The Chat
Buchanan County Bird Club Newsletter
Editors Roger and Lynda Mayhorn

The Buchanan County Bird Club meets the
2nd Monday of each month at the
Buchanan County Public Library at 6:30 PM

Volume 3     Issue 5     May 2004
 

April 12 Club Meeting
The April 12 club meeting was an open house meeting. An invitation was placed in the local newspaper, The Mountaineer. Seventeen people were in attendance. Refreshments were served. Bird Houses built and donated by Johnnie Ratliff were given as door prizes. Ed Talbott showed some of his great birding video, and Roger Mayhorn did a Power Point presentation using some of his digital bird photos. David Raines showed video that he had taken of a Cattle Egret in the Breaks area, a new species for Buchanan County.

Birch Knob Outing 
On April 10th several members of the Buchanan County Bird Club drove to Birch Knob in Dickenson County to see and use the new observation tower recently opened there. The new metal facility, winds its way 183 steps up the face of a large cliff. The view from the top is spectacular, and will be an excellent hawk watching spot. The group spent most of the day there, and were joined for part of the day by Bob Riggs of the Russell County Bird Club. They were treated to great looks at Red-tailed Hawks, Osprey, Turkey and Black Vultures and Blue-headed Vireos. More photos of the site can be seen at http://www.bcplnet.org/birdclub/events/Tower.htm
Peregrine Nest Site Search
David Whitehurst, Allen Boynton, Ed Talbott and Roger Mayhorn spent the day on April 20 in the Breaks Interstate Park, looking for possible release sites for young Peregrine Falcons. David and Allen are members of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. They are hoping to be able to release some Peregrines in the area sometime in the spring of 2005. The area still has to be monitored beforehand to make sure that Great Horned Owls are not in the area. These large owls would kill and feed on young falcons. The group also took a look at the vertical cliff overlooking the site for the new town of Grundy. That area looks promising as well. Peregrines once nested in the Breaks Area, so it would be fantastic to see them nesting there once again.
Bluebird Trail Update
Johnnie & Betty Ratliff took on the task of checking on the Compton Mountain Bluebird Trail for a couple of weeks, while the Mayhorns and the Caudills were on a trip out West. They found 44 nestlings the first week. Three of those were Carolina Chickadees. They also found one nest of Tree Swallows. Unfortunately, during the second week they found five dead bluebird nestlings in one of the boxes in the Mayhorns’ yard. A dead adult bluebird was found under one of the apple trees nearby. Since then House Sparrows have been seen hanging around the nest box, and it is believed that they are responsible for the death of the adult bluebird, which caused the young bluebirds to die of starvation or hypothermia. House Sparrows will peck to death young bluebirds and sometimes adults. Johnnie and Betty’s help in monitoring the bluebird trail is very much appreciated. David Raines reports that there are around 35 young bluebirds and 20+ eggs in the nest boxes of the Johnnie & Betty Ratliff trail at the Breaks. That brings us to a total of about 75 young birds and 40+ eggs at this time. Barring any great predation or catastrophe of nature, it should be a great bluebird year for Buchanan County Bluebirds.
New Species for Buchanan County
On April 12 David Raines received a call from his neighbor, Ed Bailey, telling him that there was a white bird in his field. David quickly went there and found a Cattle Egret feeding on nightcrawlers. This species is common farther to our south, but this is a new record for the county. This species has not been documented here before. Thanks to Ed Bailey and congratulations to David for adding a new species to our growing county database. 
Western Trip
The Mayhorns and the Caudills just returned from a two week trip to the Western U.S. They visited Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama. In addition to some sightseeing they also did some birding. They had a total of 210 species for the trip. The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (left) is the state bird of Oklahoma and was photographed at Foss State Park near Clinton, Oklahoma. Roger Mayhorn took lots of photos and got 30 new lifebirds. Some of the more interesting species seen were the California Condor in the Grand Canyon, the Phainopepla, a black bird that has a crest like a Cardinal, Bullock’s Orioles, the Vermillion Flycatcher, Swainson’s Hawks, the Crested Caracara, Acorn Woodpeckers, the Gila Woodpecker, the Gilded Flicker, Bewick’s Wren, the Curved-billed Thrasher, the Mexican Jay and the Painted Redstart. 
On April 13 Ed and Michelle Talbott and Michelle’s mother, Shirley Justus went birding on Guesses Fork near Hurley, VA. They found several newly returned migrants: Black-throated Green Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, an Eastern Phoebe, a Winter Wren, 2 Blue-winged Teal and 4 Swamp Sparrows.
Also on the 13th in pouring rain Roger and Lynda Mayhorn found 3 Blue-winged Teal on the Compton farm pond on Compton Mountain. Later that day, during a break in the rain, Roger checked the bluebird nest boxes on the Mountain Top Golf Course. In addition to finding 26 bluebird eggs in 21 nest boxes, Roger also found 2 Yellow-throated Warblers, a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, 2 Blue-headed Vireos, 5 Field Sparrows, 5 Chipping Sparrows, 8 Eastern Bluebirds and 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet.
Purple Martins
This flock of migrating Purple Martins showed up at the martin house of Johnnie and Betty Ratliff on April 14. Johnnie was hoping that the birds would stay, but they left the next day, probably on to their way to their home colony farther north. Since then Johnnie has had other martins visit his house. Finally 4 martins have moved in. It looks like they are going to nest there.Meanwhile, Roger and Lynda Mayhorn are still waiting for their first martins in their martin house. Sometimes it takes several years for martins to get established in a new house, but once they do they are loyal to that area, and usually return to it every year.
When the heavy rain turned David Raines’ field in the Breaks into a temporary marsh on April 14, he was treated to the sight of a Solitary Sandpiper that dropped out of the sky to rest and feed. The bird allowed David to approach within 20 ft or so, for a great look. These birds are fairly common in areas with large amounts of water. This species is often seen on strip site mudholes or ponds, and on Laurel Lake at the Breaks Park.
 

