Birding discussion in Alabama

[ALBIRDS] Talladega National Forest

Fri, 25 May 2012 12:32:16 -0500

May 24, 2012 Talladega

My husband and I went to Talladega National Forest this yesterday. Here is the list of what we saw:

Summer Tanagers male and female
Scarlet Tanagers 2 males and one female
Common Yellowthroats
Prairie Warblers
Pine Warbler
Black-throated Green Warblers
Yellow-breasted Chats
Indigo Buntings
Blue Grosbeaks
Northern Bobwhites
Dove

Debbie (BirdLady)

PS: I had a White-eyed Vireo

[ALBIRDS] Re: Sorrowful Trip(I need your help)....Jerry Jacob

Thu, 24 May 2012 12:55:05 -0500

This probably goes without saying, but looks like someone's email has been hacked. The message (copied below) is a scam. I recommend you do not respond to it.

Roy Brown (Albany & Ellijay, GA)

RE:

Sorrowful Trip(I need your help)....Jerry Jacob

I'm writing to let you know that my family and

Re: [ALBIRDS] New Nesting Species In Clay, Alabama

Mon, 21 May 2012 08:16:38 -0500

Milton
It is amazing how little we know about birds and the pace at which they can
expand and contract breeding ranges. I personally think they are always
in a state of flux as they press the limits of what we "know" to be their
range.

Re: [ALBIRDS] Neat swallow encounter and a question?

Mon, 21 May 2012 07:16:44 -0500

Greg and All
I think the answer to your question may be summed up in something that
seems basic in birds and all wildlife. It is likely ALL about food and sex.
In the case of your swallows, I suspect it is food.

Nice story. What

Re: [ALBIRDS] Neat swallow encounter and a question?

Mon, 21 May 2012 06:57:26 -0500

Greg and all,
I suspect that they are already fledged swallows that are already gathering in larger groups for the flight south. I know that a good number of my purple martins have already fledged, and that they don't stay around the original nesting sites very

[ALBIRDS] Desoto State Park today

Sun, 20 May 2012 18:27:40 -0500

Had a nice visit to Desoto State Park this afternoon. Birdwise my highlight was a Kentucky Warbler- many others have seen one or more this year, but it was a first for me. Also Hooded, Black-and-White, Prairie Warblers and Ovenbirds, a Scarlet Tanager, and a Broad-Winged Hawk. To the west

Re: [ALBIRDS] New Nesting Species In Clay, Alabama

Sun, 20 May 2012 15:02:12 -0500

Hello Bob:
I have had tree swallows nesting in martin gourds on the Tennessee River near Athens, and I had them nesting last year in a blue bird box at my farm near Stevenson.
I am in Colorado visiting my daughter and I am enjoying the broad-tailed hummers!
Keep looking,
Milton

--- On Sun, 5/20/12,

[ALBIRDS] New Nesting Species In Clay, Alabama

Sun, 20 May 2012 10:54:47 -0500

Albirders
First of all, Martha and I have not had a nesting pair of Purple Martins in
our empty and ragged old gourds in at least ten years. Yesterday I saw
both male and female apparently involved in nesting in one of the plastic
gourds.

To my

Re: [ALBIRDS] join

Sun, 20 May 2012 06:30:57 -0500

Greg,
I really appreciate you taking the time to explain, how it works and adding me to the list.
Thanks a Bunch!
Janice.

-----Original Message-----
From: Gregory J. Harber <(email address filtered)>
To: Janice Neitzel <(email address filtered)>; albirds <(email address filtered)>
Sent: Sat, May 19, 2012 9:22 pm
Subject: Re: [ALBIRDS] join

Welcome to the list, Janice.

Re: [ALBIRDS] join

Sun, 20 May 2012 05:25:07 -0500

oooooops!
Pardon the premature reply please.

My message is for those that may not know Janice Neitzel. Jan lives on
the Fort Morgan peninsula and is a regular guest at our Fort Morgan Bird
Banding Station. She is an outstanding photographer. While in our

Re: [ALBIRDS] join

Sun, 20 May 2012 05:17:37 -0500

In a message dated 5/19/2012 9:22:24 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
(email address filtered) writes:

Welcome to the list, Janice. I am almost certain that photos (or any
attachments, for that matter) are not permitted on this list serve. It serves to
protect everyone subscribed

[ALBIRDS] join

Sat, 19 May 2012 09:54:40 -0500

Would like to join the group. I've set up a Yahoo account. I'm receiving emails but am unable to open up photos.
Sincerely,
Janice Neitzel

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Re: [ALBIRDS] Passrine Migrants still?

