Tag Archives: Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Calling cuckoo brings back some birding memories

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Photo by Peter Pearsall/USFWS • A yellow-billed cuckoo perches horizontally along a bare tree branch. The species feeds prodigiously on a variety of caterpillars.

I heard the low, gulping call of a yellow-billed cuckoo concealed by a dense curtain of green on the ridge behind my home on Sunday, July 26.

The hidden caller reminded me that this bird has acquired the nickname “rain crow” for consistently calling prior to summer downpours.

The yellow-billed cuckoo migrates a great distance to spend the summer months hidden in the dense green canopy of our local woodlands. Cuckoos spend the summer months in southern Canada and across most of the United States, but the bird’s winter range extends as far south as Venezuela and Argentina. They make a roundtrip journey of about 5,000 miles every spring and fall.

In pursuit of their favorite food – caterpillars – the yellow-billed cuckoo provides a public service, removing hairy tent caterpillars and their unsightly silk tents from the branches of various trees. I certainly applaud these efforts. Only a handful of birds feed on these caterpillars, with the yellow-billed cuckoo being the first and foremost consumer of these pests. The cuckoo has a voracious appetite for these caterpillars.

Photo by USFWS • A yellow-billed cuckoo selects a surprising open perch for a bird known for its reclusive nature.

Staking out tent caterpillar nests would seem a good way to increase the chances of seeing these elusive birds. Personally, it’s never quite worked out that way. My best – and first – sighting of a yellow-billed cuckoo is now buried 30 years back among my birding memories. I saw the bird perched in a gnarled peach tree that once stood only a few yards from my home.

Another memorable sighting took place on Fripp Island, South Carolina. That bird, observed from a golf cart, shared a tree with a scolding blue-gray gnatcatcher. The discrepancy in the sizes of the tiny gnatcatcher and the large cuckoo was striking. I genuinely feared that the cuckoo might attempt to snack on the smaller bird.
Other sightings have taken place at Roan Mountain State Park, Winged Deer Park in Johnson City, Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park in Elizabethton and Douglas Lake in Cocke County.

In addition to sightings of live birds, some readers have reported window strikes to me, usually because they’re unable to identify the bird that suffered a sad demise after impacting a window.

The yellow-billed cuckoo is a large bird, which an observation in close quarters emphasizes. This bird can reach a length of nearly 12 inches, but much of that length is composed of its long tail. It easily matches the size of such familiar birds as blue jay and American robins.

The yellow-billed cuckoo has a long, streamlined body and a brown and white plumage. The underside of the tail features large white dots and the wings show some rusty-red feathers. The bird also has a large, curved beak that gives the species its common name.

I hear these birds every summer, but my sightings amount to perhaps a couple every decade. I’m sure I could see more cuckoos with extra effort, but this bird would still present a challenge.

Europe’s common cuckoo is famous in folklore and fairy tales for slipping its eggs into the nests of other birds. While the yellow-billed cuckoo does this on occasion, it is not in the same league as nest parasites such as brown-headed cowbirds.

Two other cuckoos spend time in the United States. The black-billed cuckoo is also found in Northeast Tennessee, but this species is even more difficult to locate than its yellow-billed cousin.

I’ve only seen black-billed cuckoos on a few occasions. My best and first sighting involved a bird that briefly perched on a snag along a hiking trail at Johnson City’s Winged Deer Park. I managed to get my binoculars on the bird long enough for a memorable look. I’ve also seen this species at Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park and at Hampton Creek Cove in Roan Mountain.

Another species is the mangrove cuckoo, a bird that in the United States resides only in southern Florida while also ranging the Caribbean, both coasts of Mexico and Central America, and the Atlantic coast of South America as far south as the mouth of the Amazon River. It’s no surprise that this specialist species is found primarily in mangrove swamps.

The yellow-billed cuckoo is known by the scientific name, Coccyzus americanus. Other cuckoos in the genus Coccyzus, which includes about a dozen species, are pearly breasted cuckoo, dark-billed cuckoo, chestnut-bellied cuckoo, grey-capped cuckoo, bay-breasted cuckoo and the great lizard cuckoo.

Although I haven’t seen one for a few years, I’m still glad to know that the yellow-billed cuckoo remains a lurker in the woodlands around my home. If you manage to lay eyes on this elusive bird, consider yourself fortunate.

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Bryan Stevens has written about birds, birding and birders since 1995. To share a sighing, ask a question or make a comment, email him at ahoodedwarbler@aol.com.

Scarlet tanagers bring brilliance of tropics to local Mountains

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Photo Courtesy of Jean Potter
A male scarlet tanager brightens shadowy woodlands with a flash of tropical colors yet remains mostly inconspicuous in the forest canopy.

The berries on the mulberry trees at home ripened slightly ahead of the recent Fourth of July holiday. As the berries ripened, various birds descended on the trees. Among the visitors were American robins, cedar waxwings, gray catbird, wood thrushes and, almost without a doubt, scarlet tanagers.

The male scarlet tanager is a breathtaking bird that makes the mountains of northeast Tennessee, western North Carolina and southwest Virginia their summer home. The extraordinary appearance of the male scarlet tanager is certainly one that sets it apart from most other songbirds.

This tanager is not typically a feeder visitor, but bird enthusiasts have had varying degrees of success trying to lure these birds with fruit, such as orange slices placed in special feeders or simply spiked onto the branches of backyard trees. As an added bonus, orange slices can also attract birds such as brown thrashers, Baltimore orioles and gray catbirds.

The scarlet tanager indulges its fondness for fruit by incorporating various berries into its diet, Blueberry, mulberry, elderberry, serviceberry and wild cherry are all sure to attract scarlet tanagers and other fruit-eating birds. Plant some of these trees and shrubs to make your yard or garden more inviting to a range of our fine feathered friends.

