Wood Thrush Notes: Fall Migration, A Record Hummingbird

Fall Migration

With summer winding down and autumn right around the corner, Fall Migration is underway! We love Fall Migration at the Wood Thrush Shop. Few things serve as a better distraction to the trickle of House Finches and raggedy bald Cardinals at our feeders than the chance at seeing something unusual that requires the retrieval of a field guide off the book shelf!

Just the other day while passing through Ashland City, I observed four Great Egrets in the mud flats of Marrowbone Creek. These large, graceful members of the Egret family can be found the world over, but are most commonly seen here in Middle Tennessee during the Spring and Fall Migrations.

With Fall Migration also comes the nonbreeding plumage warblers, which can provide a fun challenge for the enthusiastic birder. As the breeding season has concluded, not only are many species no longer sporting their vibrant spring plumage, the males are also no longer singing their distinctive songs to aid in identification.

Don’t have time to go traveling around to find interesting birds? That is one of the great things about the migration months, sometimes the birds come to you! For example, both of these warblers below were right out in my own front yard. Birding can’t get much easier than that!

A Record Hummingbird

Last week, the small town of Dover, TN. was the location of a new record in the birding world, thanks to an important discovery made by Cyndi Rutledge and Southeastern Avian Research! While banding hummingbirds, in the backyard of a resident, they re-captured a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird by the name of K78219. So, what’s so special about K78219 you ask yourself? This particular hummingbird has the distinction of being the oldest known Ruby-throated Hummingbird on record!

First captured on July 14th, 2017, K78219 was so unbothered by his capture that he returned and was caught again in 2018, 2020, and 2021. He didn’t resurface again until August of 2024, where he was calculated to be at least 8 years and 2 months old. Excitement began to build during the offseason with the knowledge that if the bird returned the following year, it might be a record.

Sure enough, on July 22nd 2025, K78219 was captured again at the ripe age of 9 years and 1 month old, making him the oldest ever male Ruby-throated Hummingbird! This story doesn’t end there, though… A month later on August 20th, the same bird was captured again, putting its age at 9 years, 2 months, and 20 days, officially making it the oldest Ruby-throated Hummingbird ever captured!

The Oldest Ruby-throated Hummingbird Ever Recorded

Photo Credit: Cyndi Rutledge, Southeastern Avian Research






Wood Thrush Notes: Decreased Feeder Activity, Hummingbird Feeders on Sale, Select Fountains on Sale

Decreased Activity at Feeders

Have you noticed a slowdown at your bird feeders? Over the last few weeks, we have begun to receive our annual “where are my birds?” questions and if you are one of the many folks noticing this, we’d like to put your mind at ease. This is normal, and we experience this every year around this time.

There are a couple reasons for this. Remember back in May and June, when it felt like you were refilling your feeders once or twice a day? During those months, (the busiest time of year at the feeders) birds are eating not only for themselves, but for their young as well. Fast forward to late summer/fall, the young have left the nest, the breeding season has concluded, so they now only have to eat enough for themselves.

The other reason for reduced feeder activity is because everything in nature that produces food, be it nuts, seeds, fruits, or berries has or is producing food right now. This coupled with the warm weather means that insects are still extremely prevalent, (as you’ve likely discovered for yourself if you have tried to go outside to enjoy the last few nice evenings.) so there is an abundance of food available for them in the wild this time of year. Our weekly seed shipments are how we know that the birds never depend on our feeder offerings; during May and June, we have to order between 7,000-9,000 pounds of seed each week. During September and October however, we might order as little as 3,000 pounds per week.

To summarize, if you have started to notice a decline in your feeder activity, there is nothing wrong, it is all part of the natural order of things. Feeder activity will begin to increase again once we get into November, with cooler temperatures becoming the norm and insects becoming scarce. In the meantime though, we do have a few suggestions for ways to get your birding fix.