Sat, 19 May 2012 08:24:23 -0500

Larry and Albirders
As of yesterday we still had one lone remaining Pine Siskin at our tray
feeders. This is the last of a flock of about 30 that showed up two weeks
ago. A dozen or so adult male American Goldfinches are present daily, along

[ALBIRDS] Re: FW: [Conservation] Another Chance for Public Opposition to Fracking in National Forests

Fri, 18 May 2012 23:07:22 -0500

Greg,

Thanks for bringing this drilling threat in Alabama's National Forests to everyones attention. I now realize how out of the current loop I am in relation to National Forest issues, but I went to the Wild South website to get more information. If you cannot make the

[ALBIRDS] Passrine Migrants still?

Fri, 18 May 2012 21:33:18 -0500

In my backyard this morning, I heard a singing Red-eyed Vireo and a
singing Magnolia Warbler. On May 18?

Larry Gardella
Montgomery, AL

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[ALBIRDS] Blakeley Island Mud Lakes Shorebirds (Mobile County)

Fri, 18 May 2012 21:09:20 -0500

Hi all,

I stopped by the Blakeley Island Mud Lakes property this afternoon following an Alabama Plant Conservation Alliance meeting at Five Rivers. Shorebirding is still good with large numbers of Semipalmated Sandpipers (239) and also quite a few White-rumped Sandpipers (37). Here is a sampling of birds seen:

Mottled Duck

Fw: [ALBIRDS] magnificent (yes) Turkey vulture in display. Little River Canyon, AL

Fri, 18 May 2012 14:26:14 -0500

I didn't really mean "display" to be for my benefit, but in spite of me, since
the other bird flew away. I was impressed at the display of feathers all spread
out. Others are commenting on the bird's prepping for a flight, warming up.. I
especially like to

[ALBIRDS] magnificent (yes) Turkey vulture in display. Little River Canyon, AL

Fri, 18 May 2012 13:21:58 -0500

I was just in northeast Alabama camping. I spent some time driving along the
Little River Canyon Preserve, stopping at the overlooks. At this one overlook, I
saw 2 turkey vultures, a juvenile and an adult. The juvenile bird flew away
immediately. The adult stood it ground

[ALBIRDS] Call me Crazy but

Thu, 17 May 2012 21:18:43 -0500

please include that I am just crazy about birds.

After seeing how well the birds took to the berries from my newly acquired Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry tree, I called Lowe's to see if they had another one for sale. After a few minutes wait time the man from Lowe's reply that

[ALBIRDS] Anniston Update For May 16, 2012

Wed, 16 May 2012 19:10:24 -0500

Hello Albirders,

I have 3 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. Two females and one male. I still have around 10 to 12 Gray Catbirds.

I am cover up with Downy Woodpeckers. At any given time I will see 6 to 8 of them fighting over the suet. They are so used to me that they

Re: [ALBIRDS] Misidentified Birds in the Media...

Tue, 15 May 2012 23:12:25 -0500

I still recall that commercial featuring an acorn woodpecker labelled Dryocopus pileatus.

Jud Johnston
Waynesboro, TN

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[ALBIRDS] Dauphin Island Shorebirding, May 15, 2012

Tue, 15 May 2012 19:55:25 -0500

Hi all,

I ran down to Dauphin Island this afternoon following work. Instead of checking Shell Mound Park for neotropical passerines, I went directly to the public beach to try my luck with the shorebirds on Pelican Island Peninsula. It was a leisurely 2 hour walk (didn't make it

[ALBIRDS] Limpkin

Mon, 14 May 2012 11:16:33 -0500

John Trent, Howard Horne and I looked for the Limpkin this a.m. with no luck. If you look please post a find or no find! Good Luck! Lorna West,Opelika
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

[ALBIRDS] If you see Limpkin today, call me

Mon, 14 May 2012 08:18:17 -0500

Please, if anyone sees the Limpkin today, call me. I am only an hour away from Eufala.
My phone number is 334-332-6709.

Rodney McCollum
Opelika, Al

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[ALBIRDS] The Sinks - Tricolored Heron

Mon, 14 May 2012 08:16:30 -0500

I stopped by The Sinks this morning on the way to work, hoping the weekend rain had grounded some shorebirds. Water levels are still very low, but maybe this rain extended the pond's life a few days. Peeps were plentiful. The highlight was an adult Tricolored Heron

[ALBIRDS] LIMPKIN at the Kennedy Unit--Eufaula NWR

Sun, 13 May 2012 23:45:51 -0500

Hi all,

I am posting this for John Trent who does not currently have access to the ALBirds Listserver. Any updates on this bird would be appreciated.