Bryan Stevens • A male scarlet tanager stands out from other summer birds.

I usually have a few scarlet tanagers in residence around my home during the summer months, but I haven’t seen one in 2026. As usual, I have heard them. But listening to the male sing is not quite the same as observing this beautiful bird with its brilliant plumage of crimson red paired with black wings and tail.

Of course, like many other birds, the female scarlet tanager makes no real claim to the common name with her comparatively drab greenish plumage. However, the scientific name, Piranga olivacea, gives a nod to the olive-green plumage of females, young males and even adult males when they’re molting their feathers.

I began hearing a male scarlet tanager singing deep in the woods at about the time the mulberries ripped. I’m speculating that he got lured close enough to overhear by the mulberries.

So, why is it so difficult to lay eyes on such a brightly colored bird? The answer rests with this bird’s daily routine, which is usually conducted among the upper woodland canopy in such tall trees as oaks and poplars.

The male tanager does produce a distinctive song. Upon first hearing it, listeners might mistake the hidden singer for an American robin. Listen a little closer, however, and the song sounds as if it is being delivered by a hoarse robin with a sore throat. The male tanager also makes a vocalization described as “chip-burr” that is also easily heard.

Photo by Bryan Stevens
A scarlet tanager feeds on wild cherries. By late summer and early fall, even male tanagers have lost most of their vibrant plumage. 

If we were to see a scarlet tanager in a rain forest in South America, we might not be so surprised by vibrant plumage that has come to be associated with many tropical birds. The scarlet tanager is certainly better attired than most birds to provide observers a glimpse of a creature that would indeed look more at home in the jungle.

Worldwide, there have traditionally been about 390 species of tanagers. Experts have changed some of the ways they classify tanagers, so that figure has fluctuated in recent years.

Tanagers are a New World family of birds, concentrated mainly in the tropics of Central and South America. Some of the world’s other tanagers are known by extremely descriptive names, including bay-headed tanager, blue-and-black tanager, seven-coloured tanager, gilt-edged tanager, green-naped tanager, beryl-spangled tanager, opal-rumped tanager flame-faced tanager and blue-gray tanager.

The scarlet tanager ranges in North America with a couple of other relatives: Western tanager and summer tanager.

I am hoping I might still see a male scarlet tanager this summer, but it needs to be soon. The males molt their feathers in late summer and lose their vibrant red appearance. They usually remain in the region’s mountains through late September and early October. Tanagers are common migrants offering a chance to see them as they pass through to return to the tropics. They’re just not going to look as good in the fall as they do in spring and early summer.

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Bryan Stevens is celebrating 30 years of writing about birds, birders and birding. Email him at ahoodedwarbler@aol.com to share a sighting, ask a question or make a comment.

Unicoi County Summer Bird Count tallies 102 species

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Jake Bonello/USFWS • An Eastern meadowlark sings from a perch on a barb wire fence. Count participants found 10 meadowlarks in Unicoi County.

Members and friends of the Elizabethton Bird Club conducted its 13th Unicoi County Summer Count on Saturday, June 13, with 16 observers. Participants tallied 102 species, which is slightly below the average of 108 species. The all-time high was 112 species in 2016.

I counted in the Limestone Cove community to the Iron Mountain Gap along Highway 107. My count partners Brookie and Jean Potter covered Sciota Road during the early morning hours and got many great nocturnal species. Some of my best birds included blue grosbeak, yellow warbler, common nighthawk, yellow-bellied sapsucker and a singing dark-eyed junco.

Taking part in this count is almost like counting in my backyard since I can drive from my home to Limestone Cove in under 10 minutes.

The list:

Canada goose, 33; mallard, 33; and wild turkey 11

Mourning dove, 40; rock pigeon, 18; common nighthawk, 1; chuck-will’s-widow, 1; Eastern whip-poor-will, 14; chimney swift, 35; and ruby-throated hummingbird, 4

Photo by Bryan Stevens • A total of 10 killdeer made the count tally.

Killdeer, 10; double-crested cormorant, 2; great blue heron, 6;
black vulture, 7; turkey vulture, 19; red-shouldered hawk, 2; broad-winged hawk, 8; red-tailed hawk, 3; Eastern screech owl, 5; barred owl, 3; and Northern saw-whet owl, 1

Belted kingfisher, 5; red-bellied woodpecker, 14; yellow-bellied sapsucker, 6; downy woodpecker, 15; hairy woodpecker, 8; Northern flicker, 3; and pileated woodpecker, 12

Great crested flycatcher, 2; Eastern kingbird, 8; Eastern wood-pewee, 12; Acadian flycatcher, 51; least flycatcher, 3; and Eastern phoebe, 35

White-eyed vireo, 2; blue-headed vireo, 39; warbling vireo, 2; red-eyed vireo, 128; blue jay, 61; American crow, 130; fish crow, 3; and common raven, 5

Carolina chickadee, 69; tufted titmouse, 72; tree swallow, 27; Northern rough-winged swallow, 12; purple martin, 6; barn swallow, 40; and cliff swallow, 226.

Cedar waxwing, 22; red-breasted nuthatch, 9; white-breasted nuthatch, 20; brown creeper, 1; blue-gray gnatcatcher, 21; Carolina wren, 65; house wren, 15; and winter wren, 1

Gray catbird, 22; brown thrasher, 8; Northern mockingbird, 13; European starling, 162; Eastern bluebird, 23; veery 22; wood thrush, 38; and American robin, 162

Photo by Bryan Stevens • An American robin scans for prey in the grass and clover of a lawn. Robins were numerous on the count, represented by 162 individuals.