Pileated Woodpeckers Feeding

Photo by Eli Haislip

Peak Activity at Hummingbird Feeders, Hummingbird Sale

While things might be slowing down at your seed feeders, hummingbird feeders are a different story. August and September are actually the busiest time of the year at hummingbird feeders. That’s right! If you put up a feeder this spring and became discouraged by the lack of activity, not only is it not too late, now is the best time. Now that hummingbirds have concluded their nesting, they are turning their attention to fattening up for their long migration south. In addition, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds that nested further north are already on the move, meaning they will be passing through and visiting feeders as well as our hummers that spent the season here.

If you want a place nearby to sit, relax, and enjoy impressive numbers of hummingbirds, consider stopping by the Warner Park Nature Center. It is the best place in the area to watch hummingbirds!

We also inevitably get questions about a lack of feeder activity this time of year. While your location often dictates your numbers of hummers, a complete lack of interest in your feeder is unusual. When we hear this, the first question we ask is always “When was the last time you changed your nectar?” If the answer is more than three days, that is your culprit. During summer temperatures, nectar needs to be changed at least every two to three days, otherwise it will ferment and/or grow mold. Make sure to keep your feeders clean and you nectar fresh, you don’t want to be the person who misses the hummers because of spoiled nectar and dirty feeders!

To celebrate the peak activity, all hummingbird feeders and accessories are 20% off, now through Friday, August 29th!

Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird Visiting a Perky Pet Pinch-waist Feeder

Photo by Eli Haislip

Providing Water, Select Fountains on Sale

Another way to attract birds to your backyard during late summer and fall is by providing water. While running water is the most attractive option, that is not to say they won’t drink or bathe in still water! This week, in addition to our special on hummingbird feeders, our Hydrangea Leaves fountains will also be on sale 20% off! Don’t let the shallow depth of these fountains fool you, birds will still happily drink and splash around in these. Also, because of the depth of the reservoir, a deicer can also be used meaning this fountain can stay out year-round! Our supply is extremely limited, so if you want to take advantage of this sale, it might be worth calling ahead to make sure we are not out.

Campania Hydrangea Leaves Fountain, Regularly $320, This Week, $256

Photo by Campania International

















Wood Thrush Notes: All Iron 25% Off, a White Hummingbird in West Meade

Do you have an old, worn out, leaning pole? Maybe your squirrel baffle still works, but its beauty days are far behind it. Or perhaps you’ve been wanting to buy a deck mount pole to really bring those hummingbirds in close, but you keep putting it off. Now’s the time to stop putting it off and finally make it happen… All Erva iron products in the store are 25% now off through Friday, August 22nd! There are several items included in this we want to highlight, so before you tell yourself you don’t need anything metal and scroll down to read about the white hummingbird, at least skim this section!

SB1D, SB8, and SB2 Baffles

That’s right! Our baffles are also included in the iron sale. Erva baffles are made here in the USA and built to last. When used in the correct situation, they are 100% guaranteed to keep squirrels and racoons off your feeder. The SB1D is our favorite baffle overall. While all three are equally effective, this one has the lowest profile and therefore will collect the least mess from the feeder above. The only thing to keep in mind is due to the design, SB1D baffles will only work on poles where the top can be removed; they will NOT work on standard one piece shepherd poles. (Fortunately though, all our poles are included in the sale as well!) SB2 baffles look like the SB1D but on steroids. These are the baffles that we can guarantee against racoons. While the SB1Ds will probably keep a racoon off, the giant SB2 certainly will. These are also a good deterrent to keep snakes out of your bluebird box. Lastly, we have the conical SB8 baffle. This wraparound model is the one you need if you are using a shepherd pole. Normally, these baffles are $35, $70, and $40 respectively, although this week with the sale price, they are $26.25, $52.50, and $30!

