Kim's pictures

Kim Chason sent these cool pictures of her hummers and a chickadee.

Chesnut-sided Warbler

Amalia Agramonte sent us a picture of a Chesnut-sided Warbler she had in her yard recently. This warbler is a regular fall migrant to our area but a very cool bird to get in your yard.

Carol's Ruby-throated Hummingbirds

Carol Miller sent us this assortment of great hummingbird pictures taken in her yard last wednesday.

Hummer Update#1

Fred Bassett writes...



Fellow Hummer Lovers,



I just got home from a wonderful summer out west studying hummingbirds so I can recognize the rare hummer that shows up at your feeder this winter. I banded over 1700 hummers of seven species in Idaho, Texas, Washington, and Colorado. If you would like to see some pictures of hummers from this summer, the link is http://www.pbase.com/fdietrich/west thanks to my friend Fred Dietrich.

It really is time to start looking through your hordes of Ruby-throated hummersd to see if you have a western visitor. I already have reports of four banded Rufous hummers back for the winter. Especially if you hosted a hummer last winter, please check out your hummers carefully. Returning winter hummers tend to come back earlier each fall. You won't have a problem identifying an adult male Rufous with its rufous colored back and irridescent orange gorget, but females and immature males are more difficult to spot. Look for extensive cinnamon along the flanks and rufous color on the interior part of the tail to seperate them from Ruby-throated hummers. Identification can be tricky, so I'll be glad to talk to you about it if you aren't sure about what you might have.

Please remember that I'll come to your home any time time to identify and band a western hummer and, between 15 November and March 1, I'll come for any hummer at your feeder. Last winter we had 9 species of winter hummers, and you never know what might show up this winter.

If you can make it to Fort Morgan for fall banding, we will open there Saturday October 4 and go through 17 October. I'm looking forward to seeing many of my friends, both feathered and human, there.

I'm excited about the possibilities of this winter hummer season. This summer out west I told lots of hummers about the wonderful hummer gardens and feeders waiting for them in the southeast. I hope some of them will take me up on my offer and meet me in your yard this winter.



Thanks,



Fred





immature male Black-chinned Hummingbird a.k.a "Pepe", banded by Fred in Andy's yard January 2008.

adult male Rufous Hummingbird

female Rufous Hummingbird

Green-breasted Mango, Dublin, GA winter 2007/08

We are all hoping that we get one of these fella's in our yard!

Yellow Warbler

Glenda Simmons recently had a Yellow Warbler in her yard. Yellow Warblers are a regular fall migrant to our area. Still, it's a really nice bird to get for your yard.


Yellow Warbler



Northern Cardinal

Southwood

Carol Miller writes....

Tuesday afternoon at Central Lake Park was perfect weather for the ducks--rain showers were hit and miss. The lake was way over its banks and didn't smell very good, but there were wood ducks, some waders, and others.

Andy-Where is Spoonbill Pond?

Spoonbill Pond/Lake is the large lake next to the Southwood Community Center. To get there take Blairstone Rd south and cross Cap Circle into the Southwood subdivision. Follow Blairstone until you come to a roundabout. Turn right on to Four Oaks Blvd and then left onto Baringer Hill. The lake is right in front of you. There is a nice nature trail that circumnavigates the lake. I recently had an adult Greater White-fronted Goose there as well as 3 Black Terns the day after Fay hit town. I named it spoonbill lake because a) I don't know what its real name is! and b) it once had spoonbills frequenting its shoreline. Andy


White Ibis - juvenile


Wood Duck

Red-shouldered Hawk

Red-headed Woodpecker

Belted Kingfisher

Carol also went birding post Tropical Storm Fay. She writes...

Down on the Coast Monday morning, Fay was very obvious. The winds were very brisk and the evidence of four feet of water above high tide was around every area. Woolley Park in Panacea had reeds washed up almost to the parking lot...and a Magnificent Frigatebird soaring overhead! At low tide, water at Bald Point was almost up to the bottom of the dock, but plenty of birds at the wrack line. I didn't see anything unusual, though. The sand that has been covering the end of Mashes Sands Road is gone, along with the rocks that were there at the water line. Much of the road had been underwater. All of Bottoms Road was evidently under water at high tide Monday morning except for the hill in the center. Reeds were piled up on the road on both sides of the rise.

Magnificent Frigatebird

Summer Tanagers

Summer Tanagers

Downy Woodpecker

Pictures taken by Amalia Agramonte