House sparrow, 16; house finch, 29; American goldfinch, 51; chipping sparrow, 32; field sparrow, 2; dark-eyed junco, 19; song sparrow, 88; Eastern towhee, 33; and yellow-breasted chat, 2

Eastern meadowlark, 10; orchard oriole, 1; Baltimore oriole, 1; red-winged blackbird, 28; brown-headed cowbird, 8; and common grackle, 42

Ovenbird, 42; worm-eating warbler, 18; Louisiana waterthrush, 14; black-and-white warbler, 25; Swainson’s warbler, 18; Kentucky warbler, 1; common yellowthroat, 3; hooded warbler, 78; Northern parula, 36; magnolia warbler, 1; Blackburnian warbler, 2; yellow warbler, 2; chestnut-sided warbler, 5; black-throated blue warbler, 32; yellow-throated warbler, 27; black-throated green warbler, 58; and Canada warbler, 11

Scarlet tanager, 26; Northern cardinal, 77; rose-breasted grosbeak, 6; blue grosbeak, 1; and indigo bunting, 56

Rick Knight, longtime compiler for the count, noted some missed species.

“As always, a few species are missed on count day, usually because they occur in low densities or are very locally distributed,” Knight said. “Not anyone’s fault, just something that happens.”

Missed in Unicoi County were wood duck, ruffed grouse, yellow-billed cuckoo, green heron, Cooper’s Hawk, great horned owl, American kestrel, yellow-throated vireo, golden-crowned kinglet, hermit thrush and American redstart.

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I noted in last week’s column that the Carter County Summer Bird Count found 119 species. That number rose to 120 species when Jean Potter turned in a photo to compiler Rick Knight. He agreed with her that the bird in the photo was a American black duck, which added an additional species to the count.

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

Photo by Jean Potter • A male hooded warbler flits through the foliage of a rhododendron thicket. A total of 78 hooded warblers made this year’s Unicoi County Summer Bird Count.

 

 

33rd Carter County Summer Bird Count tallies 119 species

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Hans Toom/Pixabay • A male chestnut-sided warbler peeks from the foliage of a tree., A total of 31 chestnut-sided warblers were found by counters during the 2026 Carter County Summer Bird Count.

Members and friends of the Elizabethton Bird Club conducted the 33rd Carter County Summer Count on Saturday, June 6, with 21 observers. Participants tallied 119 species, which is slightly above the average of 114.

According to count compiler Rick Knight, the all-time high of 123 species was achieved in 2017. Some of the more abundant birds on this year’s count included European starling with 900 individuals counted, and American robin with 343 individuals found. A total of 21 different species of warblers were found.

I counted in Elizabethton along the Watauga River along with Chris Soto and Rex Whitfield and Rob Armistead. Our group also consisted of Jean and Brookie Potter, who covered Wilbur Lake; and Connie and Dave Irick, who made their survey on Holston Mountain. We also had a single feeder watcher, Dianna Lynne of Stoney Creek.

The list:
Canada goose, 181; wood duck, 21; mallard, 60; and common merganser, 18

Wild turkey, 20; ruffed grouse, 3; mourning dove, 107; rock pigeon, 22; yellow-billed cuckoo, 1; common nighthawk, 15; chuck-will’s-widow, 2; Eastern whip-poor-will, 12; chimney swift, 76; and ruby-throated hummingbird, 16

Lynn Wilson/Pixabay • A male blue grosbeak perches in the branches of a shrub. Five of these birds were found on the Carter County Summer Bird Count.

Killdeer, 3; double-crested cormorant, 29; green heron, 3; great blue heron, 29; black vulture, 11; turkey vulture, 70; osprey, 2; sharp-shinned hawk, 1; Cooper’s hawk, 1; red-shouldered hawk, 4; broad-winged hawk, 8; and red-tailed hawk, 8

Eastern screech owl, 2; barred owl, 1; belted kingfisher, 4; red-bellied woodpecker, 22; yellow-bellied sapsucker, 1; downy woodpecker, 29; hairy woodpecker, 7; Northern flicker, 17; and pileated woodpecker, 16

American kestrel, 1; great crested flycatcher, 5; Eastern kingbird, 21; Eastern wood-pewee, 50; Acadian flycatcher, 45; alder flycatcher, 1; least flycatcher, 12; and Eastern phoebe, 70

White-eyed vireo, 6; blue-headed vireo, 53; warbling vireo, 6; red-eyed vireo, 183; blue jay, 117; American crow, 255; fish crow, 5; and common raven, 10

Carolina chickadee, 83; tufted titmouse, 74; tree swallow, 67; Northern rough-winged swallow, 44; purple martin, 18; barn swallow, 75; and cliff swallow, 288

Golden-crowned kinglet, 3; cedar waxwing, 20; red-breasted nuthatch, 5; white-breasted nuthatch, 24; brown creeper, 5; blue-gray gnatcatcher, 30; Carolina wren, 125; house wren, 31; and winter wren, 5

Gray catbird, 37; brown thrasher, 32; Northern mockingbird, 87; European starling, 900; Eastern bluebird, 84; veery, 14; hermit thrush, 1; wood thrush, 84; and American robin, 343

House sparrow, 36; house finch, 152; red crossbill, 1; American goldfinch, 141; grasshopper sparrow, 1; chipping sparrow, 80; field sparrow, 40; dark-eyed junco, 61; song sparrow, 210; Eastern towhee, 108; and yellow-breasted chat, 1

Eastern meadowlark, 17; orchard oriole, 7; Baltimore oriole, 3; red-winged blackbird, 107; brown-headed cowbird, 51; and common grackle, 75

Ovenbird, 86; worm-eating warbler 17; Louisiana waterthrush, 10; golden-winged warbler 5; black and white warbler, 40; Swainson’s warbler, 12; common yellowthroat, 26; hooded warbler, 140; American redstart, 26; Northern parula, 58; magnolia warbler, 1; Blackburnian warbler, 5; yellow warbler, 13; chestnut-sided warbler, 31; black-throated blue warbler, 65; pine warbler, 6; yellow-rumped warbler, 5; yellow-throated warbler, 30; prairie warbler, 1; black-throated green warbler, 49; and Canada warbler, 6

Photo by Bryan Stevens A Yellow-throated warbler perches in a cluster of dead branches.

