In the 37 years that my wife Lynda and I have lived here on Compton Mt we have
never seen a Bobolink within miles of our place, except for one dead one we
found several years ago that had flown into a window. You can imagine my
surprise this morning when I looked out the window at the backyard and saw an
adult male Bobolink feeding in the grass. The bird was only here, after I
became aware of it, for about 5 minutes.
Also here was our First Of the Season White-crowned Sparrow that stopped over
to feed as it was heading northward. Three Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, two males
and one female, were here as well.
Later in the day I went for a hike around the property and down into the woods.
I counted 44 species for the day, including American Redstarts, Hooded
Warblers, Ovenbird, Yellow Warbler and my FOS Yellow-breasted Chat. I also got
looks at a male Scarlet Tanager, a Gray Catbird, and I watched a
Yellow-throated Vireo pick caterpillars from a tent caterpillar nest.
I watched one of the resident, nesting Red-shouldered Hawks chase a
Broad-winged Hawk back and forth through the trees. The action was so close and
so fast I didn't get a photo.
A Wood Thrush called from deep in the woods and my FOS Swainson's Thrush flew
up to light briefly on a branch near me. On the way back up the mountain I
found a pair of Hairy Woodpeckers feeding young about 30 feet up in a nest hole
in an Oak tree. That was a treat since we don't see many Hairys here on the
mountain.
On another note I was surprised to find a small Snapping Turtle in our small
pond in the woods. It amazes me how frogs and turtles can find such isolated
ponds, especially on a mountaintop.
Roger Mayhorn
Compton Mt
Buchanan County
