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The past year has been a busy one for the Buchanan County Bird Club. On October 24, 2015 twelve members of the club came to the home of David & Susan Raines in the Breaks community for their annual Sparrow Day event. October is the month for migrating sparrows and the habitat at David & Susan’s place is excellent for them.
The day began with David hearing a Great Horned Owl just before dawn. The Great Horned owl is the largest Owl in the Eastern U.S., and it’s always a treat to get to see and hear them. Shortly after 8:00 a.m. while standing near the warm fire David had going in the fire pit and enjoying some of the hot coffee, hot apple cider, pumpkin muffins and pumpkin monkeybread Susan had made available, the group heard an Eastern Screech Owl calling from a nearby hill. Even though the day was cloudy the birds were active, and 46 species were counted, including 9 sparrow species. A Sedge Wren was one of the unusual species found. The Sedge Wren does not nest in our area and is only seen here during spring or fall migration. As always at the Raines’ home the group had a very enjoyable day being out amid the fall colors, enjoying the friendship of those who share a similar interest.
On November 13 several BCBC (Buchanan County Bird Club) members made their annual trip to Hinton, WV where they were joined by friends from the Bibbee Nature Club of Bluefield. The area is a great place for waterfowl. Both Bald and Golden Eagles are usually found along the New River and around the Bluestone Dam. Four Bald Eagles were found during the day as well as six Red-tailed Hawks and 1 Cooper’s Hawk. A pleasant surprise was finding 60 Common Mergansers on the New River. The merganser is a type of duck that feeds on fish. Thirty-eight bird species were found for the day. A highlight of this trip each year is having lunch at the Hinton Dairy Queen. The restaurant is built with part of it jutting out over the New River. Large windows give great views of the ducks, herons and eagles as they wing their way up and down the river.
In mid-December of 2015 club members, Roger Mayhorn, Daryl Owens and David Raines, went to the highest valley in Virginia, Burkes Garden, in Tazewell County, to look for Bald and Golden Eagles. Bald Eagles nest there and are year round residents, while Golden Eagles nest farther north. They come down to spend the winter hunting the large open fields and pastures for rabbits and other prey animals. At one point during the day the guys had 4 eagles in the air at one time, 2 adult Bald Eagles, an immature Golden and an immature Bald Eagle. The eagles were being chased by 11 ravens, and the two species put on quite an aerial show, dodging, dipping and turning. The ravens do this at their own peril. Eagles have been known to turn quickly and grab a raven out of the air.
While birding there the fellows ran into fellow birder, Clancey Deel. Clancey has been doing a comprehensive study of the birds in Burkes Garden for the past 2 years. He has found species there that previously have not been reported. Clancey and his wife Pat have become new members of the Buchanan County Bird Club, and the club was glad to welcome them to the group.
On December 14, a hummingbird was discovered coming to a hummingbird feeder in Honaker VA. Hummingbirds have usually gone south for the winter by late September, but some western hummingbird species have been coming east in recent years, and have been known to spend the whole winter near heated hummingbird feeders. Buchanan County Bird Club President, Roger Mayhorn was contacted. Shortly David Raines and Daryl Owens went to see the bird. They photographed the bird and a hummingbird bander was contacted about coming to trap the bird to see which species it was. Some hummingbird species are very hard to identify. In some cases this can only be done by having the bird in hand and measuring the length of wing and tail feathers. In order to trap and band birds a person must spend time working with a master bander, and must have a license. Unfortunately, before the bander could arrive the bird left.
Also during the month of December the club had its annual Christmas dinner and celebrated its 14th year in existence. December is also the month for the CBC’s (Christmas Bird Counts). This count, sponsored by the National Audubon Society, has been taking place since 1909. Groups all over North America, Central America and South America participate. A group of birders divides up the sections of a 15 mile diameter circle and see how many different species can be found there in one day. In this way the Audubon Society can see how the different bird species are faring, whether the flocks are stable, or have numbers dropping or increasing. Members of the Buchanan County Bird Club take part in the Breaks CBC, the Buchanan County CBC and the Russell County CBC. Anyone can take part, even non-experienced birders. They are placed with more experienced birders for the day. On the Russell County CBC a rare bird, a Say’s Phoebe was found and photographed. Normally this bird would be found only in the Southwestern U.S. It is not known why a bird would be so far out of its normal range, but it seems to be young birds that have not learned yet where they should go during migration.
During the first week of April 7 members of the Buchanan County Bird Club and the Russell County Bird Club went to Florida to do some birding there. There are many species in Florida that are not found this far north. The group had a great week. They counted 143 species during the trip. One of the surprises of the trip was having one of the Florida Scrub Jays perch on the hats of club members Roger Mayhorn and Jerry Thornhill.
In April of 2016 The Virginia Society of Ornithology started work on a 5 year Breeding Bird Atlas. The state is divided into blocks and Virginia birders are asked to choose a block or two, and during the breeding season of the next 5 years spend some time in those areas recording evidence of birds nesting there. That information is then entered into a state database. The information will then be used to see how well the birds that nest in Virginia are doing. Several members of the Buchanan County Bird Club have signed up for this project and have participated during this past breeding season. The last Breeding Bird Atlas done in Virginia was in 1988.
On the evening of June 13 thirteen members of the Buchanan County Bird Club converged on Keen Mountain Park for their annual picnic and birding event. It was a comfortable evening, and after a picnic the group birded the park and the road to the park. Twenty-eight different bird species were found. The group was glad to have Ed and Michelle Talbott joining them again. Ed and Michelle just recently moved back to the area after having lived in Richmond, Kentucky for several years.
A sad note of the evening was finding a beautiful Black-and-white Warbler that was feeding a young cowbird 3 times its size. Cowbirds do not build their own nests. Instead they lay their eggs in other birds’ nests. The young cowbird grows faster than the other nestlings. It takes all of the food, and the other nestlings die. The parent birds do not seem to notice that the young one they are feeding is much larger than they are, and is not one of their own.
For the first time in 38 years a pair of Baltimore Orioles nested on David and Susan Raines’ property in Happy Hollow at the Breaks. These strikingly bright orange and black birds build a hanging basket of a nest, and it is an amazing thing to watch as the female weaves it using only dead grasses and her bill.
On September 17 Roger and Lynda Mayhorn hosted their annual Warbler Day event at their home on Compton Mountain. Twenty-two birders from Virginia and surrounding states gathered at the Mayhorns’ just after sunrise. They came to watch the small, feathered migrants drop down to feed and drink before continuing their long, dangerous journey southward, with many going all the way to Central and South America. Sixty species were counted for the day with 15 species of those being small, beautifully colored warblers. While some warblers do nest in our area, many of them are seen only during the spring migration when they are going farther north to nest, and then again in the fall when they are passing through once more on their way south to their wintering grounds.
Lynda Mayhorn prepared a delicious meal for everyone while some of the group brought side dishes and desserts to add to the feast.
The Buchanan County Bird Club meets the second Monday of each month at the Buchanan County Public Library at 6:00 p.m. Anyone wishing to drop by to watch a program about birds or to talk about the birds visiting his or her own yard is welcome.
Photos of some of the club’s events and of the many beautiful bird species photographed can be found at www.pbase.com/mayhorn
Roger Mayhorn
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