Some unexpected visitors for Great Backyard Bird Count

Flyways and Byways Unexpected visitors for winter bird count If you took part in the Great Backyard Bird Count sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology during Presidents Day weekend last month, you enjoyed fine weather for winter birding. Crisp, clear mornings brought lots of birds to our backyard feeders early to forage as the temperature rose.

This winter, we've seen some unexpected visitors in our backyards and local parks. Large numbers of pine siskins, a goldfinch-sized species with brown breast striping and pale yellow wingbars, were drawn to backyard thistle feeders throughout the state. Rafts of canvasback ducks were spotted near The Wetlands portion of the James River Park as well as Shields Lake in Byrd Park. Other winter rare visitors to the state included a brown boobie, a calliope hummingbird and several painted buntings.

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For the bird count, my backyard hosted many species that regularly visit, such as house, song and white-throated sparrows, American robins, blue jays, house finches, northern cardinals and juncos. While the sunflower feeders were constantly busy, two other feeders became exciting hubs of activity: a suet cage and a platform feeder with peanuts in the shell.

Peanuts brought blue jays, common grackles and a pair of red-bellied woodpeckers together as they competed for this treat. Wary at first, the three species took turns plucking a nut from the feeder, and while jays dashed to a nearby perch to peck the casing open, grackles speared the shell on the ground and pried it open to get the nut.

Suet also proved to be a prized food. During an hour, Carolina wrens, Carolina chickadees, a pair of downy woodpeckers and a tufted titmouse dropped in for a treat. Unfortunately, a gang of European starlings appeared and quickly and noisily ravaged the suet. The smaller and more genteel species had to dart in among the brawling starlings when the coast was clear.

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The highlight of my count occurred when a sharp-shinned hawk unexpectedly swooped across neighborhood backyards, scattering birds in every direction. Even our resident northern mockingbird, a crusty veteran that patrols the backyard with the swagger of an alpha dog, raced to safety. For a few minutes, there was complete silence before some of the bravest birds ventured back to the feeders.

A leisurely walk through a neighborhood park brought early signs of spring behavior. A drumline of woodpeckers beat a tattoo and called to one another through the trees, and a pair of red-shouldered hawks chased each other overhead. Eastern towhees and eastern bluebirds sang in the meadow along with an eastern phoebe that had already claimed his territory.

In the center of a cattail-filled pond, two male red-winged blackbirds displayed before a small flock of females perched in a nearby maple tree. Flitting among the cattails, white-throated sparrows and a ruby-crowned kinglet foraged in the vegetation.

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Farther afield, the Richmond Audubon Society held a bird-count walk through the James River National Wildlife Refuge, a preserve east of Hopewell that protects nesting and roosting bald eagles. A small band of birders walked several paths through the forest to the banks of the James.

It was a very quiet morning with few forest species, although we were treated to cedar waxwings, wood ducks and a pair of adult bald eagles that circled a large nest built atop an 80-foot pine tree. Although the refuge is closed to visitors except on special occasions, bald eagles are easily seen from the Lawrence Lewis Jr. Park at Wilcox Wharf, across the river from the refuge, reached from state Route 5 near the old Indian Fields Tavern.

If you participated in the count, remember to submit your numbers to Cornell at http://gbbc.birdsource.org/gbbcApps/input so we can support this worthy citizen-science project.

Contact Jerry Uhlman at .