Hummingbird Feeder Poles, Rain Guards, and Decorative Hooks

Our hummingbird feeder poles, ($25 for green, $20 for red, $23 for black before discount) metal rain/sun covers, ($30 for large, $19 for small before discount) and decorative (but functional) hummingbird hooks ($13.50 for black, $15 for red before discount) are part of the sale, too! We are currently in the peak of hummingbird activity at feeders, which will continue now through early September. Even after this, hummingbirds will be passing through with regularity into October, so it’s not too late to get your hummingbird feeding accessories.

A White Hummingbird in West Meade

In the past week, we have received multiple reports from customers living in West Meade of seeing something a little… Different. This mystery flier turned out to be a white Ruby-throated Hummingbird! While this is not unheard of, it is quite rare. Most likely it is leucistic, however without being able to observe it for ourselves, we cannot rule out the even rarer albino as a possibility. If you live in the area and have seen this bird, let us know! Email us any photos or videos you are able to get of it to thewoodthrushshop@gmail.com and we will follow up with an update in our next blog!

Happy Birding!

Wood Thrush Notes: Bald Birds and Preventing Bugs in Seed

What’s Going on with that Bird?

Have you recently seen a Cardinal that looks like it went to a barber shop and told the barber to “give me my money’s worth?” You’re not alone! Every year around this time, we begin to hear reports from customers and see examples on our feeders of bald Northern Cardinals, as well as Blue Jays. As odd as they look, we can assure you that this is normal. Typically, it is caused by molting (the process where birds lose and replace their feathers) although in certain cases it can be caused by feather mites. For most individuals, the feathers will grow back within a few weeks, well before the colder nights of late autumn arrive so there is no need for us to worry!

Strategies to Keep Your Seed Bug Free

It’s the time of the year when birdfeeder activity slows down noticeably after the torrid pace of spring and early summer. August thru October is typically when you will see the least amount of activity at your feeders. Why? Because the breeding season is over, and adult birds no longer have young to raise. Feeders are EXTREMELY important to birds while raising young. Rather than roaming great distances in search of food, taking them away from their nests, they make repeated trips to your feeders. With nesting responsibilities concluded they can now afford to broaden their search for more natural food sources, including seeds of plants and insects which of course are in vast supply.

We will often caution customers against buying large quantities of seed at this point in the season. Instead, they may want to reduce their purchase for now knowing that large quantities of seed may sit in a container for a few months which will likely result in a buggy experience. The bug I’m referring to is the Indian Meal Moth. This little brown moth, about ¼” in. in length, loves dry goods such as seeds, grains, crackers, flour, dry pet food, cereal, etc. Because the seed we sell is never treated with pesticides, it is inevitable a few Meal Moth eggs will find their way into a bag of seed. Given time in a warm, safe container, those eggs will hatch and become the next stage of their lifecycle, a larva. The larvae will then cocoon to later become the moth. Thus the cycle begins.

· Buy smaller quantities. During this time frame, when you do purchase a new bag of seed, make sure you use ALL the remaining seed in your container and give it a good rinse before adding the new bag of seed. You want to make sure there aren’t already the beginnings of insect activity.

· Another great option, and this is something we do here at the shop, is run the bag through the freezer overnight. The cold temperatures in the freezer are cold enough to kill eggs or larvae, thus preventing the issue before it can begin.

· Going back to our first point, we highly recommend not buying more seed than you will go through in a month. If you are able to go through the seed faster than that, that’s even better. Besides, it gives you a chance to come by the shop and see us more often!

Wood Thrush Notes: Bird Bio: Osprey, Product Special

Bird Bio: Osprey

Some weeks, deciding on a blog topic prove difficult, with me not knowing what I am going to write about until Friday afternoon. Fortunately for my sanity, not all weeks are like that, and sometimes the topics seem to choose themselves. Last Sunday morning found me in a tent on the Tennessee side of Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, staring up at the sky as four Ospreys wheeled in the sky overhead calling at one another. For once, I actually had the right camera and lens combination, so I got myself up and walked to a nearby Osprey nest I remembered finding on a previous visit. (Without my camera)

Sunrise Over Land Between the Lakes

Photo by Eli Haislip

Note: There is another active Osprey nest on the island as of writing this!

