Correction to this list. I saw a huge flock of starlings at this house, and so I am moving "starlings" from the "less" list to the "more" list. There were at one time about 20 of them, and I had to bang on a kitchen pot outside to get them to leave. Jim Blowers _____ From: va-richmond-general-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:va-richmond-general-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Jim Blowers Sent: Thursday, 2007 May 17 09:32 To: va-richmond-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [va-richmond-general] Re: Dips in certain bird populations? These are some of the birds I saw more last year than this year: Ruby-throated hummingbird Indigo bunting Downy woodpecker Brown Thrasher - lots of them last year, NONE this year! Goldfinch House finch American crows - we saw two this year, so far Starlings - except for a mating pair and their brood Grackles These birds we have seen more this year than last Tufted Titmouse Flicker White-throated sparrow (chipmunk birds) Carolina Wrens Also we saw more breeding birds than usual - a pair each of titmouses, starlings, cardinals, and bluebirds (they rejected our birdhouse, however). Jim Blowers _____ From: va-richmond-general-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:va-richmond-general-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Al Warfield Sent: Wednesday, 2007 May 16 19:50 To: feathermom_chirpling@xxxxxxxxx; va-richmond-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [va-richmond-general] Re: Dips in certain bird populations? We haven't noticed any of the birds mentioned being noticeably less numerous here. House Wrens, Blue Jays, Tufted Titmice, American Robins and Eastern Bluebirds are coming around here more than in the past, or at least as much. In fact we have our first breeding bluebirds this year. All the birds they saw declining are the ones that have adapted well to human suburban living. Crows have changed their habits now and frequent the suburbs instead of the open fields and forests like they did when I was growing up. I suppose some of them do that too. It's hard to compare the numbers, but I do remember large flocks back then - in the 50s mostly. The crows walk around on lawns now, in big trees in our neighborhood, and there seems to be plenty of them, at least American Crows. It's interesting that these particular species were affected. They are more associated with humans than the birds that are mostly found in more iolated areas. Maybe that's the connection. Al Warfield ----- Original Message ----- From: IE Ries <mailto:feathermom_chirpling@xxxxxxxxx> To: va-richmond-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2007 4:33 PM Subject: [va-richmond-general] Dips in certain bird populations? West Nile virus decimates suburban birds Excerpt: Populations of seven species have had dramatic declines across the continent since West Nile emerged in the United States in 1999, according to a first-of-its-kind study. The research, to be published Thursday by the journal Nature, compared 26 years of bird breeding surveys to quantify what had been known anecdotally. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070516/ap_on_sc/dying_birds Has anyone noticed drops in the species mentioned here? I've definitely noticed lower numbers of crows, specifically, in recent years, and wondered what others were seeing as well? Thanks. IE Ries "Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul And sings the tune without the words And never stops at all." --Emily Dickenson http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheParakeetPerch/ _____ 8:00? 8:25? 8:40? Find a <http://tools.search.yahoo.com/shortcuts/?fr=oni_on_mail&#news> flick in no time with theYahoo! <http://tools.search.yahoo.com/shortcuts/?fr=oni_on_mail&#news> Search movie showtime shortcut.