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breeding (?) Commong Grackles and House Finches return



First two male grackles following a female, then I saw about 50 (80?) C. 
Grackles hanging out here around the breeding location.
For the last 20 years, every year in October, and repeating on warm winter 
days, grackles return to the local nesting colony, after disappearing in 
early July.
This year, a few flocks (with Starlings and Redwinged Blackbirds) visited 
the cornfield to my north, but showed very litle or no interest in the tall 
pines where they breed to my southwest.  Otherwise, I am left to wonder 
where the grackles go, during the period July-October.  Some summers, I have 
seen a few birds in cornfields miles away from home; typically there is no 
corn planted within a mile of my home.  This midsummer use of cornfields by 
grackles is consistent with Meanley's results for Maryland, that Redwings 
and Grackles use cornfields then, often causing major losses in the crop.
In the colder months, when hundreds of thousands of grackles sometimes pass 
over and forage through the fields (especially peanuts), small groups of 
grackles go to the tall pines, passing in and out, as if they might be the 
summer-resident birds.
I wonder if other birders have noticed this phenomenon near their homes?

Also, yesterday, maybe 15-20 House Finches were seen here for the first time 
this fall.
This is another bird which disappears after breeding, reappearing in the 
fall.  Bigger flocks of apparent migrants (sometimes as many as 100) go 
through in late October.
This morning, a House Finch emerged from under the eaves of my carport, a 
regular nesting site.  Typical of the fall reappearance of the species.
Where do they spend the hotter months?  I guess I have not banded enough of 
them, since I have no House Finch recoveries.  One wonders whether banding 
is necessary, since birds roosting or displaying at the actual nest sites 
seems a self-evident piece of data.  I normally do not put out birdseed.
Have other Carolinabirders noted a hiatus in the occurrence of House Finches 
like this?
Since many birders feed seeds to birds, the birders may not observe such.  
The House Finches you see at your feeder all summer may be like grackles and 
redwings in cornfields, birds using a good food source, but breeding 
elsewhere.  How many miles away?
Radios on grackles from the breeding colony could tell me how far the 
grackles go, but House Finches are a bit small to carry the current radios.

Along with the appearance of grackles, this morning 3 Meadowlarks appeared, 
and left, going south, I noticed more than 1 Song Sparrow, at least 3 (not a 
local breeder).  (In the winter, this builds to as many as 50 Song Sparrows 
on 6 acres.  While I do not put out commercial birdseed, I am a bit too 
weedy for my own good!  Snow concentrates sparrows in my weedy ditches.)

Besides the rails in Arkansas rice, chatlines in Texas and Louisiana  have 
been reporting major fallouts of warblers and other migrants this fall.  In 
Louisiana some birders reported no big fallouts, while others had very good 
birding.
Many Carolinabirders have talked about all the warblers here.  Do we have a 
consensus that this is a really good fall appearance of warblers here?
[For me, here between the coaastline and piedmont, migration has been OK, 
but we never see that many species of warblers  (Legrand's Masters, years 
ago, describes this.)]

Frank Enders, Halifax NC.  fkenders@hotmail.com

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