Much more birding stuff coming soon. I've been out birding literally all the free time I've had lately, so no time left for the computer. Went down to Wagram, NC for the Cassin's Sparrow yesterday morning and got it right off the bat with some great views. This morning, a Fork-tailed Flycatcher was observed and photographed by two observers in the same location! It hasn't been seen since, but wow, how amazing is that!

The weekend's birding

Was full of warblers and First of the Year birds. Friday kicked off the "weekend" for me, and despite an overall quiet morning I found my first Scarlet Tanager of the year along a Forest Service Road near Cullowhee. Black-throated Green Warblers and Northern Parulas were quite vocal as well. A flyover Common Raven, and a closeup view of both a Barred Owl and Wild Turkey pretty capped Friday's highlights. Saturday I visited Kituwah Farms (Ferguson Fields) near Bryson City in hopes of some new warblers, but to no avail. I was disappointed at both the lack of new migrants as well as shorebirds. Not even a Killdeer or snipe was around. I left Kituwah with 50 species for the day, a number that probably should have been closer to 60. Several White-eyed Vireos, Yellow-throated Warblers, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, and Common Yellowthroats pretty much summed up the spring migrants present (in addition to Barn and Tree Swallows and Purple Martins). Taking the advice of the NC Birding Trail guide, I decided to visit the Oconaluftee Botanical Gardens and Village next, an area which I had never visited before. Black-throated Green and Black-and-white Warblers were both vocal around the parking lot, as well as Blue-gray Gnatcatchers and Northern Parulas. To my surprise, I heard a Red-eyed Vireo sound off from back in the woods after being there a short while. Another year bird to the list. I then stopped by the Great Smoky Mountain National Park's Oconaluftee Visitor Center (and surrounding trails) where not much was to be seen of heard, perhaps because of a throng of noisy park-goers milling about. Before heading back to Cullowhee, I stopped by the Blue Ridge Parkway's terminus along highway 441 in Cherokee and birded about a 5 mile stretch. Another FOY species for me, Hooded Warbler, was very vocal at Ballhoot Scar Overlook between mile markers 467 and 468. Two males were very noisily having a competition to see who could sing the loudest. I would hear numerous other Hooded Warblers in the following several days around the Cullowhee area.
     Sunday, April 10, I decided to explore some new territory by visiting Max Patch Rd. and Harmon Den WMA in northern Haywood County, a well known birding spot in the North Carolina mountains. I was happy to hear my FOY Ovenbird sounding off from deep in the woods on my drive up Max Patch Rd. about dawn. I would eventually hear 7 more of these cryptic birds before the morning was over. Again, Black-throated Green Warblers (31) and Black-and-white Warblers (14) were numerous throughout the morning, as well as Blue-headed Vireos (57!). I finally was able to find my first Ruffed Grouse of the year, a pair that I flushed from an old roadbed just off the upper portion of Max Patch Rd. By day's end, I would have a tally of 6 of these guys, with visuals on three! While driving along the middle portion of Max Patch Rd. about mid-morning I immediately slammed on the brakes when I spotted another grouse feeding just feet off the road shoulder. As quietly as possible, I took my camera out and managed some nice, ultra closeups of the bird before it meandered off through the brush. As far as I know, these are the only decent photos I have of the species.

                                                       Ruffed Grouse.

Working my way to Cold Springs Rd. in Harmon Den WMA, just off Max Patch Rd., proved to be well worthwhile. Along Cold Springs Rd. about a hundred yards from the Max Patch Rd. intersection I heard my FOY Black-throated Blue Warbler of the year singing from a rhododendron thicket. After a minute of searching and phishing he decided to pop out into the open, what a beauty! A short distance further down the road I heard a distant warbler song which I couldn't place at the moment...and then another individual starting singing from the top of a poplar right in front of me. Enduring a serious case of warbler neck, I discovered a male Blackburnian Warbler, singing an alternate song. I would end with 9 individuals, all but one of which was singing this alternate song. Northern Parulas were prevalent this morning as well. A quick stop by a very crowded Lake Junaluska added a few species to my daily list such as Green Heron, Belted Kingfisher, Spotted Sandpiper, Greater Scaup, Red-breasted Merganser, and a scattering of more common ducks. At day's end I had 75 species for the day and 12 warbler species, not to bad for an early April day in the NC mountains. State year list is now at 211, the latest of which was Blackburnian Warbler.

