Cool air, turning leaves and wooly worms, all signs that winter is just around the corner.  I have been blessed to be in and thru more than 20 counties in Kentucky over the past two weeks, and I don’t think you could find any prettier scenery.  With the leaves beginning to turn, I believe we live in one of the prettiest regions for these showy colors.   On a recent retreat to Lee County, I saw several deer, turkeys, 4 pileated woodpeckers (what a treat), squirrels, a skunk, opossums, rabbits, vultures, blue jays, robins, cardinals, crows, doves, starlings, blue birds, eastern meadowlarks, mockingbirds, a red tailed hawk, killdeers, kestrels, chickadees, titmice, wrens and 3 blue herons.  I would have had much more success if I’d remembered to take my binoculars.  I always beat myself up when I get a chance to bird watch and I’ve left my binoculars in another vehicle. 

If you haven’t invested in a good pair of binoculars, you’ll be surprised at all the little features you’re missing.  My purchase of a good pair came 4 years ago, has been well worth the investment.  I don’t know how many times I’ve been out with someone and they asked to use them and are amazed how far binoculars have advanced.  I’m not talking $200.00 binoculars or as one friend has $2800 ones, but I think mine are excellent.  Come by the store and try ours out.  They are a must for serious bird watchers and wildlife enthusiasts and you gain so many details and realize the different birds you’re seeing and calling something else.  Abi, our granddaughter, who is four years old, takes mine and adjusts them rather quickly.   Another must is a bird book.  I love the Stokes Field Guide to Birds, and even Abi is getting accustomed to looking for the pictures of something she sees.  These are lifetime items, and are definitely a great addition to your “favorite things list”.    There are several different editions and several different types to choose from.  The Stokes Field Guide for Birds is an actual picture guide.  Others, such as the Sibley Field Guide is another favorite.  It has drawings, some with aerial views of what you see when you look at birds in flight.   These are a great gift for someone who loves to watch birds in their backyard, neighborhood, or as you travel.   All these are great Christmas gifts as the season approaches, for you, or the serious bird watcher in your family.

We’re always being asked about hummingbird feeders.  “Do I need to take my feeder in so the hummingbirds will not stay here and freeze?”   The answer is no, please don’t take your hummingbird feeders down.  The hummingbirds that are moving thru are from up North, and are desperate for food to help them store up for their migration.  Most of the flowers they would rely on are already gone.  As of October 16^th, there were sightings in Lexington, Kentucky and on October 12 in Tyner, Kentucky.   Let us know of any sightings.  They must gain between 25 and 40% more than their actual weight to have fat stored for the 600 mile trip across the ocean to the Gulf of Mexico.  They have been tracked migrating over land at 23 miles per day and this is not strenuous for them. While hummingbirds generally consume up to twice their body weight per day, in migration a hummingbird that typically weighs one tenth of one ounce will typically add .07 ounces for their flight.   This is like eating Thanksgiving dinner every day of the week for two months (that would amount to a 40% weight gain very quickly).   Every feeder that they find with food helps them to store the required food to help them toward their flight.  Also, when they find feed at your feeder, they will be back next year, as shown by bandings of birds that have been tracked.  So you should have additional visitors next year for your extra work this fall.   On extra chilly nights you might want to take the feeder in so the water won’t be so cold when they come for a morning feeding. 

Just enjoy this beautiful fall time and be sure to enjoy nature.     

PURPLE MARTINS HEADED SOUTH

We have had another successful year with martins in our boxes.  Lots of our customers have come by or called to tell us that they too have had more luck this year than in the past.  Now it is time for them to migrate south.  Where do they go?  When do they leave?  Where do they stay the winter?   These are some of the questions we are frequently asked.

