On Saturday, June 13, 5 BCBC birders participated in the breeding bird
survey for the county. Seventy-six species were logged for the day with 3
unexpected surprises. The first was when two Green Herons circled and
squawked over our (Mayhorn) property on Compton Mt early in the day. This is
only the second recorded sighting of that species on the mountain. The
earlier sighting was a single bird in May of 2009, also on our upper field.
What are the chances these two birds would show up during our breeding bird
survey!
The second surprise was finding a Northern Bobwhite at Southern Gap. It has
been several years since those beautiful calls were heard here in the
county.
The third surprise, not bird related, was when Daryl Owens found tiny
mussels in a mudhole hundreds of feet above the Levisa River on Caney
Island Branch near Weller Yard.
The group of birders consisting of Don Carrier, me Roger Mayhorn, Daryl
Owens, David Raines and Lynda Mayhorn, who kept a watch on the feeders and
yard stream at home on Compton Mt, found 1 hawk species Redtails, 1 falcon
an American Kestrel, 1 plover species the Killdeer, 5 woodpecker species, 1
owl a Barred, 1 nightjar species a Whip-poor-will, 1 cuckoo, Yellow-billed,
4 flycatcher species, 3 vireo species, 4 swallow species, 3 thrush species,
all three of the mimids, catbird, mockingbird and thrasher, 15 warbler
species, 16 if the Chat is included, also the hard to find species, the
Prairie Warbler at Southern Gap, 1 tanager species the Scarlet, 5 sparrow
species, 1 lark the Horned, 5 blackbird species including meadowlarks, 1
oriole species the Orchard and 2 finch species. (The complete list is
below.)
We got a pretty good sampling of the nesting species within the county.
Thanks to all of those who participated,
Roger Mayhorn
Compton Mt
76 species
Wild Turkey 4
Northern Bobwhite 1
Green Heron 2 circling over Compton Mt, vocalizing
Red-tailed Hawk 5
American Kestrel 1
Killdeer 8
Rock Pigeon 3
Mourning Dove 37
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 4
Red-bellied Woodpecker 5
Downy Woodpecker 3
Hairy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 3
Pileated Woodpecker 2
Barred Owl 1
Whip-poor-will 1
Chimney Swift 15
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1
Acadian Flycatcher 1
Eastern Phoebe 7
Great Crested Flycatcher 1
Eastern Kingbird 1
White-eyed Vireo 2
Yellow-throated Vireo 4
Red-eyed Vireo 8
Blue Jay 4
American Crow 14
Purple Martin 10
Tree Swallow 9
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 29
Barn Swallow 7
Carolina Chickadee 3
Tufted Titmouse 6
White-breasted Nuthatch 3
Carolina Wren 4
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
Eastern Bluebird 5
Wood Thrush 9
American Robin 15
Gray Catbird 3
Northern Mockingbird 1
Brown Thrasher 5
European Starling 52
Cedar Waxwing 1
Blue-winged Warbler 1
Yellow Warbler 1
Ovenbird 4
Louisiana Waterthrush 2
Black-and-white Warbler 3
American Redstart 7
Prairie Warbler 4
Cerulean Warbler 1
Northern Parula 2
Yellow-throated Warbler 4
Black-throated Green Warbler 1
Kentucky Warbler 1
Worm-eating Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 1
Hooded Warbler 6
Scarlet Tanager 3
Eastern Towhee 5
Chipping Sparrow 1
Field Sparrow 4
Grasshopper Sparrow 14
Song Sparrow 10
Northern Cardinal 6
Indigo Bunting 11
Red-winged Blackbird 2
Eastern Meadowlark 9
Horned Lark 1
Common Grackle 10
Brown-headed Cowbird 2
Yellow-breasted Chat 2
Orchard Oriole 1
House Finch 4
American Goldfinch 179
