As I went out to the back yard one morning this week, I caught sight of the tail ends of two black and white birds flying away. I thought at first they were a pair of Downy Woodpeckers, but the stark separation between the black and white made me wonder. When I returned to the house, I saw my visitors at the feeder. They were Red-breasted Grossbeaks and they were stunning.
I have had a few visits from these red, white and black beauties in the past. They usually show up one day and are gone the next. The birds migrate through Central Virginia each spring and fall. Their preferred nesting grounds are in deciduous forests at elevations over 3,000 feet. The males arrive first, in small groups and wait for the females. The female looks a bit like a hen quail, but with a pronounced ivory bill. They are brownish birds with white eyebrows. The males have raven black heads with bright cherry throats and white breasts with black and white feathers.
There are two grosbeaks in Virginia, the Blue Grosbeak and the Red-Breasted variety. Many confuse Blue Grosbeaks with Indigo buntings. The name grosbeak is derived from their oversized beaks with which they use to crush seeds and nuts.
In the past two weeks, I have had visits from Eastern Towhees, Cedar Waxwings and now Red-breasted Grosbeaks.
Next week? Who knows?