Early spring can be a temptress: the longer days and the singing birds lure us outside, but winds and falling temperatures sent us back to the warmth of the fire. Such was the teasing, fickle nature of March, a capricious month indeed.

Our feathered friends mocked those cold spring days with their lusty calls and songs. The rich carol of the cardinal, the pleasant warble of the house finch, and even the raucous cries of the common grackle underscored the arrival of spring at Shirley. The plaintive whistle of the meadowlark can be heard as you walk about the grounds. You may see this handsome singer atop the grasses in the field beyond the old kitchen. The cardinal has been pouring forth his splendid song all about the courtyard, and the house finches have discovered quarters to let around the doors and porches of the mansion and the dependencies. Even our resident roosters have been doing a lot of crowing.

You'll doubtless see and hear the noisy grackles foraging on the lawn as you approach the parking lot. With them are often numbers of European starlings. The grackles are the blackbirds with the long tails; starlings have short, stubby tails. Earlier in March I was seeing an occasional red-winged blackbird in the same general area near the staff parking lot; now I see him perched in the fields nearby, often flashing his red epaulets.

April and May have brought the return of many favorite birds from their distant winter climes. The barn swallows for weeks now have been flying over the mansion. Ed and I have had brief glimpses of the "white" swallow, probably the same partial albino which nested on the house porch a year ago. I have seen the handsome tree swallows in flight over the cotton fields. The ever twittering chimney swifts, often mistaken for bats, may be observed throughout the spring and summer days in their fantastic aerial displays around the estate.

So dust off your field guides. The bird songs tell it all: spring has arrived in all her wonder and glory.


June 2004

‘Tis the nesting season, and we see a lot of baby birds being fed by their parents. One can hear the “peeps” of the little ones begging for tasty treats as one walks about. Along with the juvenile music, one continues to hear the beautiful songs of the adult birds.

Listen for the plaintive whistles of the meadowlarks around the estate. I saw one the other day perched on the fence near the chicken coop. The bird was facing me, and I was treated to see his handsome golden breast and black “V” necklace. Shirley is one of the best places to view meadowlarks.

Dennis Blanton reports sightings of kestrels or “sparrow hawks” around the property. This handsome small hawk is indeed in evidence. He is wont to perch on the wires about the estate. When approached, he may fly off a little and then return to the wire, frequently bobbing his tail.

If you come and go straight out the road to Hopewell, you are sure to encounter numerous killdeer by the edge of the pasture. The lovely birds are fond of fields and open land, and they make their nests on the ground. You may see them in towns nesting on playing fields or even the flat roofs of buildings. When alarmed by an intruder, the parent bird will often feign a broken wing to lead the possible miscreant away from the nest. Drive carefully down that pretty dirt road and be watchful: I counted nine killdeer along that stretch recently.

Likewise keep your eyes peeled for the marvelous goldfinches which are fond of perching on the tall weeds and grasses. These bright yellow birds with the black wings will frequent your feeders as well. They are especially fond of niger seed.

Another very colorful bird you may see this summer at Shirley is the diminutive brilliant blue indigo bunting. The male enjoys flaunting his colors, often singing his cheery warble from an exposed perch. I saw one the other day perched high on a stalk of corn near the entrance gate. What a marvelous blue gem!

So keep watching, enjoy the beauty, and let me know what you’re seeing.


October 2004

Many of us have seen the stately great egret prancing about the plantation fields of late, especially after recent rains left rivulets throughout the harvested fields. Canada geese have relished the same environment.

On the 21st, Jane Burhop and I spotted the smaller, oft hunched-over cattle egret in the horse pasture. A native of the Old World, this species invaded South America in the nineteenth century and reached Florida by the 1940s. It has continued to spread over much of North America. The cattle egret is often found in fields with livestock where it feeds on insects attracted to the dung of horses and cattle.

Another bird which follows large hoofed mammals is the brown-headed cowbird. In the same pasture with the cattle egret was an extremely large flock of cowbirds, certainly well over a hundred individuals. The male is quite dapper with his basic black outfit and brown head; the female is demure in understated gray. Elegant in appearance but not in manner, the cowbird is a brood parasite which lays its eggs in the nests of other species. Then the cowbird goes its merry way, leaving all parental duties to other birds.

In contrast to the ill-mannered cowbirds is another denizen of our farmland which is much adored – the winsome bobwhite. I spotted a pair of these charming birds not far from the slope to the James River earlier this month.

On the last day of August I was extremely fortunate and pleased to discover both a prothonotary warbler and a prairie warbler in the same tree not far from the main house. Both are early migrants.

This month and the next will bring other migrating songbirds through Virginia. The fall migration is now in full swing. Take out your field guides and study the range maps of some of these birds. It is truly amazing how far many of them will travel to their winter homes.


November 2004

How often recently we at Shirley have heard the plaintive honking of Canada geese as flocks in formation pass over our heads. “Fall is here,” we may sagely comment to our fellows. But are the geese which we’re hearing and observing really migrant birds? Or are we witnessing some of our resident geese just taking a little outing over the old plantation? I daresay we’re seeing birds from both populations. In recent years more and more Canada geese have started spending their lives here in the Old Dominion. Populations have grown especially in areas with suburban golf courses and artificial lakes. To play a bit with the old adage, “what’s good for man is good for the goose.”

Looking upward for the geese, you’ll also see the laughing gulls here and there. Now they no longer sport their black caps of spring and summer; in winter they have that white, bald look. Few are seen here in the cold months.

Replacing the laughing gull for most of us in the winter is the ring-billed gull, a bird I refer to frequently as the “shopping center” gull. These tame visitors who love to sample some of our leftovers and scraps around shopping malls also enjoy coming to our plowed fields for tidbits in the countryside. Usually they can be viewed on Shirley’s fields.

Around the courtyard we should soon be seeing two winter residents which will also be apt to visit your feeding stations at home: the white-throated sparrow and the dark-eyed junco or “snowbird.” Listen for the white-throat’s melancholy whistle: “Old Sam Peabody… Peabody… Peabody…” Ah, that wistful call! Perhaps better known is the junco with his striking attire of black and white. It is said that the bird’s dark back represents the gray skies of winter, while the white belly symbolizes the snow beneath. The dapper little fellow is a charming addition to our winter landscape.

December 2004

Early one morning, the handsome Eastern bluebird was perched proudly on our sign by the parking area which reads: “Welcome to Shirley Plantation.” This lovely member of the thrush family, like his cousin the American robin, is a permanent resident of Virginia. Many a winter day is brightened by his blue cloak and ruddy vest.

As you walk about the grounds you will perhaps flush a small flock of juncos or “snowbirds.” These winter residents are now back and they enjoy the rows of bushes as well as the open areas where they forage. I was delighted to spy two handsome white-crowned sparrows near the big house just the other day. They also are winter visitors, clad in their stylish caps of black and white. Few birds sport hats as fetching. The more common white-throated sparrows have also returned here for the cold months. I have heard their haunting whistles but haven’t seen them yet.

Many staff members have reported sightings of our national bird, the bald eagle, perched in grandeur on the bare tree just to the North of the Great House by the James River. This splendid creature, occasionally with a companion, may be seen at that spot from time to time during the winter season. How fitting it is that the magnificent eagle should stand as a sentinel by the river named for the English king who granted this very land to Sir Thomas West, Virginia’s royal governor, back in 1613.

Thomas B. McCary