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The
Buchanan County Bird Club meets the Volume 3 Issue 1 January 2004 |
 Dec. 8 MeetingThe December meeting of the BCBC took place at the Italian Village restaurant in Grundy. After a good meal topped off with a club anniversary cake made by Lynda Mayhorn, and chocolate cake provided by Orpha Woods, members exchanged bird, or birding related, gifts including bird feeders and bird books. One nice gift was a book of John James Audubon’s well known bird prints. Marie Miller’s sister, Helen Petro, who has been visiting Marie, attended. This Christmas and anniversary meeting is becoming a club tradition. The next club meeting will be Monday, Jan 12 at the Buchanan County Public Library. |
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Christmas Bird Counts Several members of the Buchanan County Bird Club participated in CBC’s ( Christmas Bird Counts ) during the month of December. Each count covers a 15 mile diameter circle. Birders cover the different areas of the circle to find as many species as possible in one day. Ed & Michelle Talbott took part in the Elizabethton, TN CBC on Dec. 14. As part of the count they hiked parts of the Appalachian Trail in the Pond Mountain Wilderness and Watauga Lake area. Their total for the day was 37 species. Ed & Michelle had planned to stay for the upcoming Roan Mountain CBC but because of icy conditions they canceled those plans.
On Dec 27 Roger & Lynda Mayhorn, David Raines and Ed & Michelle Talbott took part in the Blackford CBC of Russell County with members of the Russell County Bird Club. Roger & Lynda and David Raines birded the section along Sword’s Creek and Rte 640 toward Lebanon, while Ed & Michelle birded the area around Laurel Bed Lake at about 3000 feet elevation. The total for the day with all areas included totaled 63 species.
Also on Jan 3 Bristol club member, Wallace Coffey, participated in the Glade Springs CBC. Wallace, along with 6 other birders, covered an area south of I-81 and an area south of the Middle Fork of Holston River in Washington County, VA. The group logged 55 species on a day with beautiful weather. The evening before the group met in Damascus for a Pizza dinner. The group got to see a slide show presented by Andy Jones of his recent ornithological research in Russia. |
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Interesting Events Lynda Mayhorn, while driving by the Levisa river near Royal City on Dec 12, saw a large dark bird flying with long neck extended forward with long legs trailing at the back. This bird was a Sandhill Crane. These very large birds at 46 inches tall are about the same size as a Great Blue Heron. One major difference in these two species is that during flight the Great Blue holds its neck close to its body in an S curve. The Sandhill Crane, on the other hand, extends its neck fully when flying. This is only the second recorded sighting for this species within the county. In the 1980’s Roger Mayhorn saw one at a very high altitude near the Bend of Slate Creek on Rte. 83. |
 Purple Finches’ Numbers
IncreaseThe number of Purple Finches at the Mayhorns’ feeders on Compton Mt has increased from 11 to 15. Other than the three House Finches in the foreground the raspberry colored birds in this photo are Purple Finches. The striped brown birds with the white stripe above the eye are female Purple Finches. These birds seem to come more readily to feeders at higher elevations throughout the county. In addition to the Mayhorns, David Raines in the Breaks community has them at his feeders, but Ed & Michelle Talbott, who live in the lowlands near the Levisa River do not have them visiting their feeders. Pine Siskins are also showing up occasionally at local feeders. Picture of male Purple Finch |
| On Dec 12 Ed Caudill saw 2 Ruffed Grouse on Smith Branch of Slate Creek as well as 5 Eastern Bluebirds. On Dec 17 he found 16 Wild Turkeys on Slate Creek. He also found a Great Blue Heron on Slate Creek, and on Elkins Branch he saw a Belted Kingfisher. |
 Birding Grundy Airport AreaTwenty-four species was the number found on a reclaimed stripped site near the Grundy Airport, when Todd Perkins, David Raines ( right ) and Roger Mayhorn birded the area on Dec 31. The three decided to look over the area after David Raines had taken a quick look at the spot on an earlier visit. The area has excellent habitat for sparrows, Eastern Bluebirds, Eastern Towhees and Winter Wrens. It also looks promising for Blue-winged and Golden-winged Warblers during the breeding season. Another more recent stripped section of the site looks promising for Grasshopper Sparrows, Horned Larks and possibly Northern Harriers. The day started out cold, but sunny and turned into a great birding day. There are some other promising spots yet to be explored in the area. |
| Ed & Michelle Talbott with their dog Chazzie spent New Year’s Day birding the reclaimed strip site and county park on Enoch’s Branch. The two logged 27 species including 6 species of woodpecker; Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Pileated Woodpecker. They also found a Brown Thrasher, Eastern Bluebirds, an Eastern Meadowlark and 30 Horned Larks (at Poplar Gap Park). |
| On December 12 a male Rusty Blackbird showed up at the Mayhorns’ backyard pond. The bird poked around the edge for a few minutes then left. Later on December 17 a female appeared in the same area. Rusty Blackbirds are seen only occasionally in the county, and only during winter. |
| While coyote hunting at his uncle’s farm in Dickenson County on Dec. 27, Todd Perkins called up a Cooper’s Hawk, a Red-shouldered Hawk and a large flock of crows. |
 Injured Cooper’s HawkThe morning of Dec 23 a neighbor of Johnnie & Betty Ratliff at Little Prater brought Johnnie an injured Cooper’s Hawk that he had found near his backyard. He said that the hawk was found with a pigeon that it had caught. The hawk had apparently flown into a wire  or branch after catching the pigeon. Johnnie then called Roger Mayhorn, who then contacted Bob Riggs in Russell County. Bob told Roger to contact the Sheriff’s Department in Grundy so that they could contact the local game warden, who would then come by and pick up the injured raptor. This was done, and after several more phone calls instructions were given for the bird to be brought to the Sheriff’s office. Roger and Johnnie then put the bird in a cardboard box and deposited it at the office. The bird was then taken to the vet in Lebanon,
VA. A few days later Roger called the vet’s office to see if the hawk had survived. According to the vet’s office the hawk had survived, and was being transferred to a rehabilitation center, where hopefully it will recover.
