VA Birders,
I knew it was going to be a good birding day when I went out this morning to
hang up a new thistle feeder, and a male CAPE MAY WARBLER and a BLUE-HEADED
VIREO flew into the branches above the feeders. A female PURPLE FINCH was
soon feeding with the HOUSE FINCHES on the platform feeder, when they
weren't being chased away by a couple of BLUE JAYS.
A short walk around my little birding trail turned up a handsome male HOODED
WARBLER and a couple of MAGNOLIA WARBLERS. The first two YELLOW-RUMPS on the
mountain this season were busy feeding on Virginia Creeper berries. A young
male NORTHERN CARDINAL ignored me as it fed on seeds from a Morning Glory
vine that had climbed into a shrub. Another HOUSE WREN made an appearance,
which is very unusual for the area. A BROWN THRASHER gave rough alarm calls
from a clump of Blackberry brambles, as it periodically poked its head up to
watch me. A few steps more along the trail and a SWAINSON'S THRUSH watched
me intently from the dark branches of a maple tree.
One FIELD SPARROW fed in the grass with a small flock of CHIPPING SPARROWS.
SONG SPARROWS darted in and out of the stands of Goldenrod. An EASTERN WOOD
PEWEE chased an EASTERN PHOEBE from a high dead branch of a locust tree. A
couple of CAROLINA WRENS fussed from some thick shrubs, while another could
be heard calling in the distance.
One call threw me off. It turned out to be an EASTERN TOWHEE giving a trill
to its call similar to that of a Carolina Wren. I think it was probably a
young bird that didn't yet have its call perfected. I had to see its beak
moving through the binos before I was convinced. More TOWHEES fed among the
Pokeberry bushes.
A PILEATED WOODPECKER winged its way across the neighbor's pasture, the
white underneath its wings flashing with each wingbeat. Moments later
another one could be heard calling from the woods in a different direction.
A small flock of CEDAR WAXWINGS and a few BLUEBIRDS sat silently in the top
of a tall,dead tree, also in the neighbor's pasture. A little later in the
day two COMMON RAVENS could be heard croaking their way across the ridge.
Later, after I had come into the house, two WILD TURKEYS came feeding out of
the woods down into the yard where lots of apples had fallen. The Gobbler
had a rather long beard, which nearly dragged on the ground.
The total for the day was 37 species. For those interested the entire list
follows.
Roger Mayhorn
Grundy, VA
Buchanan County
37 species
American Crow 1
American Goldfinch 2
American Robin 5
Blue-headed Vireo 3
Blue Jay 3
Brown Thrasher 1
Cape May Warbler 1
Carolina Chickadee 1
Carolina Wren 3
Cedar Waxwing 12
Chipping Sparrow 7
Common Raven 2
Downy Woodpecker 1
Eastern Bluebird 5
Eastern Phoebe 1
Eastern Towhee 6
European Starling 31
Eastern Wood Pewee 1
Field Sparrow 1
Gray Catbird 2
Hooded Warbler 1 (male)
House Finch 2
House Wren 1
Magnolia Warbler 2
Mourning Dove 8
Northern Cardinal 3
Northern Flicker 3
Northern Mockingbird 1
Pileated Woodpecker 2
Purple Finch 1 (female)
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Song Sparrow 4
Swainsons Thrush 1
Tufted Titmouse 2
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Wild Turkey 2 (1 Gobbler, 1 Hen)
Yellow-rumped Warbler 2
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