Scarlet tanager, 45; Northern cardinal, 154; rose-breasted grosbeak, 12; blue grosbeak, 5; and indigo bunting, 144.

I’ll discuss the results of the Unicoi County Summer Bird Count, which was held June 13, in an upcoming column.

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

Miles Moody/Pixabay • A male American goldfinch looks his best during the spring and summer seasons.

Male indigo buntings dazzle in bright summer sunshine

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Jim Hudgins/USFWSThe male indigo bunting in a quintessential bird of summer throughout the Eastern United States.

We’ve barely made it to mid-June and we’ve had some scorching days with intense sunshine and spiking temperatures.

It’s the kind of weather that wilts people, as well as many of our feathered friends, which would prefer to find shade when the mercury rises to the upper limits of the thermometer.

Not so for a few of our birds. Red-eyed vireos, Eastern wood-pewees and a handful of other birds sing even during the hottest hours of the day, albeit they’re often singing from deep shade.

An exception is the male indigo bunting, which can often be spotted singing from the top of a tall tree or shrub even under the brightest of summer sunshine.

Indigo Buntings thrive in the heat. While other birds go silent beneath the relentless summer sun, male Indigo Buntings perch on high, open branches or telephone wires. They belt out their lively songs to declare their presence to rival and establish territory.

The notes sound hopelessly jumbled upon first listen, but they eventually take shape into a recognizable pattern. These songbirds usually repeat their notes in pairs in a song that can be transcribed as “sweet-sweet, chew-chew, sweet-sweet.”

Heronworks/Pixabay • A male indigo bunting visits a feeder for a meal of bird seed.

Males, which do the singing, have an appearance to match their loud songs. They are simply stunning in brilliant blue plumage. The male indigo bunting is the only solid blue bird in the eastern United States.

Alas, it’s all an illusion — literally a trick of the light. The indigo bunting’s feathers are not really blue; the male’s brilliant azure plumage is caused by the process of diffraction of light around the structure of the bird’s feathers. This process scatters all but the blue light, and the resulting color shifts from black to blue to turquoise as the angle of reflected light changes.

In bright light, this bird can even look unnaturally vivid blue. In poor light, however, an indigo bunting male can appear black. Fortunately, indigo buntings have both a characteristic body shape and song, so even if the birds are not seen in their best light, they can still be recognized.

For such a bright blue bird, indigo buntings are not always easy to detect. Males like elevated perches, often among a cluster of leaves. Learn the song — that burst of jumbled, high-pitched notes, and use that knowledge to help pinpoint singing males. Once you zero in on the singing bird’s location, it’s fairly easy to focus binoculars and enjoy peeking at such a pretty bird.

Like many species of songbirds, the male is by far the most colorful. In this instance, the male is also responsible for the species’ name. Indigo is a blue dye that was once an important crop in the South. The drab female may boast some blue highlights in her plumage. Juvenile birds just out of the nest also resemble the female. Pay close attention to any indigo buntings you observe as summer progresses. Juvenile birds will look mostly brown with just a hint of blue in the wings and the tail. These will be the young buntings that were hatched in spring and early summer. They will often accompany their parents to feeders.

Photo by Bryan Stevens • The male indigo bunting is a resplendent bird.

The indigo bunting’s scientific name is Passerina cyanea, referring the color cyan. Cyan is a bright, deep, sky blue, leaning very slightly to the greenish side of blue on the color wheel. Cyan is the blue ink in 4-color process printing. Along with magenta, yellow and black, these four colors of ink can produce a wide gamut of colors that we see every day in full-color printing. The indigo bunting is a reasonably close match to this intense blue ink color. The species belongs to a genus of birds known as Passerina, which is included the family Cardinalidae.

Although they are often lumped into a group known as North American buntings, they are not closely related to such birds as snow bunting and lark bunting. The other members of the Passerina genus include lazuli bunting, varied bunting, painted bunting, rose-bellied bunting, orange-breasted bunting and blue grosbeak.

Photo by Bryan Stevens • Male indigo buntings look their best in spring and summer. By fall, they are molting feathers and look less splendid.

Worldwide, other birds known as buntings include such descriptively named species as slaty bunting, corn bunting, white-capped bunting, gray-necked bunting, cinereous bunting, lark-like bunting, cinnamon-breasted bunting, chestnut-eared bunting, little bunting, yellow-throated bunting, golden-breasted bunting, black-headed bunting, red-headed bunting and yellow bunting.

For me, the indigo bunting has always been a bird of the summer season. One of my earliest memories of being aware of birds relates to seeing this astonishing all-blue bird perched atop a blue spruce in my family’s front yard.

Indigo buntings linger into early October in the region, but later in the season these birds begin to molt feathers and take on a more shabby look. Enjoy them while they’re here and at their best under a bright summer sun.

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

Region’s 83rd Spring Bird Count tallies 155 species

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Hans Toom • A yellow warbler perches on a tree branch.

