Sightings

By Lomax and Ruth Ann Rosamond:  May 15 at the Rosamond's house 12 to 15 Cedar Waxwings

By Debra King:  Mulberry trees are full of Cedar Waxwings, woodpeckers and orioles.

Lomax and Ruth Ann Rosamond:  Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, Gray Catbird.

Tom and Susan Junkins:  6 male Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and 4 Indigo Buntings.

By Ed Brown:  Osprey sighted at least three times. Wild Turkey gobbler.  Heard lots of Kentucky Warblers calling.  Solitary Vireos nest.  Scarlet Tanager and Cedar Waxwings.  Red-tailed Hawk snatched up a friend's turkey hurting decoy. 

By Daniel Burns:  6 male Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and 3 female Rose-breasted Grosbeaks at one time in the back yard eating seed. Downy Woodpecker fledglings at feeder.  Three different pairs of Red-bellied Woodpeckers at feeder daily; two of the pairs are carrying peanut butter mix to the nest to feed their young. 

Daniel Burns posted the question on OCAS' main page about the yellow bird at a feeder.  Lauren Thead answered:

"This is the first yellow cardinal I've actually seen even in a photo.  It's a male cardinal (you can judge its sex by its large 'mask'). Yellow cardinals like this one aren't necessarily lacking carotenoids in their diets, but are unable to metabolize them.  In the article I found, it said that normal, red cardinals that were given a diet low in carotenoids were still able to use the tiny amounts that were in the food, so their feathers stayed red."

Daniel also listed several sightings in the April newsletter.   Click on one of the links provided on the newsletter page. 

I put out the feeders yesterday and before the day was over, a hummingbird was spotted feeding. how late was I on placing the feeders?
--Howard Malone  April 7, 2008

We've had our feeders up about 2 weeks, after our daughter reported seeing her first one in the Rainbow Lakes area. Within an hour of putting the feeder up, we had our first visitor.  Just this week we've seen our first Indigo Bunting. But we've had an abundance of American Goldfinches; some are so brilliant in color right now.  --Marilyn and Bernard Linton, same day.

By Lauren Thead:  4-5-08 Mourning Doves, 3 Chimney Swifts, 2 Great Crested Flycatchers, 1 Red-eyed Vireo, 2 White-eyed Vireos, 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 2 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, 1 Northern Parula, 1 Prairie Warbler, 2 Dark-eyed Juncos, about 50 American Goldfinches. All at McKee Park, Starkville, MS. Also Cooper's Hawk and flock of over 30 Cedar Waxwings in town of Starkville, MS.

By Nancy Donald:  Monday 3/17 - Hermit Thrush at the birdbath, Hwy 39 N (office); Eastern Wild Turkey, 1 female on right of way,   Hillview Rd., Lauderdale County.

3/10   E. Bluebirds chasing C. Chickadees out of their box in my front yard, Briarwood, Lauderdale County.

3/12   N. Parula (heard) at Hwy 39 N. office.

3/3  Purple Martins, Modern Garden Center's houses on Hwy 39.

 Most of the goldfinches are gone, but I still have a few juncos and White-throated Sparrows at the feeders at work. 

By Lauren Thead:  3-8-08  Wood ducks, male and female; Red-headed Woodpeckers; Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers; Pileated Woodpecker; 30 Cedar Waxwings; Red-shouldered Hawk; Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets; Hermit Thrush.  All at Plymouth Bluff Environmental Center, Columbus, MS.

Also on same date:  Three Pied-billed Grebes; Horned Grebe; 4 Great Egrets; Purple Martins; Red-tailed Hawk; Eastern Meadowlarks; Hooded Mergansers; Great Blue Herons; Kildeer; Double-crested Cormorants; American Robins.  All at Browning Creek, Oktoc community, Lowndes County, MS.  (North of the NNWR)

Also on same date:  Canada Geese; Mallards; American Wigeons; Pied-billed Grebes; American Coot; Double-crested Cormorants; Northern Harrier; Red-tailed Hawk; Great Blue Herons; Great Egrets; Swamp Sparrows; Yellow-rumped Warblers; Red-winged Blackbirds; Song Sparrows.  Also one Barred Owl sitting in tree right beside the road in broad daylight.  It flew off into the woods when we stopped to look.  All above at Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge.