Some surprising information that I have just discovered came thru my email from friends who love birds and live and bird watch in Lexington and surrounding areas.  As frustrating as computers can be, I find myself using it more and more to keep in touch with friends and to keep in touch with groups from nearby counties that enjoy bird watching.   One such group I found is part of listserve.com which has members from London and all over the state of Kentucky and the world.  One fellow bird watcher that I’m in contact with is Jim Williams who was with several birders that visited the Lexington Martin roost on Friday, August 12^th, 2011.  The roost is in the tree line adjacent to the Channel 27 building (west side) on Winchester Road a short distance east of the 1-75 – Winchester Road intersection.  The building is on the left as you go east.  You can’t miss their tower. Jim and several other observers stated that there were thousands of martins along with a significant number of Starlings, (possibly 10,000 or 20,000) martins.   Mosquitoes and small winged bugs look out.  The martins are known to gather in these roosts as they work their way south in the late summer.  Generally the roost is located by watching the weather service radar about dawn when they leave the roost.  The birds didn’t start coming in until at least 8:15p.m.  The site is http://radar.weather.gov.  You might want to try this from your area, as it has been mentioned that there is a large roost which is at Exit 25 near the underpasses, near Cracker Barrel, in Corbin, which includes lots of martins.  I’ve always noticed lots of starlings but never gave it a second thought that martins and starlings roosted together. Over the years, here at the store, we’ve learned so much about the birds in our area and their habits, and with lots more to learn, I’m always fascinated when something like this comes along.  Gleaning that information thru the internet is always exciting (I can’t believe I said that).  Another friend Ed Talbot, was at Lake Linville in Rockcastle County on August 27^th and spotted a Bald Eagle, while David Lang and friends, birding in Scott county,  spotted a black billed cuckoo, a redstart, a couple of blackburian warblers,  a prairie and a Tennessee warbler, which are good signs of the fall migration beginning.   These sightings encourage me to be on the lookout for different birds.   One of your best tools to spotting new birds is a good pair of binoculars and a field guide.  Both tools help you to identify and get more familiar with the birds and wildlife in your backyard.  These tools help us realize that often there is lots of birds coming thru that might not stay here and nest but that we have an opportunity to see at our feeders and in our surroundings. 

I’m do not dread winter, but as the leaves turn and fall from the trees and the colors begin to fade, it is always a lift to see a bright feathered friend on a welcome visit to our backyard feeders.  Now is the time to clean your feeders and get them ready for the winter feedings.    Wash with a wire brush and a mixture of ¼ cup bleach to 1 gallon of water.   It is also time to check your winter bird baths to make sure they are clean and consider buying a heater for those cold days.  My husband is already trying to turn the heat on at our house, so I know winter is approaching.  

Beautiful Days Lead to Lots of time outdoors

Red Headed Ducks and American Coot

Was by the Laurel County Library Ponds this morning and saw two male red headed ducks and an american coot on the pond.  How beautiful.   Also saw several 6 bluebirds, a mockingbird, and 20 crows.   If you're by the library they were there today and yesterday so there's a chance they'll be there for a little while.  They are well worth the time to see.   

A fellow bird lover, Ed Talbott, of Richmond,  reported for his trip to Lake Reba, in Richmond, Kentucky, a Snow Goose, Bubblehead Duck, Hooded Mergansers, Common Goldeneye, Northern Shoveler, Ruddy Ducks and Lesser Scaup as well as Canada Geese, Coots and Mallards on January 22, 2011.  

He also counted 107 ruddy ducks, 2 bufflehead, lots of coots, several mallards and 25 + pie billed grebes and a single ring-billed gull on January 25th, with 75% of the lake covered with ice. 

So if you're in the area, these are great places to stop and enjoy. 

Killdeer

With wind whistling and snow flying, I was on our way home on KY 1006, when a bird flew across the road in front of us and landed in some large gravel.   It was a killdeer, common in Kentucky yet uncommon to this area at this time of year with the amount of snow and cold we have had recently.  Shore bird, or snow bird, that was the question when I saw this poor little killdeer flying from water hole to water hole and wading into the icy cold after something to eat.  I probably watched for 10 minutes as it worked feverishly with the snow flying around it, the only thing that kept this water from freezing was that it was running slightly.  Scenes like this make me ever aware of how difficult this weather is for the birds, yet how they are also prepared by God to survive.  

People who travel south to warmer climates are called “Snowbirds”, originating from the song “Snowbird”, made popular by Anne Murray:  

             “Spread your tiny wings and fly away

              And take the snow back with you

              Where it came from on that day ……..

