The  Chat

Buchanan County Bird Club

Newsletter

       Editors Roger & Lynda Mayhorn

The Buchanan County Bird Club meets the 2^nd Monday of each month at the Buchanan County Public Library at 6:00 PM      http://www.bcplnet.org/birdclub/birdclub.htm

Volume 6   Issue 1 January 2007             

January 8 Meeting

Election of club officers was announced by Roger Mayhorn, but members decided to keep the officers that are currently in office. Roger Mayhorn remains club President, Ed Talbott III is Vice President. Lynda Mayhorn is Secretary/Treasurer.

Dues were collected from members present, and will be collected at the next meeting from those who were not present.

A program was presented about maintaining and monitoring a Bluebird Trail.

Upcoming Events

The Feb 10th outing to Burkes Garden in Tazewell County was postponed due to weather conditions until Feb 24th. This outing is to look for Golden Eagles and Rough-legged Hawks that winter in Virginia’s highest valley. Dress warmly. The cold winds there can be brutal. Bring your lunch, or plan to get a burger or hotdog at the small store in Burkes Garden. Those going will meet that morning at 8:00 at Hardees in Tazewell. Birders will car-pool from there, or from the parking lot at the Burkes Garden entrance. Those owning the small hand held FRS radios should bring them, so everyone can keep up on all of the bird sightings, while driving through the valley. 

Feb 16 – 19 Great Backyard Bird Count

During February 16–19, 2007, people of all ages, from beginners to experts, are invited to join this event, which spans all of the United States and Canada. Participants can take part wherever they are – at home, in schoolyards, at local parks or wildlife refuges. Observers simply count the highest number of each species they see during an outing or a sitting, and enter their tally on the Great Backyard Bird Count web site at www.birdsource.org/gbbc.
Visitors to the web site can also compare their sightings with results from other participants, as checklists pour in from throughout the U.S. and Canada. Together, these counts offer a real-time snapshot of the numbers and kinds of birds that people are finding, from Boreal Chickadees in Alaska to Anhingas in Florida. 

Birder of the Month Award                                                               

The Birder of the Month Award for January goes to club member Don Carrier of Bristol for getting a Whooping Crane as a lifebird on January 26. Don drove down to the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge just north of Chattanooga, TN, where thousands of Sandhill Cranes spend the winter. Among them were two adult Whooping Cranes, one of which Don photographed. (See Don’s photo). This is probably one of the Whooping Cranes that was led by ultralight plane to Florida from Wisconsin in past years. Four of the cranes are said to be wintering in Tennessee. One is said to be at Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge. Both crane species were lifebirds for Don.

Congratulations Don!

  Hunters’ Host Birding in Russell County                                                                                                      

Russell County Bird Club members, Tom and Laverne Hunter, were hosts to 16 birders on January 20 in the southern section of Russell County. Several members of the Buchanan County Bird Club, who are also members of the Russell County club, were invited to attend. Tom Hunter led the birding caravan on back country roads through open pastureland and sparse woodland. Two Loggerhead Shrikes were found in the Elk Garden area. Don Carrier took this excellent photo of one of the birds, as it sat on a power line.

A Red-shouldered Hawk, a species unusual to the area was sighted as well as 16 more common Red-tailed Hawks. 

Thirty-nine species were found during the morning. At lunch time Tom led the group back to his house in Lebanon, where he and Laverne treated the group to a great lunch.

Later some members stopped by the home of Bob Riggs, also in Lebanon, to see the female Rufous Hummingbird that is still coming to a hummingbird feeder in Bob’s yard. The bird has been there since Oct. 19, 2006. BCBC members who participated in the day of birding were Don Carrier and his son, Christian, Richard & Pam Kretz, Fred & Janice Martin, Roger & Lynda Mayhorn, David Raines, Jerry & Jane Thornhill and Dave & Diana Worley. Other Russell County Bird Club members were Bob Riggs, Tom & Laverne Hunter, Bob & Jean Montgomery.

Welcome New Club Member

The club would like to extend a warm welcome to new club member, Faye Metzl of Coeburn, VA. Faye saw the club web site on the internet and that piqued her interest. She gave Roger Mayhorn a call, expressing her wish to bird with the group on the upcoming February 24^th Burkes Garden Trip. She has since joined the club. Welcome Faye!

