[bcbirdclub] Golf Course Birding
- From: "Roger Mayhorn" <rmayhorn@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "BCBC Listserve" <bcbirdclub@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 7 Oct 2011 01:04:19 -0400
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Wood Thrush
Cape May Warbler Swainson's Thrush
Philadelphia Vireo
A few members of the BCBC turned out Wednesday for the birding outing at the
Mountain Top Golf Course here on Compton Mt. It was a beautiful sunny day under
a fall blue sky with comfortable temperatures. The birds were very active which
made for a very enjoyable day of birding. We met at the golf course at 9:30 to
rent the carts and get started. We were amazed at how many bluebirds there were
around the course feeding on the bumper crop of Virginia Creeper berries. We
logged 18 bluebirds for the day, but that is a conservative number. We saw
bluebirds at every stop, but we couldn't be sure that some were birds we may
have already counted. I guess having 10 bluebird boxes on the course for the
past 9 years has helped the bluebird population in that area.
Along with the bluebirds, the other thrushes, Gray-cheeked, Swainson's, Wood
and American Robin were also very active in the creeper berries, and some were
more numerous than the bluebirds. A single Wild Turkey flew down from a vine of
creeper berries and disappeared over the edge of the golf course. We had our
First of the Season Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and later at our house our FOS
White-throated Sparrow, though David Raines had already found one at his house
a couple of days before. Also at our house Mike Sanders and I had already found
two Philadelphia Vireos that morning. We had 3 hawk species, Sharp-shinned,
Red-shouldered and a single, migrating Northern Harrier flying along the golf
course was one of the highlights of the day.
We had seven warbler species for the day. They were Tennessee, Nashville,
Magnolia, Cape May, Yellow-rumped, Palm and Blackpoll. Later in the evening at
our house, after everyone else had gone home Mike Sanders found a Summer
Tanager. It showed up again a few minutes later near the stream, and we were
able to get great looks at it, as well as watching the many thrushes feeding at
the edge of the woods below our yard.
We birded the golf course until noon. We then drove to our house where Lynda
had hot dogs, potato salad, drinks and desserts ready for us. It was a really
enjoyable day of birding. We were not bothered by any golfers at the course,
and we did not interfere with the couple of golfers that were there. The course
is surrounded by forest and thickets which made for a wonderful place to bird.
Those who didn't come missed a golden birding day. We will try to do this again
in the future so the rest of you can have your chance.
Those attending were (in alphabetical order) Roger Mayhorn, David Raines,
Johnnie & Betty Ratliff and Mike Sanders.
The complete list of birds for the day is below.
Roger Mayhorn
Compton Mt
49 species
Wild Turkey 1
Turkey Vulture 2
Northern Harrier 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 2
Mourning Dove 2
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1 FOS
Downy Woodpecker 3
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 12
Pileated Woodpecker 4
Eastern Wood Pewee 3
Eastern Phoebe 2
Yellow-throated Vireo 1
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Philadelphia Vireo 2
Blue Jay 15
American Crow 8
Carolina Chickadee 4
White-breasted Nuthatch 3
Tufted Titmouse 6
Carolina Wren 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Eastern Bluebird 18
Gray-cheeked Thrush 6
Swainson's Thrush 21
Wood Thrush 6
American Robin 1
Gray Catbird 3
European Starling 14
Cedar Waxwing 12
Tennessee Warbler 2
Nashville Warbler 1
Magnolia Warbler 2
Cape May Warbler 7
Yellow-rumped Warbler 8
Palm Warbler 5
Blackpoll 1
Summer Tanager 1
Scarlet Tanager 2
Eastern Towhee 5
Chipping Sparrow 7
Song Sparrow 1
White-throated Sparrow (FOS)
Northern Cardinal 3
American Goldfinch 11
House Finch 1
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