Rusty Blackbird

Rusty Blackbird is one of North America’s most rapidly declining species. The population has plunged an estimated 85-99 percent over the past forty years and scientists are completely puzzled as to what is the cause. They are relatively uncommon denizens of wooded swamps, breeding in the boreal forest and wintering in the eastern U.S. In winter, they travel in small flocks and are identified by their distinctive rusty feather edges and pallid yellow eyes.
Rusty Blackbirds are often gather in small flocks in winter, sometimes mix with Common Grackles, Red-winged Blackbirds and European Starlings.
The Rusty Blackbird has undergone one of the sharpest and most mystifying recent declines of any North American songbird. The North American Breeding Bird Survey estimates that populations declined by 6.2 percent every year between 1966 and 2010—a cumulative decline of 94 percent.

"Only, three sightings in two years: (7) individuals in January 2014 at Burkes Garden, (2) individuals in October 2014 at Falls Mills and (15) individuals with Red-winged Black Birds in October 2015 at Burkes Garden".

Wilson’s Snipes

Though the long tradition of “snipe hunt” pranks at summer camp has convinced many people otherwise, Wilson’s Snipes aren’t made-up creatures. These plump, long-billed birds are among the most widespread shorebirds in North America. They can be tough to see thanks to their cryptic brown and buff coloration and secretive nature.
Because a Wilson’s Snipe’s eyes are set far back on its head, it can see almost as well behind as in front and to the sides. This arrangement makes it difficult for a potential predator to sneak up on a feeding snipe—it almost literally has “eyes in the back of its head.”
The word “sniper” originated in the 1770s among British soldiers in India who hunted snipe as game. The birds are fast, erratic flight style means they are difficult targets.

House Finch

The House Finch is a recent introduction from western into eastern North America (and Hawaii), but it has received a warmer reception than other arrivals like the European Starling and House Sparrow.
The House Finch was originally a bird of the western United States and Mexico. In 1940 a small number of finches were turned loose on Long Island, New York, after failed attempts to sell them as cage birds (“Hollywood finches”). They quickly started breeding and spread across almost all of the eastern United States and southern Canada within the next 50 years.
The more pigment in the food, the redder the male are. Females (plain grayish-brown with thick, blurry streaks) prefer to mate with the reddest male they can find.

"The female (bottom/right) seems to be having a difficult time choosing from the suitors."

Killdeer

A shorebird you can see without going to the beach, Killdeer are graceful plovers common to lawns, golf courses, athletic fields, and parking lots. These tawny birds run across the ground in spurts, stopping with a jolt to see if they’ve startled up any insect prey.
The Killdeer’s broken-wing act leads predators away from a nest, but doesn’t keep cows or horses from stepping on eggs. To guard against large hoofed animals, the Killdeer uses a quite different display, fluffing itself up, displaying its tail over its head, and running at the beast to attempt to make it change its path.

"My largest count for the killdeer was made today (10/29/15) at 158. They congregate into large flocks during migration."

Yellow-rumped Warblers

Yellow-rumped Warblers are impressive in the sheer numbers with which they flood the continent each fall. Shrubs and trees fill with the streaky brown-and-yellow birds.
The Yellow-rumped Warbler is the only warbler able to digest the waxes found in bayberries and wax myrtles. They are perhaps the most versatile foragers of all warblers. They're the warbler you're most likely to see fluttering out from a tree to catch a flying insect, and they're also quick to switch over to eating berries in fall. There are two separate races, "Audubon's" (western) and "Myrtle" (eastern).
"A large flock was encountered eating wax myrtle berries in Burkes Garden on October 17, 2015. The registered count was 24, but many were flying away that could not officially be counted."

  

Ruffed Grouse

The dappled, grayish or reddish Ruffed Grouse is hard to see, but its “drumming on air” display is a fixture of many spring forests. It can come as a surprise to learn this distant sound, like an engine trying to start, comes from a bird at all.
Ruffed Grouse can digest bitter, often toxic plants that many birds can’t handle. The toes of Ruffed Grouse grow projections off their sides in winter, making them look like combs. The projections are believed to act as snowshoes to help the grouse walk across snow.

"After three years of effort, I was able to photograph this Grouse in Burkes Garden on October 9, 2015. This is the first recorded Ruffed Grouse in Burkes Garden."

Loggerhead Shrike

The Loggerhead Shrike is a songbird with a raptor’s habits. A denizen of grasslands and other open habitats throughout much of North America, this masked black, white, and gray predator hunts from utility poles, fence posts and other conspicuous perches, preying on insects, birds, lizards, and small mammals. Lacking a raptor’s talons, Loggerhead Shrikes skewer their kills on thorns or barbed wire or wedge them into tight places for easy eating. Their numbers have dropped sharply in the last half-century.

"Burkes Garden and surrounding areas still have Loggerhead Shrikes. This one was seen in Burkes Garden on October 7, 2015"