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The following article is a reprint from an earlier issue of the newsletter, but considering the cold and snowy conditions we are experiencing, it is a good idea to reprint it here. By making this birdbath heater Roger & Lynda Mayhorn are providing water for birds when other sources are frozen. The Eastern Bluebirds, Goldfinches, House and Purple Finches are all using it.
 This heated bird bath is a good way to keep water for the birds from freezing during cold weather. The base is a terra cotta flower pot with a hole in the bottom.An electrical cord is run through the bottom of the pot to an outlet. On the other end is a socket with a flood lamp. The birdbath sits atop the flowerpot. The heat from the lamp keeps the water from freezing. As a safety measure the cord should be plugged into an outlet that is connected to a ground fault breaker. This eliminates the danger of possible electric shock. |
 The Abundant Mourning DoveMany of you are having Mourning Doves come to your feeders, especially when the snow covers the ground. Like the rest of us you have probably noticed that their numbers have increased in the area over the past couple of decades. After studying their nesting habits one can see why. Mourning Doves nest in all of the lower 48 states. They prefer open areas with fields especially agricultural areas and tend to stay away from heavily forested areas. They travel in flocks but pair off during nesting season. Mourning Doves may nest as many as six times in one year in the warmer parts of their range and may nest during every month of the year. The male Mourning Dove starts his cooing song during early spring. Once he has a mate he chases her constantly. The male brings twigs to the female. The female then creates a small loosely built nest, which normally contains two eggs. The male usually incubates the eggs during the day and the female covers them at night. Their protected territories are small, usually including only the area immediately around the nest. The parent birds feed their young crop milk, which is a secretion of the crop lining. The male produces much more of this substance than the female. This allows the male to continue feeding the young, while the female begins the next clutch of eggs. The young are usually flying at about 15 days old, but the male continues to feed them for another couple of weeks. By the time the two young leave, the female may have already started the second round of nesting. Because Mourning Doves are so prolific they have become one of the most abundant birds in North America. They are so abundant that some states allow them to be hunted as a game bird. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in 1990 there were 475 million Mourning Doves in the U.S. About 70 million are harvested annually. These birds have benefited from man’s influence. Their numbers have increased across the country as Americans cleared and planted the land. However, take a moment to look at the other side of the coin. If we didn’t have the flocks of these soft brown birds gliding in to feed at our feeders, or hear their cooing in the spring, bird watching and feeding just wouldn’t be the same. |
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Western Hummer Comes to Visit
On December 20 the Breaks CBC took place after a heavy snow of 12 to 13 inches at higher elevations.
Ed & Michelle Talbott and David Raines ( pictured below ) were the only birders to make it to the birding circle. The three made it to Beaver Knob near Elkhorn City, KY where they waded a foot of
snow and found several species of sparrows, including Savannahs and Lincoln’s. They were surprised to find a large number of White-crowned Sparrows, which are unusual visitors to the county during winter.
Other club members, Ed & Mary Talbott and Johnnie & Betty Ratliff, kept lists at their feeders within the circle. The Talbotts in addition to other species had 200 American Goldfinches at their feeders and Johnnie & Betty Ratliff had 21 species at theirs. The Ratliffs picked up a couple of species that the other birders did not get, including the Selasphorous Hummingbird. The total for the Breaks CBC was 52 species, which was excellent for the weather conditions and the number of birders in the field. Congratulations to those who were able to
participate. A write-up and pictures of the Breaks CBC can be found at 
On Jan 3, Ed & Michelle Talbott participated in the Mt. Rogers CBC. They birded White Top Mt. They found only 13 bird species, but the scenery was
beautiful. The two did get to experience Black-capped Chickadees up close. Black-caps are usually found at 1800 feet elevation or above but occasionally do come lower. They are also usually tamer than Carolina Chickadees. Their song is also much slower than the
Carolina’s. A write-up and pictures of Ed and Michelle's hike can be
found at