The earliest phase of spring is wrapping up. I haven't seen a golden-crowned
kinglet, winter wren, or creeper all week, and junco numbers are way down.
I'm still seeing sapsuckers almost every day. I had 1 or 2 yellow-rumps,
towhees, and ruby-crowned kinglets twice each this week, the first (and only)
swift on Wednesday, thrashers singing the last three days, and today the
first hermit thrush (the yellow-rumps and hermit thrush are migratory birds;
I never see them in winter around Hollin Hills -- perhaps not enough
berries). I haven't found the red-shouldered hawk nest yet (not that I've
looked very hard).
Most interesting behavior was a titmouse chasing a starling around. Perhaps
the starling was getting too close to his nest. Even more interesting was
when the starling retreated to the next tree, a red-belly got into the act,
going after the starling so aggressively that they locked "talons" a few
times and spiraled downward before braking off.
Good birding.
Ben Jesup
Alexandria, VA
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