This morning our first of the fall White-throated Sparrows – two mature males –
appeared in their usual winter spot in front of our brush pile. It was kind of
a glad and sad morning – glad to see these birds who make the winter months not
so dreary but sad because with the appearance of our first of the fall
Yellow-rumped Warbler we know the end of fall migration is near. But it has
been the best fall ever in our yard. Since the first of September we’ve seen
24 species of warblers, and we only count birds we actually see and not those
we hear, 4 species of vireos, many Swainson’s and one Hermit Thrushes, dozens
of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and Gray Catbirds, many Summer and Scarlet Tanagers,
Indigo Buntings, Northern Flickers, Cedar Waxwings, and all the usual yard
birds. The Ruby-throated Hummingbirds were gone by October 1 when we took down
the last of our feeders after having fed over a hundred of them when the babies
began coming to the feeders. Since October 1 we’ve had at least one each day
and assume these are migrants. Soon we will put out a couple of feeders just
in case we could have a fourth Rufous Hummingbird follow the same migration
path the three have in previous years and want to spend the winter with us.
For some reason the birds were hyper active this morning. Several Tennessee
and Magnolia Warblers fed nonstop for over three hours and were joined by an
American Redstart and Chestnut-sided for a while. Our resident male
Red-bellied Woodpecker made at least fifty continuous trips to the feeder and
suet and this was behavior we had never seen from him. The nuthatches,
titmice, chickadees, and cardinals were feeding all morning in the weeds and
at the feeders without stopping. We both have sore necks and tired eyes from
having to constantly move back and forth to keep up with the frantic feeding.
Tommy and Virginia Curtis
Smithville, TN
DeKalb County
