Area Birders, Twenty-three birders watched the fall migration of warblers at our place here on Compton Mt yesterday. The very first species to be logged for the day was a Wood Thrush that called just after dawn - the first one I had heard since July. The last bird of the day made an appearance in the evening after most of the birders had left. A Sharp-shinned Hawk, species number 52 for the day, made a pass near the feeders, and nearby birders heard only the whoosh of wings as it passed just behind them. It was probably the same hawk that came back an hour or so later to make another pass through the yard, then perch in the cherry tree just above the feeders. Club members, Dave and Diana Worley were the first to arrive about 7:00 a.m. in order to get to see the morning rush of birds. They were soon joined by several others, including Don and Dawn Carrier from Bristol in their small French Car, a Citroen, which was the object of conversation during the day. Some birders, who had not watched the warblers with us before were Jerry and Jane Thornhill of Lebanon, Susan Mayhew, a dean at the recently formed School of Pharmacology in Grundy, and bird photographer, Don Carrier and his charming wife, Dawn. The group didn't have long to wait before warblers began dropping into the yard. Species included Am. Redstart, Bay-breasted, Black-and-whites, Blackburnians ( a brightly colored male caused ooh's and aah's as he gave the opportunity for great close-up looks), Black-throated Greens, a Cape May, Chestnut-sided Warblers, Hoodeds ( a striking male really stood out against the green foliage ), Magnolia's, an Ovenbird, a couple of Palm Warblers, Pine Warblers, 19 Tennessee Warblers, a male Black-throated Blue, Worm Eating Warblers and Yellow-throated Warblers. Many other warblers could be seen flying over or flitting about in trees in the neighbor's pasture but were too far away to identify. Other species of interest were a male Baltimore Oriole, a couple of Brown Thrashers, a Gray Catbird, a large flock of Cedar Waxwings, a Common Raven, 3 Eastern Kingbirds, one Empidonax Flycatcher, a Northern Flicker, a Pileated Woodpecker, many Scarlet Tanagers in fall plumage and many Red-eyed Vireos, several Ruby-throated Hummers, the first Swainson's Thrush of the migration, one Wild Turkey (heard late in the day) and 2 Yellow-throated Vireos. Below is the complete list. After birding the yard and hiking our small birding trail the birders took a rest and had a tasty lunch of hotdogs, chicken nuggets, baked beans and spinach dip, courtesy of my wife, Lynda. Several people brought other good dishes to add to the fare. The fresh cantaloupe and watermelon brought by David Raines from his garden was just the extra touch needed. The highlight of the meal, a special dessert prepared by Dawn Carrier was a beautiuful carrot cake decorated with a warbler done in frosting. Not only was the cake pleasing to the eye, but it was also pleasing to the palate. Several birders went back for seconds. By the end of the day every last crumb had been eaten. The weather was excellent, the birds were numerous, the food was good and the conversation was interesting, which made for a very enjoyable day. Lynda and I hope that everyone went away with the feeling that they wanted to come back sometime to our little spot on the mountain. Photos can be seen at http://judy.pbase.com/mayhorn/warblerday2006 http://www.pbase.com/aquilaet/warbler1 Roger Mayhorn Compton Mt Buchanan County American Crow 2 American Goldfinch 11 American Redstart 1m American Robin 16 Baltimore Oriole 1m Bay-breasted Warbler 3(2m, 1f) Black-and-white Warbler 3m Blackburnian Warbler 4(3m, 1f) Black-throated Blue Warbler 1m Black-throated Green Warbler 6( 5m, 1f) Brown Thrasher 2 Cape May Warbler 1 Carolina Chickadee 1 Carolina Wren 2 Cedar Waxwing 49 Chestnut-sided Warbler 4 (1m, 3f) Chimney Swift 4 Chipping Sparrow 2 Common Raven 1 Downy Woodpecker 2 (1m, 1f) Eastern Kingbird 3 Eastern Phoebe 2 Empidonax Flycatcher sp? 1 Eastern Towhee 4m European Starling 9 Gray Catbird 1 Hooded Warbler 3m House Finch 3 Magnolia Warbler 8 Mourning Dove 2 Northern Cardinal 7 (2m) Northern Flicker 1 Ovenbird 1 Palm Warbler 2 Pileated Woodpecker 1 Pine Warbler 2 (1first yr female) Red-bellied Woodpecker 1f Red-eyed Vireo 11 Ruby-throated Hummingbird 7 Scarlet Tanager 9 (8m, 1f) Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Song Sparrow 1 Swainson?s Thrush 1 Tennessee Warbler 19 Tufted Titmouse 3 Turkey Vulture 4 White-breasted Nuthatch 3 Wild Turkey 1 Wood Thrush 1 Worm eating Warbler 3 Yellow-throated Vireo 1 --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail.