It was reported on GABO that someone heard a Veery behind Milledge Ave. Baptist Church on 6/6. Has anyone else heard any lately?

I saw my very first Blue-headed Vireo today. There was an adult feeding a fledgling on the lip of the bird bath.

Edited by author 06-06-2008 05:22 PM
Since the end of migration, I've been keeping a pretty regular watch on the nesting species in my neighborhood -- admittedly one of those horrible clear-cut/bulldozed disasters of a development. (Ed Maioriello and others, don't worry, there's no chance I'll ever approach your yard counts). My goal is to post at least 5 eBird reports per week of the species observed just standing in my backyard for at least 30 minutes. I have many House Finch, N. Mockingbird, Chipping Sparrow, a couple Song Sparrow (I'm afraid they're only bachelors, as all of the individuals I've seen have sung), a pair of Blue Grosbeak, a male Summer Tanager ... and I know that the perimeter wooded areas (which, unfortunately I don't border) have E. Towhee, N. Cardinal, T. Titmouse, C. Chickadee, B-H. Nuthatch, Pine Warbler ... So a couple of notes to share with you that Dan's post made me think about:

(1) To add to the bird-eat-bird world discussion, early this week I saw a Blue Jay with a recently fledged House Finch in the road of my neighborhood with the mother HOFI watching helplessly. At the risk of sounding a bit morbid, I have to say I found myself pulling of the Blue Jay in this one.

(2) A nesting pair of Chipping Sparrows ended up with a single Brown-headed Cowbird chick; I should ad that their nesting site was quite visible. However, I only saw the parents feeding the chick a few days (mostly on the ground) before this chick disappeared. I am hoping that one of the three loose cats (&#!*%@ grrr!) in the neighborhood took care of it ... or maybe the Blue Jay! ;-)

(2b) This week I've seen a pair of Chipping Sparrows mating. Hopefully brood #2 will be cowbird free, though I do see one or two cowbirds during most of my evening watches.

(3) Where have all the E. Bluebirds gone? Has anyone seen anywhere close to normal numbers? I easily had 10+ in my neighborhood at the end of last summer, and I've only seen a single male so far this summer. I think every bluebird house on the fence along S. Milledge is being used by House Sparrows. Isn't there a big research project at the university that is studying bluebirds? Should ORAS offer to monitor and tend to these houses? Something should be done; the House Sparrows have plenty of nesting sites to monopolize downtown, right?!

(4) I know the GABO list has had some discussion about whether the numbers of E. Kingbird are low this year. I have to say I've seen a good number around Athens and surrounding counties. Does anyone feel that numbers are down in our area? On a related note, I DO feel that there are slightly fewer E. Phoebe. In my neighborhood, I'm down from two pairs seen last year to only occasionally hearing a single, distant bird.

(5) Has anyone relocated the Yellow-bellied Flycatcher seen by Ed Maioriello on 05/31 at the Bot Garden?

(6) Other than the bird heard along Cook's Trail earlier this spring, does anyone know of a nearby Swainson's Warbler that I might be able to SEE? I'm also looking for Bobolink. I don't think I can take much of the heat forcast for the weekend (101°F for Sunday!?!), so I think I'm going to species hunt one morning this weekend.

Happy Birding!

James Neves
Athens-Clarke County

This morning I was walking to the Davison Life Science Building on campus and an American Crow dove down into one of the evergreen holly trees/bushes. Before I could even wonder why a Crow would be messing around in vegetation like that, two small Mockingbird chicks scattered out of a nest hidden in the tree. Seconds later, the crow emerged with a third chick in its mouth. Kind of depressing and disturbing, but that crow probably has its own chicks to feed!

How very interesting, Amy! I would imagine it's the same bird, maybe a youngster from down Lake Oconee way. I'm still just amazed that we saw it.

A friend of mine lives in the Lake Oglethorpe neighborhood and she has been swearing to me they have been seeing an eagle, but with no white markings. I thought they were seeing one of the vultures in the area, but when they told me they saw it swoop down for a fish I did wonder. This was probably the same bird you saw.

On Thu, May 29, 2008 at 9:46 PM, QT - eugenia <
qtopic-29-6JbdZFsuhUc6@quicktopic.com> wrote:

>



--
Amy Barbe
Athens-Clarke County
< replied-to message removed by QT >

Sometimes it pays to be absent-minded.... Today about mid-afternoon, we left to go scout my BBS route; about a mile from home, I realized I had forgotten something so we turned around. As we neared the house, we saw a very large raptor flapping across the field. I pulled in the driveway, and we both jumped out w/ binoculars. The bird was cooperative enough to circle above us for several minutes. To our total surprise, it was a juvenile Bald Eagle!!! It caught a thermal and headed off to the northeast. I doubt that it's still around but this was in the Morton Road area near its intersection w/ Old Lexington Road.

At 6:00 PM I was able to locate a Dickcissel singing on a wire across from the school. Thank you to James for the original post and to Joel for the directions.

         -Jim

Annual June Potluck Picnic

The June 5th Potluck Picnic will take place at Sandy Creek Park Barbecue Shelter (near the fishing pier) at 6:00 p.m. Please note the time change and the location change. To reach Sandy Creek Park, go north on Highway 441 beyond the nature center. Turn right on Bob Holman Road.

Bring a dish of your favorite recipe, and join us for an evening of socializing in the outdoors!

Joel,
   Thank you for the directions. I will try later in
the week.

         -Jim

Edited by author 05-26-2008 11:06 PM
Thanks, James, for posting about this wonderful spot. To get to Fortson-Compton Rd. from Athens, you take rt. 72 east and turn left on rt. 172 just past Colbert. At just about 3 miles on 172, Fortson-Compton Rd., a gravel road, splices off to the left from 172 at a slight angle. Once there, after you shortly pass Esco Rd. (on the left), the huge school complex will be clearly visible on your right. The Dickcissels (I also had 2 males) are in the unmowed field across the road from the big school complex and frequently pop up to the powerline to sing for fabulous views which will be much better if you go in the morning when the sun will be lighting them perfectly (they're backlit in the evening, as I found out). Grasshopper Sparrows are common on both sides of the road, perching on posts and weeds to sing. The school side is short, sparse, mowed grass with lots of bare soil, which makes the Grasshopper Sparrows easy to find if you don't get them teed up on posts; I had 6 in this area, and others on down the road. As James mentioned, Meadowlarks are everywhere here, and there are plenty of Bluebirds, Kingbirds, Purple Martins, Blue Grosbeaks, and Mockingbirds in the area as well (I'd be shocked if there wasn't a Shrike around too). I also had a few Killdeer, Barn Swallows, a Red-Tailed Hawk, a hidden Field Sparrow, an Orchard Oriole, and a Great Blue Heron flyover in my time there. Some Dickcissel and Grasshopper Sparrow photos can be found with some of my other recent photos at http://www.pbase.com/joelmcneal/newest .

Also, Fortson-Compton Rd. is easy to miss off of 172; if you accidentally pass it and hit rt. 98, you've gone too far. Turn left on rt. 98, and in about .75 miles you can make a left turn onto the other end of Fortson-Compton Rd. and follow it down to the school.

James,
     Could you post directions for the Dickcissel. I
am not familiar with area.

      thank you!
            -Jim

Edited by author 05-30-2008 10:43 AM
(cross-posted to GABO-L)

Happy Memorial Day!

I apologize for the length of this post, but it's about as condensed as I
could make it.

Saturday 5/24 I wandered around Madison County and points in between looking for interesting birds and birding locations. The biggest highlights were DICKCISSEL, HORNED LARK, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE, GRASSHOPPER SPARROW (heard only), RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, and ORCHARD ORIOLE.

The DICKCISSEL can be seen behind the new school off of GA 172 on Fortson-Compton Rd. EASTERN MEADOWLARK and GRASSHOPPER SPARROW are also there in abundance. Joel McNeal just called me (7 pm 05/26) to report that the DICKCISSEL, EASTERN MEADOWLARK, and GRASSHOPPER SPARROW are still at this location. This is a really great location for viewing these species.

HORNED LARK, GRASSHOPPER SPARROW, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, and ORCHARD ORIOLE were among the species encountered at the entrance to Brushy Creek Sporting Club on Moriah Church Rd. The HORNED LARK were feeding in a flat muddy area along the road and to the left of the club entrance. There's one big tree at the top of the hill; guess where the beautiful male ORCHARD ORIOLE was.

The LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE was seen in Oglethorpe County on Beaverdam Rd just past its intersection with Crawford Smithsonia RD.

A EURASIAN COLLARED DOVE was seen at 520 Covered Bridge Rd. This is the road leading to Watson Mill Bridge St. Park.

A more detailed overview of the day follows:

I started at 7:35 the intersection of Old Elberton Rd and Pittard Rd, wandering a little ways down each for about 30 min.
Highlights:

Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
Eastern Kingbird 2
Purple Martin 5
Pine Warbler 1
Prairie Warbler 1
Blackpoll Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 2
Yellow-breasted Chat 1
Eastern Towhee 1
Chipping Sparrow 7
Field Sparrow 3
Indigo Bunting 3
Red-winged Blackbird 15
Eastern Meadowlark 3
American Goldfinch 1

Wandering around Madison County Highlights ...

Route for count can be found at: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1930814
Weather: 65°to 73°, clear, calm
Schedule of location and (location codes)
8:30 Jones Matthews Rd = JMR
8:40 Moriah Church Rd = MCR
10:05 Johnny McElroy Rd = JME
10:15 Colbert Grove Church Rd = CGC
10:20 McCarty-Dodd Rd = MDR - Temp 68°
10:40 Fredd Goss Rd = FGR
11:11 Bullock Mill Rd = BMR - Temp 70°
11:16 Audie Porterfield Rd = APR
11:19 Esco Rd = ESC
11:45 Fortson-Compton Rd = FCR
12:00 End at FCR, Temp 73°

Great Blue Heron 4 JMR/FCR
Red-shouldered Hawk 1 ESC
Killdeer 1 MCR
Chimney Swift 4 CGC
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1 MCR
Belted Kingfisher 1 FGR
Red-headed Woodpecker 5 JMR/MCR/FGR
Red-bellied Woodpecker 4 MCR/MDR/FGR
Downy Woodpecker 1 MCR
Pileated Woodpecker 1 MCR
Eastern Wood-Pewee 5 MCR/ESC/FCR
Acadian Flycatcher 3 MCR/ESC
Eastern Phoebe 7 MCR/CGC/MCD/FGR/ESC
Great Crested Flycatcher 4 MCR/FGR/ESC
Eastern Kingbird 4 JMR/MCR
White-eyed Vireo 2 MCR/ESC
Red-eyed Vireo 2 MCR/ESC
Horned Lark 3 MCR
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 2 FCR
Barn Swallow 11 MCR
Brown-headed Nuthatch 4 MCR/FGR
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2 MCR
Eastern Bluebird 13 MCR/FCR
Wood Thrush 2 JME/BMR
American Robin 3 MCR
Northern Parula 1 JME
Pine Warbler 4 MCR/JME/FGR/ESC
Black-and-white Warbler 1 FGR
Kentucky Warbler 2 MCR/ESC
Common Yellowthroat 3 MDR/FGR/FCR
Yellow-breasted Chat 4 MCR/MDR/FGR
Summer Tanager 2 MCR/JME
Scarlet Tanager 3 MCR/MDR/FGR
Eastern Towhee 7 JMR/MCR/MDR/FGR/ESC
Chipping Sparrow 12 MCR/CGC/MDR/BMR/ESC/FCR
Field Sparrow 6 MCR/MDR/FGR
Grasshopper Sparrow 1 MCR - Heard only
Blue Grosbeak 4 MCR/ESC
Indigo Bunting 10 MCR/MDR/FGR
Dickcissel 2 FCR
Red-winged Blackbird 3 MCR/FCR
Eastern Meadowlark 12 JMR/MCR/CGC/MDR/APR/FCR
Orchard Oriole 1 MCR

Oglethorpe County Highlights ...
Route for count can be seen at: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1930814
ECDO seen at 520 Covered Bridge/Watson Mill Bridge Rd
LOSH seen at intersection of Beaverdam Rd and Crawford Smithsonia Rd

Eurasian Collared-Dove 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee 1
Eastern Kingbird 2
Loggerhead Shrike 1
Purple Martin 15
Summer Tanager 1
Field Sparrow 1
Eastern Meadowlark 1
Orchard Oriole 1

Yesterday in Gainesville we saw a Cooper's Hawk being harassed by a couple of American Goldfinches.

(cross-posted to GABO-L)
The Oconee Rivers Audubon Society held a trip to some spots in Union County yesterday (Saturday 24 May 2008). Although we had to work to see the precious few birds we got decent looks at, we did hear many of the expected high-elevation species we were targeting. It was apparent nesting was underway, as most stuff was already relatively quiet at Brasstown Bald and, later, at Ivy Log Gap Rd. Raptors of all sorts (including Broad-wings) were almost nonexistent, we didn't get any Ceruleans at Ivy Log Gap (didn't have time to check Gum Log Gap Rd. in the late afternoon), and we didn't get Ravens at any of the spots (they must have all 'croaked' ... sorry). A stop at the Blairsville Ingles in between yielded the single Willow Flycatcher that's still hanging on there, and a few of us passed by Sosebee Cove and found a pair of Wood Thrushes feeding 3-4 babies in a nest ~ 3 ft. off the ground (no cowbirds!). Some highlights below (BB= Brasstown Bald, IL= Ivy Log Gap Rd., BI= Blairsville Ingles, SC= Sosebee Cove):

Red-tailed Hawk 2 IL
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1 IL
Pileated Woodpecker BB, IL
Eastern Wood-Pewee 2 IL
Willow Flycatcher BI
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 4 BI
Barn Swallow 25 BI
Blue-headed Vireo 4 BB, 3 IL, 2 SC
WINTER WREN 1 BB (singing on Wagon Train Trail)
VEERY 7 BB, 2 SC
Wood Thrush 5 SC (parents and 3+ nestlings)
Cedar Waxwing 2 BB, 2 IL
Northern Parula 2 IL
Chestnut-sided Warbler 7 BB, 5 IL, 1 SC
Black-throated Blue Warbler 8 BB, 3 IL, 3 SC
Black-throated Green Warbler 1 BB, 13 IL
Blackburnian Warbler 3 IL, 1 SC
Black-and-white Warbler 4 BB, 6 IL,
American Redstart 4 BB, 17 IL, 5 SC
Worm-eating Warbler 2 IL
Ovenbird 11 BB, 9 IL, 2 SC
Hooded Warbler 1 BB, 12 IL
CANADA WARBLER 5 BB
Common Yellowthroat 1 IL
Scarlet Tanager 4 BB, 5 IL
Song Sparrow 3 BB, 2 BI
Dark-eyed Junco 10 BB, 2 SC
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 6 BB, 2 IL, 1 SC
Indigo Bunting 2 BB, 6 IL, 1 SC