Birding in Panama                                                                                                     

In January club member Dave Worley went on another exciting birding trip to Central America. Here is what Dave had to say about his trip. Photos: Green Honey Creeper (right). Magnificent Hummingbird (below)

“I just returned from 15 days in Panama with Fred Alsop and 8 others.

We birded around Panama City, the Panama Canal, the Darien jungle (3 hours by dugout canoe from the last outpost of civilization), David and the nearby mountains.

We participated in the local CBC.

As a group we got over 400 species.

I thought I was going to die when we hiked 5 hours into the jungle to see a Harpy Eagle.  It was definitely a death march.  99 degrees and 99 % humidity.  We stayed in an Indian village with the natives and they were fabulous hosts.  We did see the Harpy.

Some other birds were: Ornate Hawk-Eagle, Tiny Hawk, 4 species of Trogans, Chestnut Mandibled Toucan, Savana Hawk, Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Longtailed Tyrant, Blue-crowned Motmot and many many more.

I will be doing a program for the Russel County club in March.  Lots of good pictures.

We also saw 3 toed and 2 toed slouths, howler monkeys and other amazing wildlife.

I have not got my birds into the computer yet, but expect I got over 70 lifers.”

Sparrows on Guesses Fork                                                                                                  

On Sunday, January 14 Ed Talbott III made a hike through the thickets and and weed fields of a reclaimed strip site on Guesses Fork of Hurley. This area is prime sparrow habitat and Ed found 2 Fox Sparrows, 5 or more White-crowned Sparrows and a single Swamp Sparrow. White-crowned Sparrows (right) are not found in abundance in the county, except during migration. It is a treat to find them overwintering here.

Preserving a Section of Burkes Garden

Burkes Garden, located in Tazewell County, is Virginia’s highest valley. It has been referred to as “God’s Thumb Print” because the 10 mile long, 5 mile wide, bowl shaped valley is located on a mountaintop and is surrounded by mountains.

 According to the Associated Press, some residents have decided to sign an easement with the Virginia Outdoors Foundation to keep the area from being divided and possibly turned into developments. The easement will protect 4,363 acres or about one fifth of Burkes Garden. It will restrict development and logging of the area. To quote a member of the Associated Press “The easement stretches from the floor of Burkes Garden to the crest of Garden Mountain. It holds caves, 30 odd acres of wetlands and borders the Beartown Wilderness Area for more than four miles. It restricts logging and won’t allow more than 30 houses. It bans commercial development.”

         Cerulean and Golden-winged Warblers in Danger

According to the winter issue of Bird Conservation Magazine the Cerulean Warbler and Golden-winged warbler numbers are rapidly declining. The population of the Cerulean Warbler has declined by almost 70 percent since 1966 and the decline continues at approximately four percent per year. It was not realized until 2003 that the birds wintering grounds in South America were being threatened. “On the Cumberland Plateau, a Cerulean stronghold, entire mountaintops are being blasted off to gain access to coal seams. The tons of debris created by the process are dumped into nearby streams and valleys. So far 380,000 acres of forest and 1,200 miles of streams and biologically important riparian (water related) habitat have already been lost, estimated by Partners in Flight to represent 9% of remaining Cerulean Warbler habitat. Another 9% is proposed to be destroyed by 2012 unless existing mining plans are changed”

The Golden-winged Warbler (see photo) is doing even worse. “Breeding Bird Surveys in the Appalachian region between 1996 and 2005 have shown marked annual declines; 35% per year in West Virginia, 26% in Pennsylvania and 22% in New York. The population has fallen by 9% over the last decade. It is listed as nationally threatened in Canada. Without significant and immediate conservation action, it is possible that the Golden-winged Warbler will require federal intervention in the U.S. and protection under the Endangered Species Act.”

White-fronted Geese in Russell County

On Jan 25 Bob Riggs called Roger Mayhorn to tell him that he had found 6 Greater White-fronted Geese at the “Mudhole” in Elk Garden. Tom Hunter went by there the next day just in time to see the geese flying away. The Greater White-fronted is a western species that is occasionally seen in the East. It is very similar to the gray domestic Graylag Goose that is often seen in barnyards.

