[birdky] RPT: Misc observations

A few odds and ends . . .

I talked to hosts of two Rufous Hummingbirds this morning, the Hidays in
Cynthiana and the Wards in Louisville, and somewhat surprisingly to me both
of their birds seem to be fine! All of Indiana's five birds have disappeared
(one found dead) in the past week and a half, so I was kind of expecting to
hear similar news from KY.  It's heartening that they have survived such a
beastly week!

The Reformatory lake near Buckner in Oldham County is nearly frozen. Besides
about 1000 Canada Geese (I saw none of the Cacklers today) the only
waterfowl I could find on two small ice-free holes were 3 Lesser Scaup, 3
Northern Shovelers, and about 10 Mallards.

I spent quite a bit of time on the family farm today.  The Horned Lark count
started the morning somewhere around 200 and ended up the day at something
just over 400.  The colder weather had a few more birds moving today.  I
could only find one Lapland Longspur in the morning, but even it was gone
later in the day. I suspect there is a lot more turnover in the birds than
one would ever expect. I did have at least one and maybe 2 or 3 Snow
Buntings, but they showed up AFTER SUNSET! I think they came in with small
flocks of larks that were going to roost in the Indian grass fields. For
years, the daytime visitors have always flown off (usually to the south) to
roost elsewhere, but the Indian grass fields offer great cover, and I think
most birds are staying close by during the overnight. I watched several of
the last feeding birds go out into the tall grass and drop in.

My other highlight of the day was counting THIRTY-TWO!! Savannah Sparrows
eating corn that I put out next to some roll bales. I had no idea that there
were so many wintering. ANd I've seen squabbling sparrows before, but those
guys really go at it with one another when in close quarters. There were
often about 20 within about 10 square feet of one another, and they were
constantly theatening each other with outspread wings, chip notes, and
darting jabs. I guess they are not used to feeding so tightly together, but
it was quite an amusing show to take in.  I also had a feeding flock of
about 40 Chipping Sparrows (with a few American Tree, Savannah, and Field)
work in to within 15-20 feet of me while standing in one of the grass
fields. Anyone who's spent much winter time in the field has seen birds ride
the seed heads of grasses down to the ground, but it was a special treat to
watch and listen to this behavior from a tame group of birds so close by.
The Chippys are so small that they have to really get out near the tips of
the stems to make them bend over. And one bird was following others around,
eating seeds from the stems the others were riding down . . . I guess he was
scared of heights!

They gray ghost kept everybody on the move; all the small mammals are under
the sturdy layer of sleet that has frozen solid, and he's having to hunt for
birds. I watched him fly back and forth for nearly an hour in search of
somebody he could catch off guard. 

bpb, Louisville
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