A couple more signs of spring

4 April, 2011


Broad-winged Hawk- FOY, soaring over Waynesville, NC about 11:30 AM
Green Heron-Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary, Asheville. The Eastern Screech-Owl was still visible in the entrance hole of it's nest box. A Yellow-throated Warbler (possibly a different one than yesterday, 3 April) and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher were other migrants here during a midday visit.
Black-throated Green Warbler- FOY, heard singing along FSR 4651, Sheep Mountain, Jackson county, NC yesterday evening during an excursion in which Karen and I were focusing on salamanders...

Recent birding, an interesting duck...

When some local birders stumbled upon a Cinnamon-looking Teal at Lake Junaluska on the morning of April 3, I can imagine their surprise. This bird turned out to be a beautifully-marked Cinnamon x Blue-winged Teal hybrid. After birding in Henderson and Buncombe counties most of the morning, I decided to stop by Lake Junaluska on the way back to Cullowhee, completely unaware of the interesting birds that had been publicly reported from there just minutes earlier. Lucky for me I ran into Paul Super, a local birder, as soon as I arrived at the lake. He generously informed me of both the teal hybrid and 3 Surf Scoters (a rare enough bird at such an inland locality) that were on the lake. Almost immediately, he was able to scope out the scoters with a small raft of Ruddy Ducks towards the middle of the lake. An Osprey that flew over at this time was a newly arrived migrant for this area. Paul had to run, and informed me that the hybrid teal had flown off towards the western part of the lake a short while before I arrived. So, we parted ways and I began to walk along the path on the lake's north shore towards the vehicular bridge. I soon stumbled across about 10-12 Blue-winged teal fairly close to shore, in which there was one bird that looked awful weird. I put my bins on it and, lo and behold, it was the Cinnamon x Blue-winged! Quite a pretty bird; it could be described as a cinnamon colored teal with fairly heavy patterning on the flanks and a faint head pattern resembling a drake Blue-winged Teal's.

                                      Cinnamon x Blue-winged Teal male, Blue-winged Teal
                                      female (center) and male (right)

A nearby Red-breasted Merganser provided me with another new Haywood county bird...

                                          Female Red-breasted Merganser

That morning, I started at Jackson Park in Hendersonville, NC where migrants weren't really around yet, except for 2 singing Blue-headed Vireos, a singing Pine Warber, and a couple of Blue-winged Teal. Winter Wrens, Hermit Thrushes, and Swamp Sparrows were all in song, which provided a somewhat musical start to the morning. I did a quick drive through of Hooper Lane after that, in which the best thing I found was a male Northern Harrier. Guess I should've spent more time here, for an American Golden-Plover was found at this spot later in the day. A few quick stops around the Asheville area produced some good birds as well.

Some noteworthy birds from 4/3:

Cinnamon x Blue-winged Teal-1
Surf Scoter-3
Red-breasted Merganser- 1
Double-crested Cormorant--several, Lake Julian, Asheville
Northern Harrier-1
Osprey-1
Greater Yellowlegs---3, Westfeldt Park, Henderson/Buncombe county line.
Solitary Sandpiper----1, Westfeldt Park, Henderson/Buncombe county line. FOY for me
Wilson's Snipe--------9, Westfeldt Park, Henderson/Buncombe county line.
Bonaparte's Gull-----about 12, Lake Julian, Asheville
Eastern Screech-Owl-1, peeking out of a nest box at Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary, Asheville
Fish Crow------------1, vocalizing in the parking lot of Lake Julian Park, Asheville. Close to several             American Crows, giving a nice size comparison. Hard to find in the mountains, although this seems to be one of the best places.
Yellow-throated Warbler---1, singing at Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary, Asheville
Rusty Blackbird ------5, Westfeldt Park, Henderson/Buncobe county line.