Russell County Bird Club at Burkes Garden

In spite of the cold weather members of the Russell County Bird Club birded Burkes Garden on Feb.10^th. The group included Tom & Laverne Hunter, Fred & Janice Martin, Bob & Jean Montgomery Dave & Diana Worley and Diana Singleton. The group found 39 species including 5 Rough-legged Hawks, 5 Golden Eagles and 14 Red-tailed Hawks. Let’s hope the eagles and hawks are still there for our scheduled February 24^th trip there.

Hybrid Duck at Osceola Island                                                                                                                             

On Jan 26^th while Don Carrier and Roger & Lynda Mayhorn were birding Osceola Island just below South Holston Dam near Bristol TN, they discovered this unusual duck. This duck is a hybrid, a result of the mating of a Mallard with a Black Duck. This bird is a male, which is evident from the green stripe running down the side of the head. This male was in the company of a female Black Duck. While these hybrids are not seen everyday, they are not an uncommon occurrence.

On the same outing these three birders also found both Hooded and Common Mergansers, both Tundra and Mute Swans, Pied-billed Grebe (at Middlebrook Lake) American Wigeon, Ring-necked Ducks and Buffleheads. At Musick’s Campground on South Holston Lake they found Common Loons, Herring Gulls and Ring-billed Gulls.  

The Robins have Returned                                                                                              

While some Robins may spend the winter here, every year during the month of February, large flocks of Robins can be seen moving through the area as they make their way north to their summer nesting grounds. On Jan. 31^st Ed Talbott II saw a flock of about 36 near his home at Big Rock. Larry Pinson, who lives in KY near the TN border has had Robins in his yard recently. So have Johnnie & Betty Ratliff near Grundy and Roger & Lynda Mayhorn on Compton Mt (photo). Don and Dawn Carrier of Bristol, TN also had Robins on their property. Even Skip McClellan, who lives in Conroe, TX north of Houston, and is a reader of our newsletter is seeing Robins at his place.

Morris Wallace of Elkhorn City, KY took this photo of a flock of Robins (left) in the trees at his place. Shortly after, this hawk (right) made an appearance, probably drawn to the Robin flock. (The smaller objects on the tree with the hawk are Sweetgum balls.) With this many Robins moving through, spring can’t be too far away.

Red-bellied Woodpecker

This female Red-bellied Woodpecker was photographed by Betty Ratliff at her home at the mouth of Little Prater near Grundy recently. She and Johnnie feed the birds and Betty is getting quite good with her Kodak digital camera with its 10 power zoom lens.

Very Early Bluebird Nests

On Sunday, Feb 11^th Don Carrier stopped on Compton Mt. to photograph this bluebird on nest box 19, one of the 25 boxes that Roger & Lynda Mayhorn monitor on the mountain. On Tuesday, Feb 13^th Roger was hiking along the mountaintop road and stopped to peek inside the box. To his surprise he found a complete Eastern Bluebird nest. Because of this he checked the other 24 boxes on the mountain and found another nest about half completed in box no.13. This is really much too early for the birds to start nesting. If they do, the young will probably not survive due to the cold and because of the lack of insects they need for food.

Birds are stimulated to begin their courting and mating actions by more daylight due to the increasing length of the days, but it usually doesn’t result in actual nesting for bluebirds in this area until the last week of March or the first week of April. For some reason these birds seem to have gotten thrown off schedule. Let’s hope they hold off laying eggs until the weather moderates.

Another Bluebird                                                                                                                 

Larry Pinson took this photo of a male Eastern Bluebird in his yard in southern KY. Larry has had Bluebirds nesting in his yard for several years. Larry has Beauty Berries and other shrubs to help out the birds during the winter. He has recently been putting raisins on the thorns of one of his yard shrubs to feed the bluebirds during the bad weather. Good job Larry. Keep up the good work.

Grackles and Juncos at Big Rock

Cheryl Thompson of Big Rock VA didn’t used to get Dark-eyed Juncos at her feeders but now she does.

Last week she also had Common Grackles to visit her feeders. Grackles and Red-winged Blackbirds move through the area about this time of the year, so the rest of you watch your feeders. They may show up there.

Bufflehead and  Redheads                                                                                 

Don Carrier took this photo of a Bufflehead Duck at Osceola Island on Friday, Feb 9^th. On Feb 10th  he took the shot of these striking Redhead Ducks at the same location. Don had been looking for this species in the area for the past few weeks. Great shots Don.