The 83rd consecutive Elizabethton Spring Bird Count was held Saturday, May 9, with 44 observers in 16 parties. The counters tallied 155 species, which is slightly above the average of 152 species in the most recent 20 years of this annual survey. The all-time high on this count took place in 2016 with 166 species tallied.

Although the day began on a slightly chilly note, temperatures soon warmed and skies remained clear and sunny most of the day. I counted near Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park and along the Watauga River in Elizabethton with Mary Anna Wheat and Chris Soto. We counted ourselves lucky to get some good birds on our list, including Northern waterthrush, blackpoll warbler and Kentucky warbler.

A total of 28 species of warblers made the list, as well as good sightings such as Northern saw-whet owl, sora, blue grosbeak, summer tanager and dickcissel.

Compiler Rick Knight noted that, as always, a few species got missed on count day, notably ruffed grouse, great horned owl, Virginia rail and prairie warbler.

The count group’s total list follows:

Canada goose, 391; wood duck, 71; American wigeon, 13; mallard, 69; common merganser, 11; red-breasted merganser, 1; and wild turkey, 25.

Mourning dove, 181; Eurasian collared-dove, 2; rock pigeon, 78; yellow-billed cuckoo, 2; common nighthawk, 2; chuck-will’s-widow, 8; Eastern whip-poor-will, 19; chimney swift, 101; and ruby-throated hummingbird, 15.

Sora, 1; killdeer, 32; semipalmated plover, 24; least sandpiper, 37; semipalmated sandpiper, 5; spotted sandpiper, 71; solitary sandpiper, 22; lesser yellowlegs, 8; greater yellowlegs, 5; common tern, 2; and Forster’s tern, 3.

Photo by Bryan Stevens • A tree swallow checks out a nesting box soon after making its spring return. 

Double-crested cormorant, 136; yellow-crowned night-heron, 6; green heron, 8; great egret, 1; great blue heron, 61; black vulture, 86; and turkey vulture, 94.

Osprey, 16; sharp-shinned hawk, 1; Cooper’s hawk, 3; bald eagle, 8; red-shouldered hawk, 8; broad-winged hawk, 4; red-tailed hawk, 20; American barn owl, 1; Eastern screech owl, 7; barred owl, 3; and Northern saw-whet owl, 1.

Belted kingfisher, 17; Red-headed woodpecker, 6; Red-bellied woodpecker, 66; yellow-bellied sapsucker, 2; downy woodpecker, 39; hairy woodpecker, 8; Northern flicker, 35; and pileated woodpecker, 31.

American kestrel, 9; great crested flycatcher, 27; Eastern kingbird, 112; Eastern wood-pewee, 30; Acadian flycatcher, 47; willow flycatcher, 2; least flycatcher, 15; and Eastern phoebe, 59.

White-eyed vireo, 15; yellow-throated vireo, 6; blue-headed vireo, 72; Eastern warbling vireo, 19; red-eyed vireo, 310; and loggerhead shrike, 1.

Blue jay, 167; American crow, 291; fish crow, 15; common raven, 15; Carolina chickadee, 136; and tufted titmouse, 154.

Bank swallow, 4; tree swallow, 124; Northern rough-winged swallow, 90; purple martin, 42; barn swallow, 165; and cliff swallow, 785.

Ruby-crowned kinglet, 1; Golden-crowned kinglet, 1; cedar waxwing, 225; red-breasted nuthatch, 10; white-breasted nuthatch, 25; brown creeper, 3; and blue-gray gnatcatcher, 63.

Carolina Wren, 187; Northern House Wren, 35; Winter Wren, 5; Gray Catbird, 78; Brown Thrasher, 46, Northern Mockingbird, 131; Eurasian Starling, 630; and Eastern Bluebird 140

Veery, 18; Swainson’s thrush, 8; hermit thrush, 2; wood thrush, 70; and American robin, 717.

House sparrow, 55; house finch, 129; pine siskin, 2; and American goldfinch, 226.

Bryan Stevens • A male American goldfinch visits a thistle seed feeder.

Grasshopper sparrow, 4; chipping sparrow, 101; field sparrow, 41; dark-eyed junco, 45; white-crowned sparrow 1; white-throated sparrow, 5; Savannah sparrow, 1; song sparrow, 268; swamp sparrow, 1; and Eastern towhee, 142.

Yellow-breasted chat, 5; Eastern meadowlark, 48; orchard oriole, 43; Baltimore oriole, 28; red-winged blackbird, 272; brown-headed cowbird, 64; and common grackle, 280.

Ovenbird, 132; worm-eating warbler, 27; Louisiana waterthrush, 29; Northern waterthrush, 6; golden-winged warbler, 5; blue-winged warbler, 1; black-and-white warbler, 58; Swainson’s warbler, 23; Tennessee warbler, 10; Kentucky warbler, 11; common yellowthroat, 45; hooded warbler, 198; American redstart, 26; Cape May warbler, 12; Northern parula, 73; magnolia warbler, 4; bay-breasted warbler, 11; Blackburnian warbler, 12; yellow warbler, 19; chestnut-sided warbler, 40; blackpoll warbler, 12; black-throated blue warbler, 76; palm warbler, 2; pine warbler, 14; yellow-rumped warbler, 26; yellow-throated warbler, 42; black-throated green warbler, 104; and Canada warbler, 32.

Summer tanager, 1; scarlet tanager, 81; Northern cardinal, 239; rose-breasted grosbeak, 35; blue grosbeak, 9; indigo bunting, 152; and dickcissel, 2.

 

Nature’s showstoppers: Rose-breasted grosbeaks bring the wow factor

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Photo by Cheri Miller • A male rose-breasted grosbeak visits a feeder at the photographer’s home.