2-2-08  Pine Warblers; Ruby-crowned Kinglets; Cedar Waxwings; Blue-headed Vireo; White-throated Sparrows; Song Sparrows; Red-headed Woodpeckers; Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers; Field Sparrows, Swamp Sparrows; Double-crested Cormorants; Eastern Phoebe.  Also a flock of 18 Purple Finches, the largest flock I've ever seen.   They were in the woods feeding on seeds, which caused a raining sound as the outer husks fell to the forest floor.  All above at Plymouth Bluff Environmental Center, Columbus, MS.

By Nancy Donald:  This past Tuesday, 11/20, an Eastern Phoebe spent the day outside our office window.  The windows are reflective and he just kept calling and calling.  Nice view but by the end of the day I was feeling sorry for him.  Too busy to try to get a picture.

On 9/24 at the feeder of Therrel and Marsha Griffis in Briarwood Estates, 1 American Goldfinch - brightly colored male. Pat and Elaine Sanders also told me of goldfinches at their backyard feeder in Timber Lake for the past several weeks.

By Lauren Thead:  9-18-07—Broad-winged Hawk soaring over Mississippi University for Women campus, Columbus, MS.

9-15-07—White Ibis, 2 Wood Storks, Barred Owl, Pileated Woodpecker, several Eastern Wood-Pewees, Least Flycatcher, 2 White-eyed Vireos, Wood Thrush, 2 Magnolia Warblers, 2 Black-and-white Warblers, Hooded Warbler, about 10 American Goldfinches.  Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge.

9-3-07—Magnolia Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Northern Parula, Prothonotary Warbler,Yellow-throated Vireo, Green Heron, Purple Gallinule, 3 Wood Storks, 3 White Ibises, 4 Wild Turkeys, 3 Anhingas, 2 Canada Warblers.  Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge.  The Purple Gallinule seen at Bluff Lake boardwalk was especially interesting to watch as it methodically turned over floating lotus leaves to find insects, clambered atop lotus pods to pick out the seeds (the pods didn’t hold up for long under the bird’s weight!), and just generally reminded one of a brightly-colored, shore-dwelling chicken.

8-6-07—Barred Owl, about 20 Wood Storks, lots of wading birds at rookery.  Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge.   

By the Lintons, end of August:  For the second evening in a row, my husband and I witnessed a covey of Common Nighthawks swarming an area just south of Meridian, near the Hwy 45 bypass.  Last evening we discovered them too late, as darkness had set in.  But this evening we were in place watching before dark, and I had my camera in hand.  Of course, there's no identifying them from the pics I took; they are way toooo fast for that.  But we stood in awe as they performed their aerial display.  I'd guess there were from 25 - 50 of them on both nights.

By Thead women, Aug. 25 :  Something in excess of 150 Wood Storks at a couple of catfish ponds north of Brooksville, MS.   Also, on Monday the 27th, many Mississippi Kites over Hwy 45 around the Lowndes/Noxubee County line.

By Nancy Donald, 1st week of June.   Chuck-will's-widow near Marion, MS.  Later on, in a week's time, by Howard Malone:  another Chuck-will's-widow.

Above photo by Lomax and Ruth Ann Rosamond, March, 2007.  Lovely Cedar Waxwings!

By Nancy Donald:  5/2/07  Rose-breasted grosbeak, Hwy 39 N, Meridian.

5/ 22 - 5/24 A pair of Summer tanagers at the office windows (reflective) until workers cut the right of way for the power line.

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