Vesper Sparrows at Poplar Gap Park
This Vesper Sparrow was one of a flock of 5 found and photographed at Poplar Gap on April 15 by Ed Talbott III. This not so common species is not easy to photograph, as it has a tendency to hide in the grass.

On April 16 Johnnie Ratliff found a pair of Carolina Chickadees nesting in one of his nest boxes in his back yard. He had seen the birds coming and going from the box and suspected that the pair was preparing to nest. Upon looking in the box he found the nest made mostly of moss and plant down with eggs already in the nest.
A pair of Yellow Warblers returned to the Mayhorns’ yard on April 17. There is usually one pair and sometimes two, that nest in the trees in the yard. They have since been observed carrying Dandelion fluff to the top of a maple in the backyard, so this is probably their new nest site.The same day a male American Redstart was seen and heard in the yard. Two males have been singing in the area since that date and are believed to be nesting close by.
Ed Caudill heard his first Wood Thrush of the season and several singing Ovenbirds on Hobbs Branch on the morning of April 17.
 

Ed and Michelle Talbott birded Bull Mountain on April 18 and found  5 warbler species as well as Wild Turkey, Ruffed Grouse, Gnatcatchers, Vireos, Scarlet Tanagers, and Red shouldered, Red-tailed and Broad-winged Hawks. You can see more about their outing at http://www.grundynet.net/talbott/birding/hikes/Spr04/BullMt2.htm 

The first Chimney Swifts of the season were observed by Ed Talbott III at the Buchanan County Public Library on April 19. Ed also heard a Wood Thrush in the same area.
Roger Mayhorn saw the first Eastern Kingbird of the season over a neighbor’s hayfield on Compton Mountain on April 19. The same day he had 4 Pine Siskins and a couple of Purple Finches at his feeders. When the Mayhorns returned from their western trip on April 8 Pine Siskins were once again at their feeders.
David Raines heard the first Whip-poor-will of the season on April 17. He also saw his first Barn Swallow of the year the same day.
 

Baltimore Orioles
While Roger was away from home on April 20 Lynda Mayhorn saw two beautiful Baltimore Orioles come into the cherry tree just outside their kitchen window. Using Roger’s camera, which she had never used before she took the photo at left. This was the first sighting of this species of the season.Roger saw his first Red-eyed Vireo of the season the same day.

On April 20 David Raines found his first Northern Parula and his first Ovenbird of the season in the Breaks Park.
The first White-eyed Vireo of the season was seen in an apple tree at the Mayhorns’ on Compton Mountain on April 21.
The first of the season Common Yellowthroat was heard by David Raines at his home in the Breaks on April 21. The open bushy fields with a stream running through them near David’s place are ideal for this species. 
International Migration Day
May 8 Ed and Michelle Talbott outdid their last year’s record for the number of species found within the county. They went from 79 species last year to 82 this year. Their biggest surprise was finding an American Pipit and A Bobolink at Poplar Gap Park. Ed and Michelle had also birded Guesses Fork on April 25. The Kentucky Warbler (right) was photographed that day. To see more photos and more about their outing go to http://www.grundynet.net/talbott/birding/hikes/Spr04/Guesses1.htm
On May 9 Sheldon and Orpha Woods had a Brown Thrasher, a Northern Flicker and a Ruby-throated Hummingbird at their feeders not far from Lover’s Gap.
 
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