March 18, 2007 [LINK / comment]

Spring (?) birds arrive

Flicker During the past week, we've seen an increasing number of tree-clinging birds in our back yard: a White-breasted nuthatch, a Yellow-bellied sapsucker, a Red-bellied woodpecker, and a Flicker, seen here. Grackles have returned in large numbers; supposedly they are non-migratory, but I hardly ever see them in the winter. On Tuesday I took a quick walk behind the Staunton-Augusta Rescue Squad and saw:

On the way to Highland County today, we saw a Red-tailed hawk, and Robins seemed to be everywhere. There was a White-breasted nuthatch at the Confederate Breastworks, but not much else. The last time I was in Highland County (with the Augusta Bird Club in January), I saw two life birds: some Golden eagles, and a Rough-legged hawk.