Cheri Miller posted on my Facebook page to share a sighting and a photo of a male rose-breasted grosbeak visiting a feeder at her home in Hampton. The bird arrived on May 1.

The bird’s arrival is right on schedule. Plenty of rose-breasted grosbeaks pass through northeast Tennessee, southwest Virginia and western North Carolina in late April and early May every spring. A sighting of a male in his best spring plumage is always a breathtaking sight.

Kaylynn Sanford Wilster, who lives in Piney Flats near Boone Lake, sought me out May 7 on Facebook for my help identifying a bird that turned out to be a male rose-breasted grosbeak.

She had taken some video and photos of the bird through her bedroom window with her phone and said the bird was eating sunflower seeds at her feeder. Grosbeaks love sunflower seeds, so keep those feeders stocked!

A few of these migrating grosbeaks will even decide to make their summer home on local mountains. However, these birds spread out widely across the eastern half of the North American continent, ranging from northeastern British Columbia to Quebec and Nova Scotia in Canada. They also range south from New Jersey to Georgia. The rose-breasted grosbeak also reaches Colorado, Oklahoma and Kansas.

For the most part, however, the rose-breasted grosbeak is replaced in the western United States by the closely related black-headed grosbeak.

As fall approaches, the rose-breasted grosbeak migrates south to a winter range that spans central Mexico, Central America and northern South America. As they depart, many of these migrating birds will make autumn visits to again partake of offerings of sunflower seeds at backyard feeders. So, if you don’t get to see these showy birds in the spring, you do get another chance to see them in September and October.

Photo by Bryan Stevens • A male rose-breasted grosbeaks stays in the treetops on Roan Mountain in Tennessee.

The male rose-breasted grosbeak gives this species its common name. Males are the epitome of the birds that make their home for part of the year in the American tropics. The contrasting black and white plumage is emphasized by a triangular slash of rosy-red color on the breast. Put all those elements together and the male rose-breasted grosbeak is not a bird that would be mistaken for any other.

The female grosbeak, however, doesn’t stand out in the same way. She is much less colorful than the male. With her brown and white plumage, she is often mistaken for a large sparrow or finch.

Both sexes have a massive bill, which they use to hull sunflower seeds at feeders or glean insects from leaves and branches. It’s the heavy, blunt bill for which the term “grosbeak” is derived. “Gros” is a German term for large or big, so grosbeak simply means a large-beaked bird. People who band birds to further scientific study will tell you that rose-breasted grosbeaks can inflict a wicked nip. In Northeast Tennessee, bird banders frequently encounter rose-breasted grosbeaks in their mist nets — and some bear the scars to prove it.

With some birds, males play only a minor role in the nesting process. That’s not the case with the rose-breasted grosbeak male. The males help with nest-building chores and share responsibility with the female for incubating the eggs.

The female lays three to five eggs in a cup-shaped nest. It’s not easy to locate the nests since the birds usually place them in trees at least 20 feet above the ground. Within two weeks, the eggs have hatched and the parents are kept extremely busy finding enough food to satisfy the voracious nestlings. Well fed by both parents, the young grow quickly and usually are ready to leave the nest within 12 days. Often, when a first brood of young departs the nest, the male will care for the rowdy group of fledglings as the female starts a second nest to capitalize on the long days of summer.

Photo by Jean Potter • Male rose-breasted grosbeaks always look stunning.

Away from our feeders, rose-breasted grosbeaks feed on insects, seeds, fruit and even some leaf buds and flowers. I’ve seen these birds satisfying a sweet tooth — or should that be sweet beak? — by feeding on jewelweed flowers and apple blossoms. If sugar’s good for hummingbirds, I am sure it is a valuable energy source for rose-breasted grosbeaks, too.

Other grosbeaks that range the United States and Canada include the blue grosbeak, pine grosbeak, evening grosbeak and black-headed grosbeak.

The rose-breasted grosbeak is a cherished spring visitor that never disappoints observers. The handsome male brings a hint of the tropics to the mountains of Northeast Tennessee and beyond,

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Bryan Stevens has written about birds, birding and birders since 1995. Share a sighting, make a comment or ask a question by emailing him at ahoodedwarbler@aol.com.

Photo Courtesy of Byron Tucker
A Rose-breasted Grosbeak joins a Red-bellied Woodpecker at a feeder in Atlanta.

Some birds make us shift focus from the showy to the subtle

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USFWS • Male summer tanagers are a rosy-red bird that pale somewhat in comparison to male scarlet tanagers.

Many of our summer birds have already returned for another nesting season. In the past week or so I have welcomed back chimney swift, common yellowthroat and red-eyed vireo.

I’m still receiving hummingbird arrival reports. April Kerns Fain had her first hummingbird of the year on April 13 at her home in Unicoi.
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Tom Brake in Abingdon, Virginia, reported his first hummingbird on April 16.
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Phyllis Moore in Bristol, Virginia, noted that her first spring hummingbird sighting involved two of these birds returning to her home.
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Anita Clemmer in Boone, North Carolina, saw her first spring hummingbird on April 17.
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Pam Seely saw her first hummingbirds of spring on April 18 at her home near The Laurels.
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Sue Schreiner saw her first hummingbird of spring on April 19 at her Bluff City home.

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Amy Tipton in Erwin reported her first spring hummingbird on at 7:30 p.m. on April 21.

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Spring is a great time to enjoy some truly vibrant birds that catch the eye, including scarlet tanager, Baltimore oriole, chipping sparrow, rose-breasted grosbeak, indigo bunting and more. Of course, some of our summer birds keep a low profile. Without showy feathers, they are more than able to fade into the background. They’re worth seeking out, but they do lack the “wow” factor of some of their more spectacular kin.

