Fellow Birders,
Today, Oct. 17, several species were active here on Compton Mt. The breeze of
the early morning saved the mountain top from the first heavy frost that
blanketed the valley.
The first birds that caught my eye this morning, when I looked out the kitchen
window at the feeders, were three WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS, 1 adult and two
immatures. Moments later the first PURPLE FINCH of the season was feeding on
the platform feeder with the sparrows. It was a female, or an immature male.
On my morning walk around the yard and field I was pleasantly surprised to find
a BLUE-HEADED VIREO in a dogwood tree. A GRAY CATBIRD was still hanging around
in the poke berries and was joined there by 5 EASTERN BLUEBIRDS a MOCKINGBIRD
and 16 CEDAR WAXWINGS. The RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH that has been in the area for
the last week or so was heard amid the branches of a large white pine.
A RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET fed in the pear tree and as I stood still, it fed within
6 or 8 feet of me in the lower branches.
A RED-SHOULDERED HAWK flew by overhead and YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS fed on the
Poison Ivy berries near the top of an old apple tree.
When I returned to the house there were 7 PINE SISKINS on the platform feeder,
the first ones I had seen in the yard this year.
At one time during the day there were over 100 CHIPPING SPARROWS feeding on the
lawn and in the field. Though there was one that was lighter colored than the
rest, I wasn't able to get a good enough look to determine if it might be a
Clay-colored.
Later in the day a BARRED OWL was heard calling from the nearby woods, and
just at sunset a PALM WARBLER made an appearance in the backyard.
The complete list follows.
Enjoy the birds,
Roger Mayhorn
Grundy, VA
Buchanan County
34 Species
American Crow 8
American Goldfinch 5
American Robin 11
Barred Owl 1
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Blue Jay 1
Carolina Chickadee 3
Carolina Wren 1
Cedar Waxwing 16
Chipping Sparrow 110
Downy Woodpecker 1 (f)
Eastern Bluebird 5 (2m,1f)
Eastern Towhee 3
European Starling 8
Gray Catbird 1
House Finch 4 (1m, 3f)
Meadowlark 1
Mourning Dove 5
Northern Cardinal 3(m)
Northern Flicker 1(m)
Northern Mockingbird 1
Palm Warbler 1
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Pine Siskin 7
Purple Finch 1 (female or imm m) 1st. of the season
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Song Sparrow 5
Tufted Titmouse 3
White-breasted Nuthatch 2 (1m, 1f)
White-crowned Sparrow 3 (1 ad, 2 imm)
White-throated Sparrow 3
Yellow-rumped Warbler 8
Chipmunk 1
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