hi birders,
Good birding to ya.

Brief intro note of my backyard birding this weekend, here just outside
charlottesville va.

First for this immediate neighborhood, a bobwhite called clearly for a
bit on Saturday [got several verifications that it was not common to this
rural community in over 8 years].

Eastern bluebirds are fairly active and doing well in nestboxes
provided by adjacent neighbors, often visit my dogwood to sing.

Ruby-throated hummingbird pair has been visiting mostly daily the past
week, at hummer-feeders..had id help from neighbor birder and the Audobon
field guide. We guess that they are a male and female..? They drink
mostly at sugar-solutions, w/some flitting to the red trumpet flowers.
Taking in lots of liquid at once. One gave off a purring buzz sound,
while hovering at the grape vines along trellis near us. Color markings
were clear - ruby-neck and green body, and size was in range expected.

We have a chickadee (male ? ) as solitary visitor at the hummingbird
feeders and millet tubes. Call and markings favor the carolina , less
white and a snappy chick-a-dee-dee-dee, compared to notes about the
black-capped. Chickadees are regular winter residents at the feeders,
but are not usually around during the summer months, here.

The resident mockingbird has been singing constantly (rarely any quiet
periods) from sunrise through the early evening hours..from atop a
utility wire ..each day this summer.

vicki vallastro
troutrus at juno.com