[va-richmond-general] Re: Fw: Brewer's Blackbird in Cumberland

  • From: "Jim Blowers" <jimvb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <va-richmond-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Sun, 1 May 2005 21:28:27 -0400

I just got on this board, but I have been attending RAS meetings for a
while.

The most unusual bird I have seen lately has been a towhee - probably an
Eastern one. It looked like a small robin with a white stripe on its
breast. We also saw battles over the hanging suet in our yard - between
a mockingbird and a red-bellied woodpecker, between a mockingbird and a
squirrel, and between a catbird and a red-bellied woodpecker - the
woodpecker literally flew onto the suet causing the catbird there to fly
off. For a couple of days we saw two crows near our feeder. They looked
really huge compared to the other birds. 

Jim Blowers

-----Original Message-----
From: va-richmond-general-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:va-richmond-general-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Al &
Linda Warfield
Sent: Sunday, 2005 May 01 20:57
To: va-richmond-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [va-richmond-general] Re: Fw: Brewer's Blackbird in Cumberland


Michael,

Yes your post did show up on the listserve before.

Al Warfield

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael Shapiro" <sc.tanager@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Richmond listserv" <va-richmond-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, May 01, 2005 6:19 PM
Subject: [va-richmond-general] Fw: Brewer's Blackbird in Cumberland


I apologize if you all have already seen this post, but I've been having
e-mail trouble and I have no idea if this ever posted or not. We also
saw a mob of crows harassing and dive bombing a hawk. Couldn't tell the
species but I'm guessing Red-tailed. Michael

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Michael Shapiro
To: Richmond listserv
Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2005 10:03 PM
Subject: Brewer's Blackbird in Cumberland


Hello, all-
    While leading the kids on our last nature walk of the class, we
briefly spotted what I identified as a Brewer's Blackbird. There was a
Common Grackle near-by to see a size difference, but it was overcast and
the bird was in a tree, so I didn't get to see its eyes. However, Sibley
describes the Brewer's Blackbird as being more of an agricultural and
suburban bird than the Rusty, which prefers swampy marshlands. The bird
flew from a solitary cedar tree in an open area next to the playground
and back parking lot, then flew across an open area to a deciduous tree
(wasn't focusing on the tree to tell what kind). Behind the area where
the bird was is a farm.
    I heard the bird call and sing, so I listened to recordings of
Brewer's, Rusty, and Red-winged when I got home. I'm positive that it
was a Brewer's. The "song" wasn't the least bit bubbly. It was
definitely harsh - like a creaky, rusty fence gate opening. A lifer for
me (and bird # 33 for the year for the school)!!
    I have an odd question, now, for an odd finding. One of the kids
found this strange thing growing on one of the trees. It was brown,
about three inches long, slightly curled, soft, with some "appendages"
(growths? I'm not sure how to describe them - they were like spines, but
they were soft, not
sharp) on it, about and inch or so long. I thought it might be some sort
of weird cocoon, but I honestly haven't a clue. I've never seen anything
like it before. At first, I thought it was some toy or something, but it
seems "organic." Unfortunately, I don't have it as the kid who found it
took it home with him. ANY IDEAS???
    Other observations included several Yellow-rumps still hanging
around, as well as an Ovenbird, a Fence Lizard, and hundreds of Tent
Caterpillars (the kids are obsessed with them). The beat-up Bluebird
nest box I previously reported does, in fact, have a nesting Easting
Bluebird in it. I opened the box briefly and saw mom on her eggs. I
didn't know that Eastern Bluebird's eggs are also a turquoise color
similar to an American Robin's. I doubt anyone has ever cleaned the
nestbox (it wouldn't be in such bad shape otherwise), so it's probably
an old nest being used again.

Michael Shapiro
Short Pump
sc.tanager@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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