FIELD TRIP REPORTS FROM 1999

Huntington Beach, SC
Jordan Lake Field Trip

Herb Hendrickson led another successful field trip to Ashe County, primarily to see the Empidonax Flycatchers.  Relatives of the much more common Phoebe, the Empidonax flycatchers all look very similar, with slight differences detectable only to the dedicated.  Their song is the easiest way to tell them apart, and they only sing in the spring, so there is a narrow window of opportunity for the average birder to identify them.
 Guided by Herb’s expertise, the three species that frequent the riparian habitat of the New River, the Willow, the Acadian, and the Least Flycatchers, were all seen and heard.  We spotted a number of Willows and Acadians, but the single Least we saw only after great effort on Herb’s part.  We heard it in a line of trees next to the river, and after he chased it around it finally popped up to the top of a tree, flying off after a brief performance. 
 The riparian habitat (riverbank) fosters many of the flycatchers- as well as the three Empidonax species we saw Phoebes, Peewees, Kingbirds, and heard a Great Crested Flycatcher.  That habitat also attracts many other birds.  We saw a number of Yellow Warblers, both Baltimore and Orchard Orioles, Chipping Sparrows, (“dear little birds”), Barn Swallows, Rough-winged Swallows.  Some of the more open fields near the river housed Meadowlarks, Indigo Buntings, and Bluebirds.  We saw a large Hairy Woodpecker. 
 After lunch we went to Mount Jefferson State Park for some higher altitudes. Species we might have otherwise seen seemed subdued by the unusual high heat of the day. We did hear a couple of Veeries sing their eerie, Pan-Pipe-like songs, and a couple of Ravens groaking through the woods. 
 Instead of heading back to the flatlands with the others I spent the night at a friend’s cabin on the New River, so I got to extend my bird list-of-the-trip by a few species.  Parulas were plentiful on that section of the river, and I heard a couple of Ovenbirds in the heavy rhododendron under and overbrush.  We spotted a single Wood Duck meandering up the river. 
 The most different and exciting thing we saw was not even a bird.  My friends told me that they had seen flying squirrels on the trees right in front of their porch the evening before, and sure enough, right after darkness fell, a couple of these little creatures appeared, hardly bigger than mice.  They ran about 15 feet up the tree trunks, then jumped down in a peculiar arc only made possible by their “flying” technique. After a series of these “flights,” which seemed to have only a frivolous purpose, they moved on, possibly deterred by my friends’ dogs.  I had never seen these squirrels before, so they were a life species!
                                                                      - Louise Brown

         
          photo by: Peter LaTourette   N. American Bird Photo Gallery
 

 Emily Tyler’s annual snipe hunt was a success.  We saw 42 species of birds, the top of the list being the Snipe.  A peculiar bird which blends almost completely into its habitat, and which exhibits an ungainly head-heavy profile, this creature is mostly seen when on the wing.  One was cooperative enough to feed at the edge of the pond, its bobbing head giving it away, showing the striped plumage, which blends in with the pond-side grasses. It demonstrated a brief profile of its remarkably long bill, which is used to probe the soft wet earth for yummy insect treats.
 We also saw some wintering ducks on the pond; Gadwall, Ring-necked Ducks, Green-winged Teal, Canada Geese, and a Kingfisher.  A respectable number of raptors were spotted; Cooper’s Hawk, Kestrel, Red-tail Hawk, Turkey Vultures and 3 Black Vultures, which are not commonly seen here.  The songs of the Meadowlark echoed from the fields. Their cheerful yellow breasts are a pleasure to see.

We were delighted to see a small flock of chic Cedar Waxwings, foraging for food, flycatching when there were no berries to eat.  Several Bluebirds perked up the landscape with their brilliant color.

It was a nice early spring day for being outdoors and appreciating the world around us.  We were richly rewarded by seeing all the birds we did.   Thank you Emily!                                   -Louise Brown
             

Don Allen led a field trip around the Greensboro lakes, the first outing we have had due to cancellations because of the recent cold and snowy weather. It was good to get out in fresh air and hear the spring songs of the cardinals and chickadees! 
 At Higgins Lake Marina we saw the Bald Eagle with his new mate.  According to Lynn Moseley and other eagle watchers, the raptors normally mate for life so something apparently happened to the older female over the winter.  They have returned to the old nest that has suffered over the storms of the last year and are rebuilding it.   We hope for them to breed successfully! 
 The high waters of the lakes have altered waterfowl populations, but we still saw a number of ducks- Hooded Mergansers, Buffleheads, Ruddy Ducks, Mallards, Canada Geese, Coots and a Great Blue Heron.  Near Trosper Pond Henry Link’s sharp eyes spotted a couple of Purple Finches and a Pine Siskin.
Bryan Park Marina was swarming with a thousand or wintering seabirds, mostly Ring-billed Gulls and a few Herring Gulls.  Henry Link spotted a mysterious white gull.  A little larger than the Ring-bills, it was not pure white but very pale, just a little black mark on the leading edge of one wing and fainter on the other.  No one’s field guide had an exact match - it could have been a phase of an Iceland or Thayer’s gull, or some other variant. We watched it for some time, no easy task in the huge crowd of gulls that were there (luckily there were several pairs of attentive eyes) but it never got any closer.  Nothing like a mystery bird to make a trip interesting! 
PS. Henry went back to the marina on a couple of later occasions to study the mystery gull again.  He got closer looks and determined it was a Ring-billed Gull, but with pale wings.  Darn!  We were hoping for something more exotic!
                                                                        - Louise Brown

Dennis Burnette led an interesting trip to the Mason Farm Botanical Reserve near Chapel Hill. This is a beautiful hunk of land, once a working farm, that has been donated to UNC, and is used for research as well as some recreation.  Patches of woods, old fields and swamp make an interesting variety of habitats for birding and nature observation. 