Good Luck,

Howard Horne
Mobile, AL

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Greetings,

Here's an update on the Limpkin sighting. It was found
this afternoon at 4:20 pm a short distance from

[ALBIRDS] Limpkin in Eufaula

Sun, 13 May 2012 17:16:05 -0500

John Trent found a Limpkin in Alabama. Eric Soehren is on his way there
to look for it.

Larry Gardella
Montgomery

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[ALBIRDS] More migrant warblers at Powder Magazine & an Uppie in Sprague

Sun, 13 May 2012 15:19:03 -0500

I thought that any migrants in the area would have stayed put after all
the rain that we had last night. Still, I did not expect to find but
maybe one or two. I was pleasantly surprised.

I started by taking a back route to Sprague Sod Farm, seeing

[ALBIRDS] Looking for a companion to share expenses

Sun, 13 May 2012 15:12:41 -0500

[ALBIRDS] Night of the Goatsuckers

Sat, 12 May 2012 23:56:00 -0500

Hello all,

I was visiting my parents over in Anniston Friday night and we decided to go out about dusk and find the two local goatsucker species on the decommissioned grounds of Ft. McCellan and the adjacent Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge which used to be part of the Fort but

[ALBIRDS] A new name for an old bird???

Fri, 11 May 2012 11:02:14 -0500

Hi all,

The American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) Checklist Commiteee publicly posts its received proposals online prior to their voting on the suggested changes. PDFs of the current pending proposals can be accessed here:

http://www.aou.org/committees/nacc/proposals/pending.php

Several proposals have the potential to affect Alabama birders.

1) Transfer House Finch and Purple Finch (and also

Re: [ALBIRDS] Brown Thrasher - Florence, AL

Fri, 11 May 2012 09:36:47 -0500

We keep brown thrashers here year round...

It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future.
--Yogi Berra

http://southgeek.blogspot.com/

________________________________
From: iamthesteph <(email address filtered)>
To: (email address filtered)
Sent: Thursday, May 10, 2012 8:10 PM
Subject: [ALBIRDS] Brown Thrasher - Florence, AL

I just added 3 photos to my album Brown Thrasher -

Re: [ALBIRDS] Re: Migration continues...

Fri, 11 May 2012 09:29:08 -0500

I had a few warblers at the Monte Sano overlook this morning, despite a 15 mph wind which made it difficult to hear and pick up movement. AND I had my FOS S. Thrush for Monte Sano in the Japanese Garden. Looking forward to more!

Milton

--- On Fri, 5/11/12, Howard Horne <(email address filtered)> wrote:

From:

[ALBIRDS] Re: Migration continues...

Fri, 11 May 2012 09:01:14 -0500

Hi Milton and fellow ALBirders,

I had another decent day of birding on Dauphin Island yesterday afternoon. This was our first big push of thrushes on the coast, so hopefully you all will be seeing them soon in North Alabama.

Here is a compilation from my visits to Shell Mound Park,

[ALBIRDS] Mississippi Kites

Fri, 11 May 2012 07:15:07 -0500

I've seen the pair of kites soaring in the vicinity of 535 Cary Dr in Auburn the last 3 days. A resident, Karni Perez and her husband saw them on bare branches in a tall poplar. She said they saw them mate 3 times. No nest located yet.

Nick

[ALBIRDS] Brown Thrasher - Florence, AL

Thu, 10 May 2012 20:10:38 -0500

I just added 3 photos to my album Brown Thrasher - Florence, AL

My first one of the season arrived mid- April. I see them at the edges of my yard in the hedges, but one doesn't often come so close to the deck. This one was under

[ALBIRDS] Re: Misidentified Birds in the Media...

Thu, 10 May 2012 12:34:46 -0500

I regularly watch the History Channel show called "Swamp People". They often show a bald eagle and stick in the sound of a red-tail hawk. Once they were just showing a scene of the wild swamp and I clearly heard a bald eagle call. I suppose the directors of the

[ALBIRDS] Re: Misidentified Birds in the Media...

Thu, 10 May 2012 11:20:25 -0500

Thanks Milton,

Hollywood certainly has their share of bird errors.

In addition to Common Loon, Peacocks are frequently used for jungle scenes and hearing their raucous calls in films where the story takes place in some remote South American setting is always entertaining.

Of course you have to include the classic scene often

RE: [ALBIRDS] Misidentified Birds in the Media...