NC 2011- #200

Was a White-eyed Vireo that was singing and scolding at Kituwah Farms in Swain County this morning. Here, I also was surprised to see and hear three Greater Yellowlegs at close range. Looks like shorebird migration is certainly moving now too. 11 Blue-winged Teal, 3 gnatcatchers, a catbird, and a Common Yellowthroat, along with three swallow species, rounded out the spring migrant tally from this morning. A windy morning, especially after about 9:00, provided some challenging songbird-finding conditions. I'm planning on birding around Henderson and southern Buncombe counties tommorow, with targets of Black-throated Green Warbler and other newly arrived neotropical migrants. Lake Junaluska had some cool birds reported from this morning- Green-winged Teal, Horned Grebe, and several Red-breasted Mergansers, all of which would be county birds, along with a whole raft of Blue-winged Teal. Today's birds from Kituwah:

Canada Goose 5
Blue-winged Teal 11
Great Blue Heron 4
Turkey Vulture 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Killdeer 1
Greater Yellowlegs 3
Wilson's Snipe 10
Rock Pigeon 6
Mourning Dove 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 8
Pileated Woodpecker 1
White-eyed Vireo 1
Blue Jay 11
American Crow 43
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 5
Tree Swallow 12
Barn Swallow 1
Carolina Chickadee 8
Tufted Titmouse 8
Carolina Wren 15
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3
Eastern Bluebird 7
Hermit Thrush 2
American Robin 19
Gray Catbird 1
Northern Mockingbird 2
Brown Thrasher 2
European Starling 7
American Pipit 3
Yellow-rumped Warbler 2
Common Yellowthroat 1
Eastern Towhee 6
Chipping Sparrow 1
Field Sparrow 20
Savannah Sparrow 49
Song Sparrow 22
Swamp Sparrow 5
White-throated Sparrow 61
White-crowned Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 20
Red-winged Blackbird 47
Eastern Meadowlark 3
Common Grackle 1
House Finch 2
American Goldfinch 3

Other species seen today:
Eastern Phoebe 1- Needmore Gamelands, Swain County
Blue-headed Vireo 1- Needmore Gamelands, Swain County
Dark-eyed Junco 1- Needmore Gamelands, Swain County
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1- Edgewater Rd., Cullowhee, Jackson County

Lake Junaluska- 1 April, 2011

Braved a somewhat chilly morning for several hours at Lake Junaluska to be rewarded by a good variety of species. Highlights for me were a group of 5 Black-crowned Night-Herons that flew over the lake just to the west of the vehicular bridge, 1 Great Egret, 3 Blue-winged Teal, 2 Northern Shovelers, a singing, heard only White-crowned Sparrow, several Common Loons, and a nice flock of Purple Finches and Pine Siskins on the south side of the lake. A Snowy Egret, Red-breasted Mergansers, and Horned Grebes have been seen here recently but were not present today. According to Ebird, I got 8 new Haywood County birds this morning...not bad for less than three hours! The list from the lake today:

Canada Goose 52
Mute Swan 4

Wood Duck 1
Mallard 2
Mallard (Domestic type) 52
Blue-winged Teal 3
Northern Shoveler 2
Ring-necked Duck 1
Lesser Scaup 5
Bufflehead 13
Hooded Merganser 1
Ruddy Duck 84
Common Loon 3
Pied-billed Grebe 15
Great Blue Heron 5
Great Egret 1
Black-crowned Night-Heron-5

American Coot 455 
Bonaparte's Gull 1  
Ring-billed Gull 1  
Rock Pigeon 1 
Mourning Dove 6  
Red-bellied Woodpecker 3  
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1 
Downy Woodpecker 2  
Northern Flicker 2 
Eastern Phoebe 1 
Blue Jay 13  
American Crow 38 
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 38  
Tree Swallow 221  
Barn Swallow 8 
Carolina Chickadee 17 
Tufted Titmouse 4  
White-breasted Nuthatch 3 
Carolina Wren 12 
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1 
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1  
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3 
Eastern Bluebird 9  
American Robin 54  
Northern Mockingbird 3 
Brown Thrasher 1  
European Starling 16 
Cedar Waxwing 45 
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 41  
Eastern Towhee 16  
Song Sparrow 42 
White-throated Sparrow 1
White-crowned Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 22
Red-winged Blackbird 2
Common Grackle 2
Brown-headed Cowbird 12
Purple Finch 12
House Finch 25
Pine Siskin 8
American Goldfinch 18
House Sparrow 10 

The Ruddy Ducks were absolutely gorgeous, as well as the Common Loons- both species have entered into full breeding plumage. 

