Carol Garland of Unicoi contacted me via Facebook Messenger about my recent column in the Johnson City Press about bluebirds.

“I have several bluebirds in my yard this year,” Carol wrote in her message.  “I have had a couple maybe every year, but this fall I saw eight on a bush in my yard.”

She described the bush as having purplish berries.

“Bless them, they cleaned it, and I was so glad to have something they could eat,” she continued.  “I don’t know what kind it is but wondered if you would have any idea.”

I suggested that the bush might likely be either a privet, if the berries are very dark purple to almost black, or a beautyberry if the berries are a brighter, almost orchid-like purple.

Most privet plants produce masses of purple-black berries which are fairly popular with birds that spread the seeds widely. Similarly, American beautyberry, also known as French mulberry, produces large clusters of bright purple berries, which birds and deer eat, thus distributing the seeds.

Carol also asked if I knew where she could buy live meal worms for her bluebirds.

“I am going to see if I can get a couple of houses for them, but they must have some places around because they have been here most of the winter,” she added.

For mealworms, I suggested that Carol contact the Wild Birds Unlimited store on W. Market Street in Johnson City. Gardening centers might also be a likely source for either live or freeze-dried mealworms. Searching online would likely provide plenty of possibilities for acquiring this favorite protein source for bluebirds.

Eastern bluebirds are a member of the thrush family of birds, which consists of several species fond of both insects and fruit.

I also heard from Susan Peters of Elizabethton on the subject of bluebirds and other thrushes.

“I really enjoyed your bluebird column, as I am sure so many others did,” Susan wrote in an email to me. “It prompted me to check that my bluebird houses were clean and free of other occupancies.”

She added that she has seen bluebirds in her birdbath with a bit of snow on the edges of the bath. She added that she has a heater in the bath to keep the water thawed during cold spells.

“They are a wonderful winter sight,” she wrote.

“I was wondering if you thought it was possible for a hermit thrush to be in my yard under the feeders,” she also queried. “My identification skills are purely amateur, but in checking my Peterson books, I think I saw one for several days.”

She described the bird as a bit smaller than a wood thrush with a bit more olive color, a white eyering and showing spots/stripes on its breast.

“I really thought the thrushes were migratory,” she wrote.

In a reply I explained that most thrushes are migratory. In a sense, even the hermit thrush, a winter resident in the region, is migratory. It simply migrates to the area from the more northern locations that provide breeding habitat for the species.

According to Tennessee Watchable Wildlife on the website of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, the hermit thrush is primarily a winter visitor to Tennessee arriving in early October and departing by late April. The same holds true for western North Carolina and southwest Virginia.

 

The entry at Tennessee Watchable Wildlife describes this thrush as a quiet, unobtrusive bird spending most of its time foraging in the leaf litter or in berry-filled tangles at the forest edge.

Susan described seeing the thrush as a real treat.

“The hermit thrush was my mother’s favorite bird,” she wrote.

Susan wrote that her mother always called the hermit and wood thrushes “deedle-deedle” birds because of their calls.

“My hermit thrush visits under the feeders almost every morning,” she wrote in a followup email. “What a treat. Thanks again for the confirmation.”

To share sightings, ask questions or make comments, email me at ahoodedwarbler@aol.com.

 

The 2023 Great Backyard Bird Count will be held Friday, Feb. 17, through Monday, Feb. 20. This year’s GBBC will mark the 26th anniversary of this annual survey that utilizes citizen science to obtain valuable information about the world’s bird populations.

It’s easy to take part. Simply watch the feeders in your own yard or visit a favored birding spot. For instance, participants could choose to count in Persimmon Ridge Park in Jonesborough, Osceola Island Recreation Area in Bristol, Fishery Park in Erwin, Winged Deer Park in Johnson City, Orchard Bog in Shady Valley, Lake Lure in McDowell County, North Carolina or any other personal favorite birding location.
For details on how to report results of your co

unt, please visit http://www.birdcount.org and click the “Participate” menu button.
It really is as simple as counting all the birds you see and submitting your personal checklist.

Since 2013, the GBBC has been a global effort, allowing birders around the world to take part. Participants in 2015 observed almost half of the world’s known bird species, and that effort was surpassed the next year. Momentum has built ever since.

Last year, GBBC participants identified 7,099 species of birds. When you consider that scientists estimate between 9,000 to 10,000 different species of birds throughout the world, that’s a lot of coverage that the GBBC provides each year.
The GBBC is a joint project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society with partner Bird Studies Canada. With its global perspective, a great many exotic bird species are now tallied on the annual GBBC, but the survey remains firmly established as a grassroots effort to compile data crucial for the conservation of the world’s beloved birds. The information gathered by tens of thousands of volunteers helps track the health of bird populations at a scale that would not otherwise be possible.

It’s incredibly easy to take part in the GBBC. Anyone anywhere in the world can count birds for at least 15 minutes on one or more days of the four-day count period and enter their sightings at http://www.BirdCount.org. There’s no charge or fee for taking part in the GBBC, which is a fun way to observe a variety of birds. Thanks to the flexible count criteria, it is also an easy way to make a contribution to science. The data delivered by the thousands of participants is now collected and compiled by the website ebird.org.

In 2022, the GBBC continued this impressive effort. Here are some interesting tidbits from last year’s survey:
• 7,099 species of birds identified.
• 192 participating countries.
• 359,479 eBird checklists.
• 298,208 Merlin Bird IDs.
• 141,990 photos added to Macaulay Library.
• 384,641 estimated global participants.
The United States had the highest number of checklists with more than 234,000 checklists submitted from all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. California led all states with 20,191 checklists submitted. New York, Texas and Florida rounded out the top tier.

North Carolina birders helped their state rank 6th with 9,926 checklists submitted. Virginia birders can be proud that their commonwealth ranked 7th with 9,469 checklists submitted. Tennessee didn’t fare too poorly. The Volunteer State ranked 23rd with 4,074 checklists submitted.
Internationally, people living in the nations of India and Canada submitted a lot of checklists.

Over my years taking part in the GBBC, I have counted many interesting and unexpected birds, including green-winged teal, Ross’s goose, snow goose, red-shouldered hawk and Cooper’s hawk.

This year’s GBBC will be held over a four-day period, starting on Friday, Feb. 17, and continuing through Monday, Feb. 20.

Participants can count alone or join with groups of fellow birders. Those taking part in the GBBC are invited to count in as many locations as they like. The reported results will help create a real-time snapshot of where birds are distributed during the winter months. Visit http://www.birdcount.org for more details on how to take part in the 2023 GBBC.

Circle these dates on your calendar and get ready to go count birds.

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To share a sighting, make a comment or ask a question, email me at ahoodedwarbler@aol.com.