Birders,
Tom and I spend about 45 minutes late this morning at Stumpy Lake to see what
had come in since we had been gone. We heard Ovenbirds and Prothonotary
Warblers. :-) Also a couple of Great-crested Flycatchers were "meeeping" in the
trees. Checked for Anhingas and didn't find any.
Nesting news...........
-The Barn Swallows are building their mud nests behind the clubhouse in
the usual spot.
-Near the clubhouse we saw a tightly woven Gnatcatchers nest located
behind the gray building that sits to the left of the picnic shelter. The nest
was in a cypress tree in the water and was located in the lowest branch on the
right side of the tree.
-We possibly saw Brown-headed Nuthatches nesting. As you follow the lake
to the left of the clubhouse you will see a white brick shed type building.
Look to the right at the broken stump near the water where a small green tree
is growing just behind it. About a foot down from the top of the stump is the
nest hole. When I first saw it one nuthatch was inside and the other messing
around the entrance. Later I saw what had to be the female near the nest hole
with her rump tilted skyward and she was quivering away like you would believe.
I looked for the male that would be interested in her display but couldn't
find him. Any locals that frequent the area may want to check it out from time
to
time to see if in fact the nest hole is occupied.
-The best nest activity of the day was the Red-tailed Hawks. As you
enter Stumpy Lake and make the left turn at the end of the entrance road look
to
your left in the pine trees between the road and the lake that are fairly near
the new Bluebird house mounted on a pine tree. You can't miss it. When we
first pulled in the Red Tail was across the way trying to get a twig off a tree
to
add to the nest. As I studied the nest from a distance and the wind blew I am
sure I saw one sitting on the nest as the tail feathers blew in the wind.
While we never saw the Red Tail actually put a twig in the nest we did observe
him "twig hunting" later. I have no idea of the activity that is currently
going
on in the nest past what we observed for a short time today. It would be
interesting for any locals that frequent the area to check this out from time
to
time and post the progress of the nest. Of course we welcome visitors to our
area to do this as well ! :-)
Karen & Tom Beatty, Virginia Beach
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