                                          Common Loon


Other species seen today:
Sharp-shinned Hawk     1- Flew across US 74, Haywood County
Turkey Vulture              3- Western Carolina University campus


The day's tally: 60 species

Adventures of a Big Day

Last Sunday, 27 March, I took place in my second ever "official" Big Day, with Matt Daw and Ali Iyoob. Originally, we had planned to do a route covering areas from Lake Mattamuskeet and Lake Phelps all the way to Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, but upon seeing multiple weather forecasts of 26mph sustained winds in this part of the state, we decided to duplicate our route from February instead. This was not going to be a big loss, because passerines, including some early neotropical migrants, would be easier to come by in the southern part of North Carolina instead of towards the "Banks". The tradeoff would be the ducks, however, especially this late in the season.
     We had planned to begin our day with owling and some early morning birding in the bottomlands and Longleaf Pine forests of Holly Shelter Gamelands (Pender County, NC) to pick up such species as Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Bachman's Sparrow, and Louisiana Waterthrush that we probably wouldn't get later in the day.  You can imagine our disappointment when arrived to a closed and locked entrance gate. Bombing entirely on our first stop, we still managed to pick up Eastern Screech-Owl and Barred Owl at a couple roadside stops around the Pender/New Hanover county line.
     It was approaching dawn, and we were still undecided about where to listen to the "dawn chorus". Greenfield Lake, which we had originally planned for our next stop after Holly Shelter, took the winning vote. The lake itself can be good for a variety of freshwater ducks as well as Anhingas, and there were even a couple Wood Storks seen here recently. The paths around the lake pass through a variety of brushy edges, landscaped azalea gardens, and mature pines and oaks. We figured that this would be one of our best bets for landbirds throughout the day, including some newly-arrived migrants such as Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Black-and-white Warbler, Northern Parula, and Yellow-throated Warbler, along with a variety of resident species. We ticked off a number of landbirds quickly enough, including Northern Parula and Yellow-throated Warbler. A bonus was a dawn-calling American Wigeon. Spending about two hours at the lake, we racked up other species such as Brown Creeper, Dark-eyed Junco, Hermit Thrush, and Little Blue Heron, which was incidentally a year bird for me, along with Northern Parula.
     We left the lake with around 60 species so far, and were in route to Fort Fisher (with a couple of quick stops on the way), just south of Carolina Beach, NC. A fantastic birding area with a tendency to attract rarities, we knew that we would have to do well here in order to end up with a respectable total for the day. The overcast skies occasionally dropped a light rain on us, and the wind was quite unpredictable once we reached Fort Fisher. The ocean was fairly calm, and held a good number of birds, including multiple Red-breasted Mergansers, Red-throated Loons, Buffleheads, Horned Grebes, Double-crested Cormorants, and several gull species. We were surprised to see a number of Blue-winged Teal zipping North over the ocean. Our hopes were high regarding a Pacific Loon and Red-necked Grebe that were reported here just two days before (and evidently, the day after), but we struck out on both. A Common Loon and two Horned Grebes were somewhat of a consolation prize, because we were not to see either of those species again during the day. Several Black Scoters and a Surf Scoter were also good additions here. Across the road in several stands of Live Oak is usually a good place to find mixed landbird flocks that sometimes contain Black-and-white Warbler, Blue-headed Vireo, and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, all of which we were still missing at this point. Turns out that the wind was keeping most birds here more or less stationary and quiet in the trees. We even struck out on Palm Warblers on the surrounding edges, which is usually close to a "gimme species" here. Returning to the car at the ocean overlook, we were greeting by our first Herring Gull flyover of the day, as well as a bonus Gull-billed Tern which flew over us at extremely close range.