              So, little Snowbird, take me with you when you go

              To that land of gentle breezes where the peaceful waters flow”

I don’t know if you’re truly a snowbird, if you leave the cold, but to have a little shorebird here in the middle of winter made me think twice about how we complain about the cold.  With the prospects of  beaches, mud flats and oyster beds, verses snow, wind, icy water and more of it to come, you would think it would have moved south.   Surely it will find enough food to give it the energy to move on to a warmer climate.

Wilson Snipe

This species, an upland bird, measures close to 11" and is one of the few shorebirds that can still be hunted legally. It stays well hidden in ground cover, flushes abruptly, and zigzags sharply in flight, which make it difficult to shoot and therefore a favorite among hunters. They perform a spectacular aerial territorial display in which the feathers of the tail produce an eerie whistling sound. Although the Wilson's Snipe generally migrates in flocks at night, during the day the birds scatter and usually feed alone. They seek food early in the morning and in late afternoon, and seem to be more active on cloudy days. They use their long bills to probe deeply in the mud to find small insects such as earthworms, crayfish, mollusks, frogs and even seed.

Breeds in bogs, fens, swamps, and around the marshy edges of ponds, rivers, and brooks. Forages in marshes, wet meadows, wet fields, and the marshy edges of streams and ditches.

Cool Facts:

The long bill of the Wilson's Snipe is flexible. The tips can be opened and closed with no movement at the base of the bill. Sensory pits at the tip of the bill allow the snipe to feel its prey deep in the mud.

The clutch size of the Wilson's Snipe is almost always four eggs. The male snipe takes the first two chicks to hatch and leaves the nest with them. The female takes the last two and cares for them. Apparently the parents have no contact after that point

The nest is a neat, woven cup of grass placed on the ground, often in hummock of grass close to or surrounded by water.

"A Birding we will go"

a birding we will go,  hi- ho the dairy- o’ a birding we will go”.  That’s practically what we’ve been singing for the last few weeks.   On the 18^th of December we had the pleasure of taking part in the first official Christmas Bird Count for Williamsburg, KY.  We traveled over 89 miles and spotted 77 species.  Among the 77 species that were seen, the most favored by our crew was the Wilson’s Snipe we spotted as were looking for a belted king fisher that was serenading us, on Tidal Wave Road. We sat mesmerized and in disbelieve for about 20 minutes as they never moved from their spot, allowing us to get lots of good pictures.  I don’t know about you, but snipe hunting was always joked about when I was a kid.  The old prank was a practical joke that involves experienced people making fun of credulous newcomers by giving them an impossible or imaginary task, along with a preposterous method of catching it, such as running around the woods carrying a bag or making strange noises such as banging rocks together. 

   

On December 31^st 2010. We did the 3rd Official Annual London Christmas Bird Count, as a group we saw 66 species, and amazingly we saw and photographed two more snipe off Ky. 521.   We just feel tremendously lucky and blessed at all the species we saw.   The numbers were down quite a bit in water birds, but we had a great day in our 15 mile radius which included, Levi Jackson, some of Wood Creek, and Laurel Lake as well as many country roads, neighborhoods, and cemeteries.   We were joined by the Somerset Bird Club, a local teenager, Carlo Shivel, from London, and Dave Powell a gentleman from Floyd County.   We had several people from the community stop by Burkmann’s Backyard Birds to pick up checklist to participate in their own backyard if they lived within the 15 mile radius that we had designated.  The dead line for those checklist to be turn in to us is February 1^st 2011.

The last Christmas Bird Count we participated in was on January 1^st 2011, Carlo Shivel, Dave Powell and several other groups met in Nancy, Kentucky at 7:30 a.m. to do the count with the Somerset Bird Club, On that day the group saw a total of 88 species, no snipe unfortunately, but we did get several ring billed gulls, a gadwall, lots of great blue herons and several Canada geese.   By 5:30 p.m. it was just getting dark and we met to collect our numbers.  

What a great way to end a year and start a New Year, doing something we love and adding species to our life lists.