Wood Thrush Notes

Radnor Birding Walks

The Nashville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society is once again leading birdwatching walks at Radnor Lake on Wednesdays through October 12th. Join experienced and knowledgeable members of TOS to look for migrants as they pass through the 1368 acre state park. Meet in the parking lot near the kiosks outside the Visitor’s Center, located off Otter Creek Rd, by 7:30 am. The route is always the same…up the road, across the spillway and up the trail to Long Bridge, where the walk officially ends. If you’re running late or get stuck in traffic you can catch up to the group quite easily. Bring your binoculars and be prepared to learn and see a few birds you may not have seen before. Click here to view the NTOS event calendar.

REWARDS CARD now available at The Wood Thrush Shop

The last few years have been unpredictable and tumultuous in many ways including the birdseed market.  We avoided our popular seed storage sales because of the volatility of the birdseed market.  It is a commodity and subject to fluctuations in price based on growing and harvest conditions, fuel and labor costs, demand for supply, farmers choosing other crops to grow if profits are projected to be better, and of course freight cost. 

We are excited to introduce a “rewards program” in which you are given a card that will receive a stamp after each purchase over 1 of 2 different dollar amounts, $30 or $75. Complete your card with 5 purchases and get a discount on your next visit. The discount for the $30 level is $10 and for the $75 level, the discount is $25. Next time you’re in to pick up some seed we will give you a card and apply the first stamp to get you started. We ask that you please keep up with your card and present it at the time of each purchase to get stamped.

Corn Special

I goofed and ordered way too much corn on the cob.  For those of you feeding deer, squirrels, and other corn consumers we have a deal on Corn on the Cob. 

Buy 1 8# or 35# bag and get 1 FREE. The offer is good until our supply is reduced.

Store Closure dates in September and October

The Wood Thrush Shop will be taking some time off in September and October to recharge and take advantage of this wonderful weather.

• Closed September 27.

• Closing 2 pm on October 15th, and closed on October 17 thru 18.

Wood Thrush Notes

Spring is officially here as of this Sunday! So much, in regards to birds, is happening and will only get better and more interesting in the coming weeks. Yesterday, I checked all nest boxes on my property and found 2 Chickadee nests started, and 1 Carolina Wren nest complete, but no eggs yet. Bluebirds have been trying to decide which box to use and in past years I’ve seen this process go on until mid-April before a decision was made. Many times Bluebirds eventually moved into one of the boxes Chickadees successfully fledged their babies from.

Eastern Bluebird nest.

Carolina Chickadee nest.

We’ve only had one reported Bluebird nest with eggs so far, which is quite normal as the majority of Bluebirds do not start actually nesting for another couple of weeks. You still have plenty of time to attract Bluebirds even if you haven’t put a nest box up yet. For success this spring I wouldn’t wait much longer, though. All too often people new to attracting Bluebirds think they must offer mealworms to attract Bluebirds, which is not true. It’s certainly fun to feed Bluebirds but not at all necessary to the process. Some of you may already be seeing Tree Swallows as they have become frequent users of birdhouses.

The first Ruby-throated hummingbirds to arrive in this area are probably just a week to ten days away. As exciting as that is I would not advise putting out several feeders just yet. One feeder with a small amount of nectar will suffice as their interest in feeders is minimal at this time of year. Keep in mind the hummingbird you see may very well be migrating much further north to its summer home, perhaps as far as Canada. Let us know if you see one. I have never seen one earlier than April 4 at my home in Cheatam County.

As we approach mid-April we will experience the main period of migration in middle TN. Warblers, Vireos, Flycatchers, Wood Thrush, Summer, and Scarlet Tanagers, and Orioles, will be present as they settle into their summer home here or move on to destinations north of us.

Indigo Bunting.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

At your feeders be ready for Indigo Buntings and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks.  R-B Grosbeaks are especially fond of visiting feeders with sunflower and safflower.   While a platform feeder may be their preferred feeding situation they adapt very well to tube feeders as well.

This week it was noticeable that Goldfinches are changing out of their drab winter outfit in to their beautiful yellow summer plumage. 

