NRVBirds Google Group

Double-crested Cormorants & Red-breasted Mergansers at Claytor lake

2009-11-24T03:02:47Z

Greetings,
This morning I saw two rafts of birds on the lake. The
first one held 32 dc cormorants, and the second contained 20 rb mergansers and
1 ring-necked duck.

Good Birding!

Mark Mullins
Claytor Lake, Va

Re: [NRV Birds] Close Encounter with a Sharp-shinned Hawk

2009-11-23T02:51:19Z

Mark,
WHOA!!! Fantastic photo! Thanks for sharing with the list.
Cecelia in Sparta, NC

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Close Encounter with a Sharp-shinned Hawk

2009-11-23T02:28:32Z

Greetings,
I was watching red-winged blackbirds on the feeders today
when suddenly all the feeder birds flushed. Hawk - immediately entered my
mind, and within a couple of seconds it flew in , did a loop around the
feeders, and landed in a nearby tree.
I grabbed my camera and went outside to attempt a shot or

Birding at NRV Airport and Commerce Park

2009-11-22T00:33:43Z

*November 20, 2009
NRV Airport and Commerce Park*
US · Virginia
Lon. -80.683680, Lat. 37.130145, Alt. 2,103 ft

Member: Allen Boynton
Hotspot: NRV Airport and Commerce Park <[link]>

Notes:
The mourning doves were feasting on recently cut corn. I watched the

Pine Siskin at Claytor Lake

2009-11-19T23:17:57Z

Greetings,
I saw my FOS pine siskin this morning, 1 lone bird.
Yesterday I saw a beautiful male purple finch.

Good Birding,

Mark Mullins
Claytor lake, Va

Re: [NRV Birds] bald eagle

2009-11-17T20:58:04Z

Stan,
I would vote for the bird to be a 2nd year bird. I enjoy the pictures that you share.
Jim Phillips
Pipestem, WV
----- Original Message -----
From: Stan Bentley
To: BlueRidgeBirds Yahoo ; NRV Birds Birds
Sent: Monday, November 16, 2009 8:27 PM
Subject: [NRV Birds] bald eagle

Re: [NRV Birds] bald eagle

2009-11-17T16:50:49Z

I did a little research on plumage patterns of Bald Eagles as they age. The whitish underparts are typical of a bird about 2 yrs. old (when I said the bird was a yearling, I meant a bird older than 1, not yet 2). First (hatching) year birds have wider wings than older ones, and when the feathers are replaced, the new ones (especially obvious in the secondaries) are shorter. A first-year bird would not yet have replaced so many secondaries. So Stan's bird has replaced some (but not all) of its first year secondaries with the shorter ones typical of an older bird. Since Bald eagles normally hatch in the spring, the bird in the photo is probably a year and a half old, though 2 and a half is a possibility.

Fw: Hanging Rock Tower (16 Nov 2009) 35 Raptors

2009-11-17T13:31:15Z

----- Original Message -----
To: cne01...@mail.wvnet.edu
Sent: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 8:11 AM

Hanging Rock Tower
Waiteville, West Virginia, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 16, 2009
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0

Fw: Hanging Rock Tower (15 Nov 2009) 14 Raptors

2009-11-17T13:30:35Z

----- Original Message -----
To: cne01...@mail.wvnet.edu
Sent: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 8:11 AM

Hanging Rock Tower
Waiteville, West Virginia, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 15, 2009
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0

Fw: Hanging Rock Tower (13 Nov 2009) 23 Raptors

2009-11-17T13:29:46Z

----- Original Message -----
To: cne01...@mail.wvnet.edu
Sent: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 8:11 AM

Hanging Rock Tower
Waiteville, West Virginia, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 13, 2009
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0

Re: [NRV Birds] bald eagle

2009-11-17T05:25:37Z

Looks like a yearling to me. The regular irregularity of the rear wing margins is a reflection of the regularity of molt. Some of the feathers on each wing are not completrely grown.

Eric Johnson, Stuart

To: "BlueRidgeBirds Yahoo" <blueridgebird...@yahoogroups. com>, "NRV Birds Birds" <NRVBirds@googlegroups.com>

bald eagle

2009-11-17T01:27:33Z

Ok eagle experts. Gimme' the age of this one at Moncove Lake in Monroe County, WV Saturday. The irregularity of the rear margin wing feathers is perfectly symmetrical - if that makes any sense.
Stan Bentley
Pulaski, VA

Re: [NRV Birds] unusual waxwing tail pattern

2009-11-16T19:59:59Z

Hi Stan,

Beautiful pics! I am thinking that the bird's tail is still growing in
from moult. Immature birds have the same tail pattern as adults, right?

Rose

On Nov 15, 2009, at 11:02 PM, "Stan Bentley" <samorch...@verizon.net>
wrote:

Re: [NRV Birds] unusual waxwing tail pattern

2009-11-16T05:39:23Z

Stan: The waxwing is in heavy tail molt - the outer feathers are just coming in, and so you see different feather lengths. Note that the yellow tips are all the same size. When all feathers are fully grown, the tail will look normal.

Eric Johnson, Stuart

To: "BlueRidgeBirds Yahoo" <blueridgebird...@yahoogroups. com>, "NRV Birds Birds" <NRVBirds@googlegroups.com>

unusual waxwing tail pattern

2009-11-16T04:02:43Z

I ran into a flock of cedar waxwings last week in Craig County near Fenwick Mines. In looking at my photos of one of the birds, I noticed an unusual (at least to me) color pattern in the tail. Instead of the typical yellow terminal band on the tail there were yellow tips of varying length of tail feathers. This made a most interesting and very striking sight. I concluded that this was likely a young bird that had not yet attained its full adult colors. But, after having seen thousands of cedar waxwings, why have I never previously seen this pattern? Any comments or clarifications would be welcome