Thu, 10 May 2012 10:39:42 -0500

That is not as bad as seeing mis-identified birds on educational signage at wildlife preserves (e.g. a photo of a Western Bluebird labeled as Eastern) and in a natural resource publication (e.g., a photo of a female Ring-necked Duck labeled as a female Mallard) in both cases published by official

Re: [ALBIRDS] Misidentified Birds in the Media...

Thu, 10 May 2012 10:29:44 -0500

My favorite is bird calls. I have heard dozens (literally) of movies in which the C. Loon call is used as an exotic sound from jungles and deserts (especially in cowboy movies).
Milton

--- On Thu, 5/10/12, Howard Horne <(email address filtered)> wrote:

From: Howard Horne <(email address filtered)>
Subject: [ALBIRDS] Misidentified Birds in

[ALBIRDS] Misidentified Birds in the Media...

Thu, 10 May 2012 09:46:30 -0500

A good thread. Thanks for posting.

One of the best examples I can recall is from my childhood. I was watching Peter Jennings on the ABC Evening News introduce a piece about the Cliff Swallows returning to Capistrano. They then cut to the video showing a flock of ROCK PIGEONS

[ALBIRDS] Re: Birding Trails

Thu, 10 May 2012 08:53:02 -0500

Early summer in 2010 the Decatur Daily newspaper had a picture of a Green Heron in one article about wildlife and the coming summer. They called the bird a Cormorant. Go figure.

--- In (email address filtered), "gwayner" <gwayner@...> wrote:
>
> Today the Times Journal newspaper ran a front page notice of

[ALBIRDS] Migration continues...

Thu, 10 May 2012 08:00:15 -0500

Hi all,

I made a brief run down to Dauphin Island yesterday afternoon. There were just enough birds at the Shell Mounds to keep it interesting. Here's a sampling from my e-bird list:

Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1 (female)
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1
Red-eyed Vireo 4
Wood Thrush 1
Gray-cheeked Thrush 1
Northern Waterthrush 2
American Redstart 2
Bay-breasted Warbler

[ALBIRDS] Birding Trails

Wed, 09 May 2012 15:25:22 -0500

Today the Times Journal newspaper ran a front page notice of the birding trails in Dekalb County, Alabama. It had a beautiful cover photo of a male Song Sparrow. The only problem was that they identified it as a female House Finch. I guess the paper doesn't

[ALBIRDS] Cedar Wax Wings

Tue, 08 May 2012 19:06:58 -0500

Since birding has been rather unusual this year,I have been paying more attention to my "patch," i.e., the confines of my acre plus yard in the Blue Ridge area of Wetumpka. I have the usual residents (five species of which nested within the confines of my patch) but I

Re: [ALBIRDS] migration continues

Mon, 07 May 2012 12:55:29 -0500

Hi there,
New to the list. Was interested in mentioning that here in Birmingham we had what seemed to be a breeding pair of Rose Breasted Grosbeaks. They came to our feeder for several days and after a while, we saw an additional young male so we guessed "baby". He

[ALBIRDS] migration continues

Mon, 07 May 2012 11:59:20 -0500

Hello All:

Birding on Monte Sano this morning (6:15-7:45) was not peak but was not too bad. Non-breeding migrants were Chestnut-Sided (3-4), Tennessee (5-6), Nashville (1), Black-Th. Green (1), and Yellow-Rumped (3-4) Warblers and Phil. Vireo (1).

Also had our usual breeding migrants: Kentucky (lots), Worm-Eating (1), and Hooded (1) Warblers and Red-Eyed

[ALBIRDS] White-Fronted Goose?

Sun, 06 May 2012 21:07:42 -0500

A small, greyish-grown goose joined the resident Canada's at Star Lake in Hoover last week. It has orange feet and beak and appears to be a white-fronted goose. I'll try to get pictures tomorrow. I've never seen this guy before and I'm wondering if my identification is correct

[ALBIRDS] Anniston Update May 6, 2012

Sun, 06 May 2012 18:41:59 -0500

Hello Albirders,

Not too much to report. I have Gray Catbirds and two female Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. Every now and then I hear a Red-eyed Vireo. My husband seen a male Yellow warbler at his shop Friday. It is located in Anniston.

May 2. 2012 I had another Waterthrush.

Debbie (BirdLady)

PS: I can's wait

[ALBIRDS] No Winter=Early Peak Migration?

Sun, 06 May 2012 16:51:59 -0500

Hello all,

Based on everybody's reports and my own experience, I wonder if the peak of migration came early and we did not realize it. We bascially had no winter this year over much of the continent, and the locally breeding neotropicals were early this year. I wonder if the