     We then proceeded to Federal Point, which is where Highway 421 ends at the south tip of Fort Fisher. Clapper Rail, Bald Eagle, Royal Tern, and a handful of other species were quickly added to our list here, along with an unexpected Spotted Sandpiper that Matt stumbled upon at the rock jetty. Next up was the aquarium and Recreation Area, just North on the highway about a mile, right before the ocean overlook which we stopped at previously. Hopes were high for Orange-crowned Warbler, Sedge Wren, Marsh Wren, and a variety of shorebirds and waders. The aquarium produced nil, it is usually a good spot for Orange-crowned Warbler in winter and early spring and Painted Bunting all year, although they are much more numerous in the summer. Walking several trails through the marsh at the Recreation Area produced most of our targets for here, including Sedge, Marsh, and an added House Wren, White Ibis, and finally, our first harrier of the day. We ticked off a few more species of shorebirds here as well, along with Tricolored Heron. Some Green-winged Teal in the marsh and two flyover American Black Ducks added a couple more much-needed waterfowl species.
     Leaving Fort Fisher with about 105 species, we headed south for Sunset Beach. Twin Lakes off Highway 179 are well known for harboring Wood Storks, Common Moorhen, and occasionally Roseate Spoonbill in late summer and Mottled Ducks. A variety of waterfowl is usually in the ponds in winter months as well. On the drive down, Ali spotted a bonus Wild Turkey in a small agricultural plot beside the road. Arriving here, we quickly checked off some of the expected species such as Common Moorhen, as well as four species of swallows. Across the road is a nice patch of thicket and marsh, where we finally got our first Gray Catbird of the day (finally!). A bit of very productive marsh stomping at high tide flushed 2 Clapper Rails, 2 Sora, 4 Seaside Sparrows, and a Nelson's Sparrow. A quick stop in the neighboring golf course subdivision added a distant heard-only White-breasted Nuthatch. Unfortunately, I was the only one who picked up on it, and the bird didn't sound off again. A quick jaunt to the Sunset Beach pier turned up a huge flock of shorebirds, mainly Dunlin, Sanderling, Semipalmated Plovers, and a few Western Sandpipers and Willets. We were hopeful about finding either a Piping Plover or Wilson's Plover here, but time was getting short, and we needed to get to Ocean Isle well before dark.
     The Ocean Isle Wastewater Reclamation Facility really boosted our total on our February run, and gave us a couple of new birds today as well- Red-breasted Nuthatch and Greater Scaup. One or two Red-breasted Nuthatches have apparently been in the same group of pine trees here since November. The two ponds were mostly empty of birds, save for a large four-species swallow flock and a couple of ducks. A single American Coot, two Ruddy Ducks, three Blue-winged Teal, and a side-by-side comparison of male Lesser and Greater Scaup pretty much rounded out this stop. Gadwall and Ring-necked Ducks were both notably absent, and were here in numbers a month ago. We then proceeded to Ferry Landing Park in Ocean Isle Beach which is usually a good spot for roosting shorebirds and larids at low tide. Unfortunately for us, the tide was still quite high we we got here. The only new species we found at Ocean Isle were three flyover Glossy Ibis, a great bird for the day and a year bird for all of us. With a little bit of light left and Ocean Isle not producing much, we decided to return to Twin Lakes in Sunset Beach in hopes of a dusk flyover Black-crowned Night-heron, which we were still missing. After about a half hour of waiting, our wish was granted. A stop at a nearby brushy field for American Woodcock instead turned up a flyover Wilson's Snipe. Our final stop for the day was at the USS North Carolina Battleship Memorial in Wilmington where we had both King and Virginia Rails last month. We arrived about 9PM, and lucky for us, both species sounded off relatively quickly to our tapes. Virginia Rail was our 128th and final species for the day. Of the 128 species, 126 were seen or heard by all three of us. Considering our restraints during the day, namely somewhat windy and rainy weather and our first main stop being closed, we did pretty decent. Big misses today included Black Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, accipiters, and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Just not raptor weather. Nevertheless, great birds seen and great times had by all.