Here’s are some profiles on a handful of birds that live in the shadows of some much better-known relatives.

USFWS • The warbling vireo is a “plain Jane” among the region’s birds.

Warbling Vireo
The warbling vireo is one of the true “Plain Janes” of the world of birds. In the vireo family, which is known mostly for species that are largely “little green birds,” the warbling vireo lacks even that color. These are small, plain birds with gray-olive upperparts and white underparts occasionally tinged with faint yellow. They have a mild face pattern with a whitish stripe over the eye. It would never be described as colorful. They remain high in the treetops foraging for caterpillars and other prey. This habit makes observation of this bird difficult. Compared to the red-eyed vireo, blue-headed vireo and white-eyed vireo, it’s easy to see why the warbling vireo is named for its song, not its appearance.

Summer tanager
If not for the fact that the related scarlet tanager boasts an appearance that screams tropical beauty, this is a bird that cannot fairly be described as subdued in appearance. But male summer tanagers have a rosy-red plumage and lack the brilliant crimson feathers of the male scarlet tanager. Females of both species are dull birds with yellow-green plumage. These birds are more common in the southeastern United States. They’re not rare, but it isn’t easy to see them due to their tendency to remain in the upper branches of tall trees, especially oaks.

USFWS • The orchard oriole is the smallest member of the oriole family. This species is also notably less showy than some relatives.

Orchard oriole
The Baltimore oriole is an unmistakable bird. The bright orange and black plumage of the male reminded early North American settlers of the livery colors of Cecil Calvert, or Lord Baltimore, an important founder of Maryland and the namesake of the Baltimore oriole. The smaller orchard oriole is a charming bird, but its burnt orange and black plumage lacks the intensity of its better-known relative. The smallest of the orioles, it is outclassed in that regard by its more showy relatives, which include Bullock’s oriole, hooded oriole and Altimara oriole. The orchard oriole can be tempted to feeders that offer sugar water, orange slices or grape jelly, as can many other oriole species.

Ryan Dziedzic USFWS • Great crested flycatcher perches on a branch. Despite a grandiose name, this bird is not particularly showy, but it’s definitely an interesting species.

Great crested flycatcher
The largest family of birds, the tyrant flycatchers, consists of about 400 species. Most are drab birds in appearance, but some stand out. The great kiskadee, scissor-tailed flycatcher and vermilion flycatcher offer some “oomph” to a family of birds with plumages dominated by gray, black and white. In appearance, the great crested flycatcher has a shaggy brown crest and yellow and warm brown coloration in its plumage. It’s mostly the expectations of a name like great crested flycatcher that tends to fall flat when people see this attractive but not showy bird. This bird is different than other flycatchers in one respect – a cavity-nester, pairs of great crested flycatchers claim tree cavities or nesting boxes when it comes time build a nest and raise young.

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

Unseen wood thrushes still make lovely music

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Photo by Jake Bonello/USFWS • A wood thrush sings at dusk from dense woodland cover.

The wood thrush, one of the most talented avian songsters in North America, returned this past week. I guess it’s now safe to plant corn. I’ve heard that many area gardeners hesitate to plant their corn until this native bird has given the “all clear” to signal that danger of a late freeze is past.

I haven’t seen a wood thrush yet, but I know that several of these birds have taken up residence in the woods around my home. I know because I’ve been hearing them singing mornings and evenings.

The wood thrush has a well-developed organ called a syrinx, which is the human equivalent of a larynx or voice box. For many songbirds, such as the thrushes, this specialized organ is more like a double voice box that permits a bird to produce two notes simultaneously while singing its song.

I think more people would take up the challenging pastime of birdwatching if not for the intimidation of trying to identify dozens of species that often demand attention to some specific details to contrast some birds from similar species.

But it is possible to enjoy birds even with looking at them. The wood thrush produces an elegant song that I never tire of hearing. Many other birds are vocal. They’re not all as musical as members of the thrush family, but its’s not necessary to ever lift a pair of binoculars to enjoy the birds in your own backyard. The sweet serenade of a wood thrush from woodland shadows is one of my favorite front porch evening activities every summer.

The wood thrush is one of the larger brown thrushes, which also includes such related birds as Swainson’s thrush, veery, gray-cheeked thrush and hermit thrush. Other less closely related members of the thrush family in North America include the American robin, Eastern bluebird and Townsend’s solitaire.

Photo by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service • The Wood Thrush often sings its flute-like song from deep under cover in dense woodlands.

The wood thrush is a fairly common bird in the region from April to October. Wood thrushes migrate south in the fall, dispersing to Mexico and Central America for the winter months, and then they reverse the route to return each spring.

The shy wood thrush does not usually venture too far from its preferred woodland habitat, but freshly disturbed soil in a garden will attract these birds as they seek out earthworms and insect larvae. Wood thrushes also feed on various fruits and berries, which means they can be attracted by plantings of suitable trees and shrubs.

The wood thrush, like many of its relatives, sings mainly in the early morning and again in the evening hours. They will also often sing after the tumult of an afternoon thunderstorm in the summer. I encourage anyone who lives near woods to pull up a comfortable seat outdoors and let the relaxing song of a wood thrust provide a great conclusion to the the day.

Naturalists often point to one of the wood thrush’s close kin — the hermit thrush — as the most gifted singer in this clan of gifted songsters. For discerning listeners, the hermit thrush’s flute-like notes are somewhat more melancholy, haunting and ethereal than even the incredibly enchanting notes of the wood thrush’s song.

The poet Walt Whitman employed a thrush as a symbol in his poem, “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d,” a moving pastoral elegy in honor of the assassinated President Abraham Lincoln.

