Sunday, December 03, 2006



Good variety of feeder birds this a.m., including a "new" yard bird:



Redbellied woodpecker

Downy woodpecker

Carolina wren

Northern mockingbird (eating holly berries) - not seen regularly in my yard,
so a real treat

Carolina chickadee

White-breasted nuthatch

House sparrow

House finch

PINE SISKEN  - new "yard" bird

American goldfinch

Dark-eyed junco

Northern cardinal





For those interested in the American kestrel thread, here are my
observations:



Kestrels may be in decline, but I see them everywhere in Licking Co.  There
appear to be *at least* three nesting pairs along Route 13 between north
Newark and Utica, a route I travel daily to work.  (What size territory
would we expect a pair to use?)  I see them on utility wires other places in
Licking Co., as well.  Friday in the blustery wind, one was clinging
precariously to the wire, trying to search for food in the roadside grasses.
Kind of funny to watch.  The last time I went to Columbus in daylight, I saw
one on a utility wire along Morse Road in eastern Franklin Co.  The second
bird on my 2006 year list was a kestrel I saw on my way to Black Hand Gorge
on Jan. 1.



Along route 13, I regularly see a male and a female (sometimes both,
sometimes singly) between Chestnut Hills Road and Newton School.  I
occasionally see one between Newton School and St. Louisville.  I often see
one on the farm of a friend who lets me bird the quarries which can be seen
from his fields. (St. Louisville)  I have seen both a female and a male near
the 64 Metals facility just north of St. Louisville.  There is another pair,
male and female often seen, just south of Utica, near the Stevenson farm.  I
see one or both several times a week.  AS you probably know, this is a rich
farming valley, rather narrow, following the North Fork of the Licking
River.  The bordering hills are wooded, providing the nesting opportunities.
It seems like perfect kestrel habitat.



I did check my Avisys.  I have 26 sightings recorded (not nearly all I've
seen!)  Of those, one (my original life bird) was Licking Co., 1999 (on a
utility wire near Route 62).  Four were from 2005 (when I purchased my
Avisys software), and the rest from 2006.  The sightings are from 9 states,
and in Ohio, from Licking, Muskingum, Clinton, Fairfield, Wyandot and
Franklin counties.  I also have one recorded from Killdeer Plains for which
I did not record the county.  I'll try to be more "scientific" and less
random about my recording, because the kestrel is one of my favorite birds.
I love to watch them hover and dive to scoop up some grasshopper or small
rodent.



Margaret Bowman

Licking Co., OH








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