The nest was still there, although instead of one bird in it, there were two! I waded out into the water for a better photograph, and while I was there, a third bird flew back to the nest, loudly calling the entire time. My first thought was that this was likely one of the parents returning, however a closer look at its feathers and amber colored eyes (adults have yellow eyes) told me it was another juvenile! Getting to see this spectacle was even better than the cool morning breeze blowing in off the water!

Adult Osprey (left) and Two Juveniles

Photo by Eli Haislip

Back in the comfort of my air conditioned home, I settled onto the couch to begin my background research and my respect for these birds grew all the more! They are quite the accomplished travelers, racking up enough air miles during their life to circle the globe 6 and half times! According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the average individual will log upwards of 160,000 migration miles over the course of its two decade average lifespan. They don’t dawdle, either, with one GPS tagged bird making the 2700 mile trek from Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts all the way to French Guiana in northern South America in only 13 days!

Adult Osprey in Flight

Photo by Eli Haislip

Osprey can be found all over the world, from North and South America to Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. Here in Tennessee, Ospreys typically begin to arrive in early March, stay through the breeding season, and then depart south again in November.

During the spring and summer months, the best places to look for Osprey are along lakes, rivers, and other bodies of water. Unique among raptors, (birds of prey) an Osprey eats almost exclusively fish, with it making up 99% of its diet, according to Cornell. They will soar above the water, sometimes stopping to hover, before diving down with legs and razor sharp talons extended to splash down upon their unsuspecting prey. Most of the fish they catch range between 6-13 inches in length, although the largest recorded osprey catch was a fish weighing 2.5 pounds. Studies show that they have a very high rate of success when hunting, between 25% and 70%. That alone is likely enough to make anybody reading this who has ever dipped a line in the water envious!

An Osprey Clutching Its Catch

Photo by Eli Haislip

Ospreys construct large nests out of sticks, lined with bark, grasses, and algae. They will return to and reuse nests, adding to them each year until the nests grow extremely large; large enough for one of us to sit in! Males generally gather the material for the nest, and the female will then arrange it to her liking.

They will have one brood per year, with it typically consisting of 1-4 eggs. The first chick to hatch will hatch up to 5 days before the rest, giving it a head start over its siblings. In years where there is plenty of food, this doesn’t prove to be a problem, however when food is scarce, the older chick can outcompete its younger siblings. Incubation lasts 36-42 days (for comparison, the Eastern bluebird will have completed one nesting and had time to start on a second in the same amount of time) with the nestling period taking up another 50-55 days.

Osprey Nest

Photo by Eli Haislip

Note the large sticks and twigs making up the body of the nest.

This Week’s Special: Window Mounted Birdfeeders 20% Off

In our opinion, there are few ways that build appreciation for our feathered friends quite like seeing them up close and personal. Normally, this would be where I would pound our Use Your Binoculars drum, but this week, I have another suggestion. Have you ever considered a window mounted bird feeder? These are small feeders that attach to your window by way of suction cups, affording you an up close detailed look at your feeder.

These make a great gift for the kid in your life that loves birds and can’t get enough of watching them. I speak from personal experience when I say with school starting back soon, there’s nothing to get a child through the tedium and mild anxiety of get-to-know-each other activities like knowing they can come home after a long first day of school and observe at a bald Cardinal feeding from 6 inches away.

Maybe you don’t know the kid that I am describing. Do you personally know any cats? Do you have any friends with cats? Window mounted bird feeders go by another name here at the shop… Cat TV. Cats will watch the feeder for hours, mesmerized. Not only will it give them something to do, it generally rubs off on their humans, too!

All our current models of window mounted bird feeders are 20% off through Friday, August 8th, so come by and get yours while supplies last!

P.S.

These also make a great gift for somebody who might enjoy the concept of the different camera bird feeders, but don’t want the hassle of having to keep their feeder charged, connected to WiFi, and creating yet another account.