Buchanan County Bird Club Newsletter
Editors Roger & Lynda Mayhorn
Helping The Purple Martins
Sometime in February David Raines noticed that the Purple Martin House at the Willow Brook Country Club was leaning precariously, probably the result of the strong winds in the area during the recent, rough winter. David had seen martins using that house last year and realized that the birds would have a problem using it in that condition. David brought up the subject at the February club meeting and proposed that the club volunteer to repair the house or replace the pole that held it if necessary. Buchanan County Bird Club members agreed and David contacted the board members of the country club to offer the bird club's assistance. It was accepted, so on April 1st David and I went to the country club to make the necessary repairs. We soon found that the triangular aluminum pole that held the house was not broken, but just badly bent. We removed the top section of the pole with the house on it and carried it to a nearby forked tree. By placing the pole in the fork of the tree and applying pressure we were able to straighten the pole. Soon we had the house back in place in its correct, upright position. The martins should be able to nest there now with no problem of young falling from a leaning house. In addition we were able to get permission for BCBC members to bird the golf course in the future.
Roger Mayhorn
Hooded Mergansers
On April 2nd Lynda and I drove by a neighbor's farm pond and found that three female hooded mergansers had dropped down to rest during their northward migration. This was a first for that species on Compton Mt. As I was taking photos I noticed a large koi or goldfish swimming near them. Judging from the size of the mergansers that fish had to be at least 36 inches long. When I later mentioned the fish to the farmer, he said he had put some fish in the pond some years before but didn't realize that any had grown that large.
Roger Mayhorn
First of the Season Black-throated Green Warbler
David Raines heard the distinct song of a male Black-throated Green Warbler, while hiking on a mountain top near his home on April 2nd. This was the first of that species to be found in the area this spring. David lives in the Breaks community in Buchanan County.
Unusual Salamander
This Four-toed Salamander was found in our yard on Compton Mt on April 3rd. It was near the yard pond. According to the internet these salamanders live in wooded areas but return to water to lay eggs. This is the first time I have ever found this species in this area.
Roger Mayhorn
Checking the Bluebird Boxes
My wife Lynda and I met with Marie Miller and Eddie Farmer on April 4th at Keen Mt Park to show them how to check the bluebird boxes there. Marie, with Eddie's help volunteered to check the boxes there on the Early White Bluebird Trail during the breeding season. They will be gathering info on the species using the boxes. Sometimes other species such as Tree Swallows, Carolina Chickadees or Tufted Titmice use the nest boxes. The info on each species concerning the number of eggs, the number of young, the number that fledge from the boxes, etc is all recorded and in the fall. As county coordinator I will send a form showing all of this info for all of our bluebird trails to the Virginia Bluebird Society. This information helps the Virginia Bluebird Society and the North American Bluebird Society help determine how the bluebird populations are doing.
Roger Mayhorn
Broad-winged Hawk Nest
Mike Sanders of Bristol found this Broad-winged Hawk's nest on April 11th while birding in the Breaks Interstate Park. He saw the pair of hawks still working on nest construction. I took this photo on April 24th. This hawk is probably incubating eggs.
Roger Mayhorn
Purple Finches Still Here
This male Purple Finch sharing the feeder with a male Cardinal was part of a small group of Purple Finches who were regular visitors at our feeders here on Compton Mt from April 12th through April 15th. The species was rather scarce during the rough winter but has shown up in good numbers during the spring.
Roger Mayhorn
FOS Northern Parula
The First Of the Season Northern Parula was found by David Raines and his father Ernest on April 13th while hiking the Laurel Branch Trail in the Breaks Park. Later that evening David heard his first Whip-poor-will near his home on Middle Fork of the Breaks community.
Birder of the Month Award for March 2010
At the April Meeting of the Buchanan County Bird Club I presented David Raines (right) with the Birder of the Month Award for finding the most returning spring migrants during the month of March.
There should be another award presented to David and his wife Susan because on April 27th the two became grandparents. David ad Susan's daughter Hannah and her husband Brandon presented them with a healthy 7 lbs 8 oz granddaughter named Quinn Patricia Sawyer. Congratulations to the whole Raines family.
Roger Mayhorn
New Club Member - Welcome!
A new birder came to the April 12th Buchanan County Bird Club meeting. Chuck Stiltner a Buchanan County native who grew up in the Grundy area, attended Grundy High School and Southwest Community College, became the newest member of the BCBC.
Chuck, who lives near Airport Road, has always been interested in the outdoors and the natural world. He now wants to learn more about birds. Welcome Chuck!
