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.bcbirdclub.org

December 11 Celebration                                                                                                      

The annual celebratory Christmas party and club anniversary celebration was held at the Bellacino’s restaurant in Grundy on December 11. This was the club’s 5^th year in existence and those attending had a very enjoyable time. The food was good. Club Secretary, Lynda Mayhorn brought a cake that she had decorated with a small bird and 5 candles. Small birding gifts were exchanged, opened and sometimes lost to others during a game of exchange. Interesting conversations took place at every table.

This celebration was in lieu of the regularly scheduled, monthly, bird club meeting. 

  BCBC Members Lose a Good Friend

Pictured here is Helen Petro (left) and her sister, Marie Miller, a beloved member of the Buchanan County Bird Club. This photo was taken at our house on Warbler Day on September 10, 2005. Helen passed away on January 4^th  2007 due to cancer. Through Marie, Lynda and I were fortunate enough to get to know Helen and to meet several members of her wonderful family. Often Marie would bring members of the family, when they visited from Connecticut, to our house on Compton Mt to enjoy the birds and a walk around our little trail. Later that afternoon we would meet at Marie’s for dinner with them. Helen and Marie always made us feel welcome, and in spite of health problems Helen always had a warm smile, and was quick to laugh and joke with Marie and us. Helen created beautiful crafts, which she generously shared. She and Lynda enjoyed each other’s company and she gave Lynda several beautiful gifts; a small angel, an elf made from a thimble and a small wooden box, which held a tiny bird nest with a miniature bird with eggs. We join Marie and her family in mourning the passing of Helen. We will miss her at Warbler Day and at our club Christmas parties.

                                                                                                                                                    Roger Mayhorn

Upcoming Events

December 8 – Regular Monthly Club Meeting at Buchanan County Public Library – 6:00 p.m.

Dues for the new year will be collected during this meeting - $5.00 per person, $10:00 per family.

It is also time for new club officer elections.  A program will be presented about a Newport News Bluebird Trail.

Feb 10 – Outing to Burkes Garden in Tazewell County. 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. The Russell County Bird Club will also be birding in Burkes Garden that day. 

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. 

New Club Web Site

The Buchanan County Bird Club web page has moved. Since the web page was first created by club vice president and web master, Ed Talbott, it has remained on the public library’s server, but the library is updating its site and now needs all of its space. Ed Talbott and Roger Mayhorn were discussing where to move the site, which would probably cost the club a monthly fee, when along comes club member, Don Carrier with a gracious offer to use space on his site for free. The Club web page has now been moved. Its new address is http://www.bcbirdclub.org/

Since Ed is very busy with pharmacology school, Don has temporarily taken on the job as web master, and has moved the web page to the new site. He has also added a couple of new features to the web page; a Guest Book that can be found off the main web page or at http://www.bcbirdclub.org/guest/guestbook.php, and a new informative and entertaining section called Birds in the News . This area has links to news stories about birds that appear on the internet. This page also has a link from the main web page or it can be found at http://www.bcbirdclub.org/bnews1.htm  You may also want to check out the new Count Game that has been added. In this simple game a flock of birds flies by, and you try to estimate how many are in the flock. This page also has a link from the main web page, or it can found at http://www.bcbirdclub.org/games/birds/index.html The club is indebted to Don for his generosity in donating the space for the club web page, and for all of his help concerning the new web site.

Birder of the Month Award                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

The winner of the Birder of the Month Award for December is Lynda Mayhorn for refinding the Gray Catbird at Poplar Gap Park during the Breaks Christmas Bird Count. A catbird had been found there in November by Don Carrier and Roger Mayhorn. There was hope that the bird was still there December 16 and could be found for the CBC. While other birders went searching down a side road looking for the catbird, Lynda searched around the top edge of the park. She found the bird among a flock of sparrows in some weeds and shrubs. The species nests in the Mayhorns’ yard so there was no doubt of the identification. Congratulations Lynda!

   Pine Warbler in Breaks

David Raines identified this Pine Warbler at his feeder on Jan 1. This was an excellent way to start off the new birding year. Pine Warblers are not normally found here during the winter months. We have only a few records of this species here during winter. This bird could easily have been overlooked because at a glance it very much resembles a goldfinch in winter plumage. The Pine Warbler has a yellow breast, but its belly and sides are almost white. A goldfinch is a uniform yellowish color underneath. The Pine Warbler also has an eye ring, and a goldfinch doesn’t. You can find more photos of this bird at http://www.pbase.com/mayhorn/new_birds&page=3  Good find David! 

Bald Eagle at South Holston Lake

Don Carrier found an adult Bald Eagle on the Tennessee part of South Holston Lake on January 3. He saw the eagle from the visitor’s center as it flew over the lake. That’s another good bird to add to a “year list”.

Christmas Bird Counts

Each year during December birders from all over the world take part in the Audubon Christmas Bird Count. The birders on a designated day search for as many species of birds they can find in one day within a 15 mile circle. This year was the 107^th year that the count has taken place. BCBC birders took part in counts in the immediate area. On December 16 Don Carrier, Roger & Lynda Mayhorn, David Raines, Johnnie & Betty Ratliff and Ed Talbott III took part in the Breaks CBC. Tom Hunter of the Russell County Bird Club came over to help. A total of 54 species were counted by the birders. The most unusual birds of the count were the Gray Catbird and Chipping Sparrow found by Lynda Mayhorn at Poplar Gap Park and the Red-breasted Nuthatch found by Tom Hunter on the Grundy airport mountain.