Photo by Bryan Stevens • A hermit thrush perches on a wooden fence rail. The bird’s rusty-red tail is evident in the photo.

Whitman evidently knew his birds, and it’s not difficult to identify that he referred to the hermit thrush when he wove this songbird as a symbol into his stanzas honoring Lincoln.

“Sing on there in the swamp,” Whitman wrote in his poem. “O singer bashful and tender, I hear your notes, I hear your call. I hear, I come presently, I understand you…”

Whitman and many other Americans have been made fans of this gifted songbird. In fact, the citizens of Vermont even proclaimed the hermit thrush as their official state bird.

In Northeast Tennessee, hermit thrushes are mostly a winter bird, but the wood thrush stays with us from spring to early fall. Enjoy the free music of resident wood thrushes this season. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
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To learn more about birds and other topics from the natural world, friend Stevens on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ahoodedwarbler. He often posts about local birds, wildlife, flowers, insects and much more. If you have a question, wish to make a comment or share a sighting, email him at ahoodedwarbler@aol.com.

Photo by Jean Potter • The wood thrush is a common summer resident of woodlands in Northeast Tennessee, Southwest Virginia and Western North Carolina.

Ruby-throated hummingbirds return to region

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By George/Pixabay • A ruby-throated hummingbird sips sugar water from a feeder.

The hummingbirds are back, although they’ve been slightly late returning this spring. My first report of a sighting came from southwest Virginia this year.

Bobby Andis reported an arriving ruby-throated hummingbird on April 9 in Abingdon, Virginia.

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Edison and Emma Jean Wallin saw their first spring hummingbird at 6:10 p.m. on April 11 at their home in Unicoi. Their daughter, Amy Tipton, reported their sighting to me via Facebook messenger. Amy, like me, is still waiting for her first spring hummingbird.

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Lynda Carter emailed me to share her first spring sighting of a male ruby-throated hummingbird at her feeder at 8:45 a.m. on Saturday, April 11. She said that she lives near the end of the Embreeville Mountain in the Lamar community in Washington County.

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Brookie and Jean Potter welcomed their first spring hummingbird at 7:40 p.m. on April 11. The Potters live near Wilbur Lake in Elizabethton.

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Michele Sparks • The photographer got a quick shot of the first spring hummingbird at her feeder in Bluff City.

Michele Sparks had her first spring hummingbird arrive at 6 p.m. on April 13 at her home in Bluff City. Michele shared a photograph of the visiting hummingbird and noted that this year’s bird beat last year’s arrival date by two days.

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Joe McGuiness saw his first spring hummingbird on April 15 in Erwin.

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After feeling twinges of impatience with their expected arrival, I finally saw my first ruby-throated hummingbird at 7 p.m. on April 16. I had stepped onto my front porch and within seconds heard the familiar buzz of hummingbird wings. Some careful observation detected the tiny bird weaving in and out of the branches of a nearby shrub. After some more waiting, the bird flew to one of my feeders for a quick drink of sugar water.

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Dianne Draper in Jonesborough saw her first spring hummingbird on April 17.

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Every hummingbird’s arrival at our homes after an absence of nearly six months is nothing short of a miraculous achievement on the part of this tiny bird. According to the website hummingbird.net, most ruby-throated hummingbirds make a daring journey across the Gulf of Mexico to return to their summer homes in the United States and Canada. They typically depart at dusk for their nonstop Gulf flight of up to 500 miles, which takes 18 to 22 hours, depending on the weather.

Now that we’ve welcomed them back into our yards and gardens after such a harrowing journey, it’s important as good hosts to make sure these tiny wonders are kept safe.

Plant flowers! Many people have been told that red flowers are best, but the fact is hummingbirds sip nectar from a variety of blooms in all sorts of colors. The benefit of flowers is that nothing beats natural, and flower nectar is about as good as natural gets.

Some ways of ensuring that our hummingbird guests are kept healthy and secure are simply common sense. For instance, don’t use pesticides, herbicides or any other sort of toxin anywhere close to the vicinity of a sugar water feeder or a flower garden. Hummingbirds are such tiny creatures with such intense metabolisms that it only takes a minute amount of any harmful substance to sicken or kill one of these little flying gems.

Feeding hummingbirds is easy, but many people try to complicate the process. Only common, pure cane sugar, mixed to a ratio of four parts water to one part sugar, is a safe choice for these birds.

Photo by Bryan Stevens • Put sugar water feeders out early to attract the “early birds.”

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Rich Hall emailed me, not about a hummingbird, but about another exciting sighting.

On the morning of April 13, he saw two yellow-headed blackbirds. “I live in Goodlettsville, outside of Nashville,” he wrote. “Do you ever hear reports of them coming over this way?”

I emailed him back and let Rich know that the yellow-headed blackbird is considered a rare to uncommon visitor to the Volunteer State, but they do surface occasionally. The species often mingles with flocks that also include red-winged blackbirds and brown-headed cowbirds. Yellow-headed blackbirds are slightly more likely to travel through Middle and West Tennessee than in East Tennessee, but there have been reports from every section of the state. I saw a lone yellow-headed blackbird several years ago in Jonesborough. A town resident alerted the birding community to the bird’s presence.

Photo by Bryan Stevens • This yellow-headed blackbird mingled with flocks of brown-headed cowbirds and European starlings at a cattle pasture near Jonesborough, Tennessee in February of 2018.. The bird, the first of its kind seen in Northeast Tennessee since 1994, has generated excitement among birders. Some people have traveled from as far as Knoxville, Tennessee, and Roanoke, Virginia, to see the bird.

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