Blue Jay Invasion
Every spring the Blue Jays on their way northward stop over at local feeders to feed and to harass other birds. This year their numbers seem to have increased dramatically. Don Carrier in Bristol has had several. Here on Compton Mt we have had several flocks numbering from 15 to 20. The flocks at David and Susan Raines in the Breaks are numbering up to 30 or more. Chuck Stiltner said he had as many as 50 on his property. Try feeding that many Blue Jays and you soon run out of food. Though colorful, fortunately the flocks eventually move on toward their breeding grounds in the Northern U.S. and Canada, leaving only a few in the area to nest and raise their young.
Great Egrets Found in Breaks
On April 7th David Raines received a call from a neighbor telling him about the sighting of two large birds he had seen near a small pond. David went to investigate and found two Great Egrets. Later David and his father, BCBC member Ernest Raines, (right photo) went back to view the birds. Until a few years ago there were no records of this species within Buchanan County. Even now there have been just a few recorded sightings, but their occurrence does seem to be increasing..
Bluebird Nesting Begins
Near mid-April Bluebird Trail monitors Marie Miller, David Raines, my wife Lynda and I, on our weekly nest box check, looked to see how the Eastern Bluebirds were doing in the more than 70 boxes on the 4 different Bluebird Trails throughout the county. Marie found 3 nests containing 11 Eastern Bluebird Eggs. David found 11 nests containing a total of 49 Bluebird eggs, and Lynda and I found 8 nests containing 35 Bluebird eggs. Ninety-five eggs is a good count this early in the season, though sadly the hatch rate is never 100%, and not all of those that do hatch will live to fledge.
Roger Mayhorn
Dining In Style
The robins and other birds that feed at Johnnie and Betty Ratliff's house on Little Prater are definitely leading the good life. They are fed grape jelly from wine glasses. Several bird species enjoy grape jelly and Johnnie found that plastic wine glasses attached to a piece of wood make excellent feeders for it. Judging from this photo taken by Betty, the glass rim makes a great perch while the bird feeds. Johnnie and Betty have been feeding jelly to birds for several years. Their problem now is keeping enough jelly on hand and keeping the wine glasses filled.
Returning Hummers
Johnnie and Betty Ratliff usually have the first reported hummingbird of the year each spring in the county. Living at a lower elevation and near the river where the flowers bloom earlier and the insects hatch out earlier, it makes sense. Hummingbirds feed on both. The Ratliffs had their first hummer this year on April 4th.
This male Ruby-throated Hummingbird (photo) showed up at our place here on Compton Mt on April 14th which falls within the dates when they usually arrive here on the mountain. The male immediately staked a claim to the feeder we had out and was soon in battle with some of the other hummers that arrived later. There is another feeder around the side of the house just out of his perch sight, and no matter how hard he tries, he can't control both.
Roger Mayhorn
Birding a New Area
On April 11th after dropping the "womenfolk" off at David's daughter's baby shower, David Raines and I decided to do some birding. We drove up into New House Branch, which is just across Slate Creek from the Appalachian School of Law in Grundy. It was rather surprising that within a couple of minutes of driving that branch you find yourself away from the town and onto a climbing mountain road in good bird habitat. After driving for some distance we decided to park the vehicle and hike. At the top of the mountain the road runs into a level, reclaimed strip site which has a variety of habitats. We had only a short time to bird; it was late in the afternoon, and we found only 13 species. The most unusual species was a Rusty Blackbird that we were surprised to find. That is not a common species found in the county. The area looks good for future birding outings.
Roger Mayhorn
White-throated Sparrows - Leaving
This White-throated Sparrow was observed and photographed on April 17th by BCBC member Jerry Thornhill of Rosedale, VA. This wouldn't have been unusual had it been earlier in the year, but it is at this time that the White-throats start growing their bright, breeding plumage, begin singing and start disappearing as they head for unknown climes farther north. We saw our last one here on Compton Mt on April 20th, though we have had them later than that in years past.
The Grosbeaks are Back
The first male Rose-breasted Grosbeak officially arrived in the area on April 17th when BCBC members Ann and Grady McCrae of Bluefield WV saw one at their feeder. The bird was still hanging around the next day. On April 26th the McCraes had 5 male Grosbeaks and one female.
The first one to show up in Buchanan County was at David and Susan Raines' place in Breaks on April 27th. According to David the bird's arrival is now linked to the birth of their granddaughter that day. He said that in the future he will look for that species on her birthday.
The first of the season Grosbeak came to our feeder on Compton Mt on April 30th. Thanks to Ann McCrae for sending one our way, as she promised.