On December 29^th Don Carrier and Roger Mayhorn participated in the Tazewell County CBC. These two birded along Rt 16 through Thompson Valley toward Marion. They found over 40 species.

On December 30^th Don Carrier, Roger & Lynda Mayhorn, David Raines and Ed & Michelle Talbott participated in the Blackford (Russell County) CBC. The most unusual bird found by this group was a Broad-winged Hawk. That species has in past years not been found in the area during winter. This was a first for Russell County. The total number of species for that count was 54.    

Bird Club Database Exceeds 12000                                                                                    

In 2002 Roger Mayhorn created a database in order to keep records of bird sightings in the area. As club members get information to him or he gets information about the birds seen on outings he adds that info to the database. For the birds sighted he adds Species Name, Group, such as woodpecker, finch, etc, Number, Gender, Location, Weather, Temperature, Observers, Latitude/Longitude.   Just this week the number of birds entered into the database passed the 12000 mark. His hope is that by keeping these records the status of birds in the area can be known – their migration patterns, increases or decreases in their numbers, effects of habitat change - in short the health of the bird population within the area. Send him any information about birds in your area, at your feeders, etc. It doesn’t have to be just unusual sightings. The common birds are good indicators of what is happening in the area. An example: In the 1970’s Mourning Doves were not very common within the county. Now they are everywhere. Also in the 1970’s Great Blue Herons were almost never seen in the area. Now they have become almost common along the local rivers and streams. By keeping records changes of this type can be brought to our attention as they are happening.

       Common Ravens on Compton Mt

Recently Common Raven numbers seem to be increasing on Compton Mt. One or two during the fall season has been the general number found there in past years, but this year they are heard flying over every week or two. On December 9 Don Carrier flushed 5 ravens from Rt 639 on top of Compton Mt. On December 12 Roger & Lynda Mayhorn also saw 5 ravens in the same area. Whether these birds are just a small flock that has decided to settle on the mountain for the winter, or whether these increased numbers on the mountain are a trend that will continue in years to come is anyone’s guess.

Brown Thrashers Spend Winter in the Area                                                                                                                                                                                 

If you were to look at the data kept by David Raines of the birds in his area of the Breaks since 1979 you would see almost no Brown Thrashers listed there during the winter months before the late 90’s. The same would be true of the records kept by Roger Mayhorn on Compton Mt. However, after the year 2000 this species began to show up in both these areas during the winter months. One appeared at the Mayhorns’ feeders 12/28/03. In 2004 one stayed all winter at David’s place. Another appeared on Compton Mt 11/19/05 and was observed a few times throughout the winter into 2006. The bird pictured here was photographed on Compton Mt on 12/8/06. It was last seen on 1/5/07. David has one that is coming again to his feeder this winter. It was seen as recently as 12/28/06. So it seems that a few members of this species have decided to stay around the area, possibly due to the milder winters we have had in the past few years. Watch for them. They may be at your feeders or in thick shrubs or thickets in your area.

Fox Sparrow in Bristol

A Fox Sparrow appeared at the feeder of club members, Don and Dawn Carrier on December 12. This was the first time that a Fox Sparrow has ever been seen in their yard, since they have lived in that neighborhood.

Rufous Hummingbird Still in Lebanon

The Rufous Hummer that came to the home of Bob and Diana Riggs in Lebanon VA on October 19 is still there. This little female visits the Riggs’ feeder regularly. These birds are being seen more and more often. One man in Fayette County WV reported having 5 at his feeder at once this winter. You can read a story about the hummers in the Charleston Gazette at

http://www.wvgazette.com/section/News/Wild+&+Wonderful/200701063?pt=0

Warbler Records for 2006

As most of you know Roger Mayhorn keeps records each fall of the warblers that pass through the Mayhorns’ property. This year was no exception. Though he didn’t get to observe as often as he had wanted, he still managed to watch 31 days from August 24 through October 9.  During that time 25 species of warblers stopped by their yard.  Following is the list of warblers by numbers, from most numerous to least:

Tennessee Warbler                       105

Palm Warbler                                 4

Black-throated Green Warbler      27

Blackpoll                                        3

Yellow-throated Warbler               27

Nashville Warbler                          3

Magnolia Warbler                       24

Cerulean Warbler                           2

Blackburnian Warbler                   21

Northern Parula                              2

Chestnut-sided Warbler                 21

Pine Warbler                                  2

Hooded Warbler                            18

Black-throated Blue Warbler         1

Bay-breasted Warbler                    12

Canada Warbler                              1

American Redstart                           8                   

Cape May Warbler                         1

Common Yellowthroat                    8

Ovenbird                                         1

Black-and-white Warbler                7

Yellow-rumped Warbler                1

Blue-winged Warbler                      4

Yellow Warbler                              1

Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) in Tennessee

Club member, Richard Kretz took this photo of a striking Wood Duck on a farm pond not far from Interstate 81.

In several birders’ opinions this is our area’s most beautiful duck.

Wood Ducks can often be found in the backwaters of lakes, on small woodland ponds and streams.

Richard was very fortunate to get this photo because, as a general rule, Wood Ducks are very skittish and fly at the first sign of humans nearby.

Wilson’s Snipe (Capella gallinago) in Tazewell County

Congratulations to Todd Perkins