5/22/16 - My husband and I rode out to Townville Saturday morning, hoping that the
cloudy breezy weather would lead to some interesting sights. The ponds
themselves were quiet - four mallards and a great blue heron were all we saw
there, plus the usual field larks. However, Gaines Road was very active with
songbirds. We saw about half a dozen blue grosbeaks, several goldfinches, a
couple of indigo buntings, Carolina wrens, etc. And our prize for the morning
was a yellow-breasted chat--a lifer for both of us. We watched it for about
ten minutes in the scrubby bushes near the road. I love watching a bird like
that, then later reading up on it and seeing how perfectly it fits the
description in Peterson's book.
7/7/16 - --Recently a red-headed woodpecker flew into a large tree in our yard. I knew
they were in our neighborhood, but this is a first-time yard bird for us.
Such a striking bird.
--Last night as my husband Mike and I were leaving church, we heard a huge
bird altercation. A hawk flew up from beside the building carrying a
mockingbird in its talons, and two other mockers were flying alongside,
pecking at the hawk and giving it what-for. They were flying low, and the
hawk was by far getting the worst of the deal. Mike saw the hawk finally drop
the mockingbird about the time they got to the road. I thought it was a
smaller red-tail, but he thought it was a smaller hawk. (It was getting close
to dusk.) It made for quite an observation.
