Buchanan
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Buchanan
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Volume 7 Issue 3 May - June 2008 | ||
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First Recorded Snowy Egret in Buchanan County
On May 27, 2008 Ed Talbott II and his wife, Mary, found this Snowy Egret (left) on the Levisa River near Buckeye Hollow not far from the VA/KY state line. They called their son Ed Talbott III and he drove down and found and photographed the bird. Later Ed III left me a phone message about the discovery. Lynda and I drove down and found the bird feeding in the river, where I took this photo. Michelle Talbott also got to see the Egret shortly after. Of course this species has undoubtedly been here in the county before, but this is the first documented account of it. On the right is a photo of Ed & Mary receiving their Birder of the Month Award for May from the BCBC president.
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Blackpoll Warblers Appear in Buchanan County
An unprecedented number of three Blackpolls showed up in the county during spring migration. Previously there were only 3 spring records of the species within Buchanan.
I (Roger Mayhorn) found one on the Mountaintop Golf Course here on Compton Mt on May 7. Ed Talbott III found one at Weller Yard on May 8. I found another while hiking Rt 639 on Compton Mt on May 20. There were no spring records of the species in the county prior to 2003.
David Raines also heard one singing at Richlands in Tazewell County on May 18. |
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Orchard Orioles Nesting on Compton Mountain?
While Orchard Orioles are not uncommon to Buchanan County they are not found as often as they might be in surrounding Russell, Tazewell or Washington Counties, which are less heavily wooded, a more open habitat these birds seem to prefer. They are even less common on Compton Mountain, where a nesting pair has never been recorded. The male (left photo) still in his subadult or immature plumage showed up at our house on Compton Mountain on May 1. The female (right) did not show up until several days later. According to D.A. Enstrom of the University of Illinois, subadult Orchard Oriole males (yearlings) do mate and nest, but are not as successful as the males with adult plumage. Even though I have not found the nest for this pair, the fact that they are still here this late in the nesting season, that they are often seen together, and that they seem to spend a great deal of time in certain trees in the backyard indicates that they may be nesting. Another male, an adult this time, was found singing on June 9th about 3 miles from this first pair, so there may be more than one pair nesting on the mountain, if that is actually what is happening. |
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Swainson's Warbler Found On Caney Island Branch
Michelle Talbott found a Swainson's Warbler a few miles west of Grundy near Weller Yard on Caney Island Branch on June 8. For those who don't know, Caney Island Branch is the hollow just across the road from Weller Yard at the west end of Weller Yard bridge. Michelle and husband Ed often bird this hollow, and have found other interesting birds like the Lawrence's Warbler in April of 2002, so they would have found this species earlier if it had been present in previous nesting seasons. It will be interesting to see if the species is still present in that area in future, or if this bird was just passing through. Good find Michelle! |
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Rose-breasted Grosbeaks Pass Through the Area
Rose-breasted Grosbeaks showed up at several feeders in the area during the spring migration. Jerry and Jane Thornhill had their first ones of the season when two came to their feeder at Rosedale on April 12. After that these colorful birds showed up throughout the rest of April and May at feeders in the Breaks area, Compton Mt, and Lebanon. Tom and Laverne Hunter in Lebanon had their first Rose-breasted Grosbeak at their feeder in five years. Four, two males and two females, came to their feeders. The birds then moved on to higher elevations where they prefer to nest. |
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Club Trip to Magee Marsh
During mid-May six members of the Buchanan County Bird Club and friends made the club's annual trip to Magee Marsh, a part of the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, in northern Ohio on the shores of Lake Erie. The birds pause here during their northward migration to rest and feed before crossing Lake Erie. It is here that birds otherwise seen only at tree top level can be viewed close-up, often at eye level. The group had a great trip with 143 species found. Some got lifebirds. Those on the trip were Don and Dawn Carrier, Dan Kendrick, Roger and Lynda Mayhorn, David Raines, Neil Smith and Steve (Kip) Sweeney. More photos of the trip can be found at http://www.pbase.com/mayhorn/magee_2008
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Late Purple Finches Purple Finches were found in the area later this spring than in previous years. Tom and Laverne Hunter had a male Purple Finch at their water tray in Lebanon in Russell County on the 18th of May. On the 19th they had both a male and a female.
I photographed this Purple Finch here on Compton Mt on May 24th, 2008. That is a new late date for the species in the area. This bird was only here for a part of that day before moving on. |
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Cape May Warbler
On May 4th, David Raines came home to find a male Cape May Warbler like this one singing in the Norway Spruce in his yard. We don't see a lot of Cape Mays passing through the area in the spring, but in the fall they seem to come through in higher numbers.
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Cerulean and Kentucky Warblers
Ed and Michelle Talbott have gone on several outings this spring, and have found some really good birds. At Guesses Fork they found several singing Cerulean Warblers, and at Caney Island Branch they found ten Kentucky Warblers. On May 24th they found a late Yellow-rumped Warbler. Michelle found 12 Warbler species on Caney Island Branch on May 25th. The photos of some of their outings can be found at the following addresses: http://www.pbase.com/aquilaet/guesses6 http://www.pbase.com/aquilaet/bbcbreaks http://www.pbase.com/aquilaet/caney19 |
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BCBC June Meeting
On June 9th the Buchanan County Bird Club held its regular monthly meeting in the beautiful Breaks Interstate Park instead of its regular meeting place at the Buchanan County Public Library. The group first met at 5:00 p.m. at a picnic shelter in the park to have dinner and to take care of some club business. Afterwards the members hiked the Loop Trail looking and listening for birds. The birds were not very cooperative that late in the day but there were several plants blooming along the trail including Rhododendron, which grows abundantly in the park . Those in attendance were Ed and Barbara Caudill, Roger and Lynda Mayhorn, Marie Miller, David Raines, Ernest and Shirley Raines, Johnnie and Betty Ratliff, Ed Talbott II and Mary, Jerry and Jane Thornhill, Sheldon Woods. Photos of the outing can be found at http://www.pbase.com/mayhorn/bcbc_breaks_6_9_08
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Whip-poor-wills
Whip-poor-wills have been rather scarce in parts of Buchanan County in recent years especially in the eastern part of the county. On the night of May 16 David Raines and I did a drive around Compton Mountain and the area toward Peapatch to see if we could hear any.. On Compton Mountain 5 Whip-poor-wills were heard calling near the Mountaintop Golf Course. Three and possibly a fourth were heard calling at once. David has been hearing several in his area of the Breaks this spring. Cheryl Thompson had reported hearing one in late April near her house on the Levisa River at Conaway. |
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The Year of the Locusts 2008 was the year of the 17 year locusts or cicadas. The first ones were seen crawling out of the ground and onto trees and other vertical objects on May 21. They then climbed onto trees where they emerged from their brown wingless shells (exoskeletons) as white soft looking insects, which after some time hardened into the darker adult cicadas ready to fly and mate. They emerged by the thousands and the din was almost deafening. In places of thick concentration birds songs were almost lost completely in the noise. Nevertheless, the birds had a feast on them. I photographed this Yellow-throated Vireo (right photo) as it was feeding on one in our backyard. Several body parts of the cicadas were found in Eastern Bluebird nests as evidence that they were feeding them to their young. By late June the cicadas had pretty much run their course. Their dead bodies could be seen where they fell and died after having mated and laid their eggs in the tips of branches. The dead leaves on the branch tips marked the spots where the cicadas had deposited their eggs. The branch tips soon began falling to the ground where the cicada eggs will hatch and the young larvae will go into the ground to wait another 17 years before emerging again. |
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