We saw Chestnut-sided Warblers, Baltimore Oriels, Yellowed-billed Cakoos, Black-throated Green Warblers, Ovenbirds, Cedar Waxwings, and more. The bird photography was so good due to most birds were nesting by now and actively searching for food, or we got photos shots of fledgling birds. There were plenty of birds to be photographed.
We spent more time walking around this time than ever before. Finding trails all around and even a hidden gem which is kind of an unlisted Natural Area Preserve in Virginia called Sapling Ridge. It's a 200-acre tract near the West Virginia border. We saw lots of Chestnut-sided Warblers and Black-throated Green Warblers, and some warblers we were never able to get a photograph because they stayed high in the trees. We roamed Sapling Ridge and it was just beautiful. Sapling Ridge is a great place but hidden. There is just a sign on a fence gate stating the name of the place. We found it through the eBird App
Highland County VA is just sheer beauty in any season. The bird photography is second to none. It has such a variety of birds to photograph, which is what keeps us coming back year after year.
We finally ventured over into West Virginia and shot some bird photography over at Clover Lick Depot. That turned out to be a good move because it was raining back in Highland County in Virginia. The photos turned out great. We got incredible shots of some Cedar Waxwings who were building a nest. They would come down to the Depot where some one had tied some rope on a Depot post and the Cedar Waxwings were trying to pull off the cotton out of the rope for nesting material. They also grabbed some tissue and used that too. Got a great video of that too. We also saw an American Redstart. So much to see and do. We only got 2 weeks this spring but we will be back, it's way to beautiful a place not too go.