Chickadee Nest Box - Inside
HHouse Sparrow On Nest Box
The Dark Side of Nature
For a couple of weeks in mid-April I watched as a pair of Carolina Chickadees tried to decide where to nest. They spent time looking over the bluebird nest box near the yard pond, but were driven off by the pair of bluebirds, though they weren't nesting there, still considered it theirs. The chickadees finally decided on the bluebird nestbox in the backyard, since it was unoccupied and unguarded. They worked hard carrying moss until they had filled half the box with it. I wondered just how many hundreds of trips it took those tiny birds to carry that much moss. They then brought soft strands of fur and lined the top and the cup where the eggs would be laid. There were some stressful moments for them when the Tree Swallows, also looking for nesting sites, swooped down to examine each of the nestboxes on the property. The chickadees chattered angrily, but there was little they could do as they watched from a tree a few feet away. Fortunately for the chickadees the Tree Swallows finally decided on another box on the other side of the house.
On April 20th I was mowing grass in the backyard, and as I passed the chickadees' nestbox I looked down to see a dead adult chickadee lying in the grass under the box. I checked the inside of the box, but the nest was only slightly disturbed. I was puzzled as to which predator had caught the chickadee inside the box and killed it. I couldn't believe that the Tree Swallows had done this. They had already chosen another box. Besides I had never heard of Tree Swallows being that vicious. Obviously the predator was not one that intended to eat the chickadee since the bird was left on the ground. Its mate was nowhere to be found.
A couple of hours later I was working in the side yard and heard the distinct chirping song of a House Sparrow. I looked up to see a male House Sparrow perched on top of the chickadee box, singing with gusto, in an attempt to lure in a female with which to share the box. So this was the culprit. I had seen this type of behavior from House Sparrows in the past. Sometimes a whole family of bluebirds would fall prey to this fellow - adult bluebirds killed, eggs broken or young pecked to death.
I read somewhere that in the early 1800's Eastern Bluebirds were nearly as common in the Eastern U.S. as House Sparrows are today. That may be a bit of an exaggeration, but in any case it didn't take long, once the House Sparrow, actually a finch, and European Starlings were introduced into the Americas for the bluebird populations to begin to drop. Those bright blue male bluebirds, scrappy though they can be in defense of their nests, were no match for these European invaders.
I thought of this and of this harsh aspect of nature as I watched the male House Sparrow continue to sing. I decided that even though the House Sparrow had taken the box I would not allow him to nest there. I would do whatever it took to get rid of him. After removing the chickadee nest and scaring away the House Sparrow a few times he didn't return. I left the box empty, waiting for another pair of chickadees, a pair of bluebirds or Tree Swallows.
In situations like this we often think of nature as being cruel, but nature is not cruel, nor is it kind. Nature is blind and deaf to those who are a part of it. Nature in all of its magnificence just is.
Birding the Breaks Park
Don Carrier, David Raines, Lynda Mayhorn and I (Roger Mayhorn) birded the Breaks Interstate Park on April 24th. It was a beautiful spring day to be out. One interesting part of the park we birded was the Garden Hole, which is a part of the Russell Fork River that flows through the park. We logged 46 species for the day including the Green Heron pictured here and a Spotted Sandpiper in the same area. We were surprised to get a male Summer Tanager, our first of the season and a bird that is not commonly found in the area. We had 9 warbler species including our first Blackburnian of the season and our first Louisiana Waterthrushes. The other warblers found were Black-and-whites, Black-throated Greens, Hoodeds, Northern Parulas, Ovenbirds, Pines, and Yellow-throated Warblers.
Unusual County Visitor
On April 25th David Raines looked out to see a Blue Grosbeak feeding among the many Blue Jays at his feeder. This is only the second record of this species for Buchanan County. The Blue Grosbeak is somewhat smaller than the Rose-breasted Grosbeak which is more commonly found in the county during migration.
A New Yard Bird
BCBC members Don and Dawn Carrier live in Bristol TN. Since they live in town they don't get quite as many species in their yard as do some of us who live out in the country. On April 27th they were pleased to have their first ever Indigo Bunting in their yard.
The Indigo Bunting is a bit smaller than the Blue Grosbeak and doesn't have the large, thick beak nor the rufous color on the wings.
First Of the Season In Ohio
BCBC member Dan Kendrick, who lives near Cincinnati Ohio in Adams County, heard his first Yellow-billed Cuckoo on his property on April 26th. Later that same day he also heard Wood Thrush, Common Yellowthroat and a Prairie Warbler.
FOS Redstart
The First OF the Season American Redstart appeared in our yard here on Compton Mt on April 27th. It must be the same male that was here last year because he has staked out the same maple tree near the backyard where he and his mate raised a brood last year. He is constantly feeding and singing along the lower edge of the yard and keeps me company while I do yard work. Isn't springtime great!
Roger Mayhorn