I’m so glad spring is here, aren’t you!?

Great Backyard Bird Count & Recent Bird Sightings

Coming Soon. The Great Backyard Bird Count.

Once again the Great Backyard Bird Count is just a few weeks away, February 18th thru 21st. The GBBC is a worldwide online citizen-science project, the first of its kind, to collect data on wild birds and display results in near real time. It was launched in 1998 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society.

Our observations and data help scientists better understand global bird populations before one of their annual migrations.

Visit www.birdcount.org/about/ for more info on the count!

It’s fun and easy to participate and all you need is a birdfeeder or two. Information and instructions are available through the link provided. The 3 steps to participating are as follows:

Step 1 – Decide where you will watch birds. Easy enough. Your backyard works just fine.

Step 2 – Watch birds for 15 minutes or more, at least once over the four days, February 18-21, 2022.

Step 3 – Count all the birds you see or hear within your planned time/location and use the best tool for sharing your bird sightings:

If you are a beginning bird admirer and new to the count, try using the Merlin Bird ID app.

If you have participated in the count before, try eBird Mobile app or enter your bird list on the eBird website www.ebird.org (desktop/laptop).

If you are participating as a group, see instructions for Group Counting.

We hope you will participate and present your data for a very worthy study.

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Recent Bird Sightings of Interest

Locally, a number of customers have seen Pine Warbler at suet feeders during the recent snow falls. They are one of the few warblers to be seen here in winter. Others sometimes seen at feeders include Orange-crowned and Yellow-rumped warblers.

Pine Warbler

Orange-crowned Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Elsewhere in the state, bird sightings of particular interest include a Painted Bunting being seen consistently in Knoxville. Painted bunting, like Indigo bunting, usually migrate back to Central and South America in the fall and return in the spring.

Great Horned owls on Nest

You may not know that Great horned owls begin nesting as early as mid-January and February in southern parts of the U.S. Clutch size of GH owls is between 1 and 4 eggs and it takes 30-37 days to incubate. The fledgling period takes roughly 42 days. Pine trees are often a favorite choice of nesting location as are cavities in live trees, dead snags, deserted buildings, cliff ledges, and man-made platforms. I once witnessed a GH owl nest on a cliff-ledge along the Harpeth River.

The video below is taken from a live stream of a GH owl in Savannah Georgia. Click here to link to the live stream.

Wood Thrush Notes & Holiday Hours

Rufous Hummingbird at Shelby Bottoms

Store hours update. Happy New Year everyone! We will be open Saturday, Jan 1 from 10 a.m. until 5 pm.

Rufous Hummingbird Banded in Nashville

A Rufous Hummingbird was observed visiting a feeder at Shelby Bottoms Park this week. The bird was consistently visiting a feeder on the front porch of the visitor center. Cyndi Routledge of Southeaster Avian Research captured and banded the bird and determined it to be a hatching year male.

Remember, there is a chance you may see a wintering hummingbird by keeping a feeder out with fresh nectar. Western hummingbirds like Rufous, Anna’s, Calliope, and Black-chinned, have all been witnessed coming to feeders in the Nashville area during the winter months. Temperatures have been warm and it would not be difficult to keep up with a feeder. So, if you’re feeling lucky go ahead and put out a feeder today and let us know if you see a hummingbird.

Huge Purple Martin Roost in Nashville

The huge Purple Martin roost that created quite a stir at the Nashville Symphony Center last year is back. Last September an estimated 150,000 Purple Martins turned the Symphony Center into a staging area roost in their fall migration and they have returned.

Purple Martins leave their colony nesting sites by mid-July and begin gathering in flocks before moving again to the next destination on their route. Eventually they will form huge roosts numbering in the hundreds of thousands along the Gulf Coast from Texas to Florida as they continue migration to their winter homes in Bolivia, Brazil and Argentina.

The roost will likely be present for another few weeks so make it a point to go see this amazing spectacle.

Warner Park may still be looking for volunteers to assist on a nightly basis to monitor and report observations. For more information visit

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4da5ac2da3f8c34-purple1