Grosbeaks, hummingbirds beginning to appear at feeders

For the past two weeks, I’ve been in Nacogdoches, Texas, keeping a date with my 4-month-old grandson, Jonah. It was a nice jump forward into late spring, with all of the deciduous trees fully leafed-out and the birds well into their first nesting cycle of the year. When I arrived home late on Sunday, I found my e-mail folder full of messages about hummingbirds and rose-breasted grosbeaks.

Of course, the hummingbirds have been here now since mid-April, but the rose-breasted grosbeaks are just beginning to appear at the feeders. If you have never seen one of these birds before, you are in for a real treat. It is fairly large, about the size of a cardinal, with a bold black and white pattern over the back and wings. The breast is pale with a large splash of bright red under the neck and down the chest. The brown- and white-striped females are more difficult to identify, but can be recognized by the heavy beak from which the bird takes its name.

This species winters in Central and South America, and breeds to the north of us with a few lingering to nest at high elevations in Virginia. If you visit the Peaks of Otter area during the summer, you may hear the clear, melodious song of the rose-breasted grosbeak at altitudes of more than 3,000 feet. The birds are moving through Lynchburg now, and John counted three in our yard recently.

The interesting aspect of the rose-breasted grosbeak invasion is that seeing the bird at feeders is a relatively new phenomenon. In the late 1960s, when I first became interested in birds, nobody reported this species at the feeder. The birds always moved through the area, but were spotted in the woodlands and parks.

About 15 years ago, the species began showing up on a regular basis at feeders, and each year the number of reports increases. The first year that we had the birds at our house was in 1999, when a single bird was seen for two days. In recent years, I can count on finding at least three or four birds in the yard from late April through early May. We have actually seen as many as 11 at one time around our large bird feeder.

The behavior of the rose-breasted grosbeak during migration has changed, and I believe that we may also see the same change in its relative, the blue grosbeak. I’ve already received reports of blue grosbeaks at feeders in Appomattox and Pittsylvania counties, and it is still early in the season for this species. Birds, like most successful animals, are opportunists, and if food is easily available, they will take advantage of it. As more people elect to feed birds on a year-round basis, I predict that our yards will become a welcome resting spot for birds on their way north.

News and notes

The annual Ruskin Freer Memorial Walk, sponsored by the Lynchburg Bird Club, will take place May 1. Meet at 8 a.m. at the end of Thompson Drive for a leisurely morning walk along the Blackwater Creek Trail through the Ruskin Freer Natural Area. We will finish by around 10 a.m. For more information, call (434) 821-1136.