It was the beginning of migration and we were hoping to see some warblers and other migrants.  We did see and hear a number of Common Yellowthroats, and heard one Parula.

Blue-gray Gnatcatchers had set them selves up at regular intervals in the trees all over the reserve, each one announcing its territory with its wheezy, whiny call.  Common Yellowthroats also set up territories in the heavy brambles that had taken over what were once cleared fields.  They announced their territories with equal zeal.

White-eyed Vireos occupied another section of the reserve. One of them led us a merry little chase as we attempted to get a good look at it.  It led us on with its loud and cheerful song.

We saw a variety of other birds: Chickadees, Titmice, a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, as well as an assortment of butterflies, wild flowers and shrubs. One sidebar moment was when someone noticed a blacksnake, coiled in a small branch overhanging the trail- a branch that a number of us had just walked under! Dennis gently removed it from the branch so we could get a good look at us- it didn’t seem greatly disturbed, but coiled itself around his arm.  It was just about to shed its skin, evidenced by milky eyes and a slightly peeling nose. 

The supreme sighting of the trip was an unlikely pair of birds, soaring high overhead.  Huge black birds with outstretched necks and long, wedge-shaped tails, they circled around to allow us a very good look.  The pale throats gave them away as a pair of female Anhingas! Jean Murdick had told me a little earlier that she had seen an Anhinga at the bog garden and I didn’t believe her, but I do now!  These tropical waterfowl, related to Cormorants, are not known to be seen in this area at all!

Although a few people had been to Mason Farm before, a number of us had not.  The weather was chilly and windy, so we didn’t see all the birds hoped for, but it is an area with a lot of promise and we sure would like to go back!  Thank-you, Dennis!                                                           -Louise Brown

 Frigid weather made the annual trip to the Bog Garden a brief one but we saw a respectable sampling of the winter bird population.  A few Cedar Waxwings were patrolling the area for late fall berries, a female Hooded Merganser was making a brief visit to the pond, populated by well-fed Canada Geese and Mallards.  The usual Cardinals, Carolina Wrens, Chickadees, Titmice, Robins, and White-throated Sparrows were there, as well as a flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers.  The Bog Garden is usually good for a few woodpeckers- we saw Flickers and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.  We also spotted a Sharp-shinned Hawk. Our “Best Bird” of the day was a Winter Wren that teased us from inside a bush and then allowed us a very brief but identifiable glimpse as he popped out on a branch.  This shy winter visitor is very plain and mousy, indeed keeps low to the ground like a mouse.
 A woman who regularly comes to the garden and places food on the railings attracts a regular crowd- Cardinals and Chickadees and one hungry White-breasted Nuthatch were clearly awaiting her presence!  Dennis Burnette tried to take advantage of them for a photo opportunity.  The Bog Garden is always a great spot for seeing a lot of “regular birds,” and its boggy woods and pond attract quite a few interesting migrants and visitors (people as well as birds.)
-Louise Brown

 The Piedmont Bird Club’s Huntington Beach State Park Field Trip over the long Thanksgiving weekend was a great success.  Dennis Burnette initiated and orchestrated the event with his wife, Lynn. They did a great job, providing a good forum for us to explore that state park and the surrounding area, which abound in birds of great variety. Collectively we saw 111 different species.
 Dennis is great for picking what the casual observer might think of as very strange places to go.  He took us to the Wastewater Treatment Plant at Georgetown, SC., where we saw the “best bird” of the trip, an unexpected Anhinga.  The Treatment Plant is a series of large cement ponds, with what look like large Jacuzzis burbling in the middle. These were filled with birds. Imagine the congestion of a public swimming pool on the fourth of July and you will get the picture.  A group of about 20 Ring-necked Ducks basked in the rolling water, content as if they were on a gentle ocean swell.  More astonishing was the group of a dozen or so Turkey Vultures, squatting around the sides of the swimming pool, some hanging their wings out to dry.  Blue and Green Winged Teal, Coots, Moorhens, Great and Lesser Yellowlegs, were among the other varied waterfowl who were frequenting this peculiar public bath. 
 At Huntington Beach State Park, we were treated to a variety of different habitats to study.  One morning, the Allens led a walk out to the Jetty.   A challenging stroll in the sand, we were richly rewarded with good looks at many avian species.  The tide was high as we walked out, so the birds on the seashore were concentrated at the waterline.  There were many Dunlin and Willets, and occasional rows of Brown Pelicans.  “Salt ponds,” just to the west of the dunes that line the beach, were full of huge flocks of shore birds, mostly Dunlin, interspersed with groups of Semi-palmated and Piping Plovers, Sanderlings and Ruddy Turnstones. Posted, literally, on fences near the salt ponds was a pair of Osprey. The jetty itself was populated with groups of Ruddy Turnstones, which mingled with Purple Sandpipers.  Gannets were visible far out to sea. While several Loons rested and dived in the water nearby, Forster’s Terns, Laughing, Ringbilled, and Herring Gulls circled overhead. 
 We all met at the main causeway leading into the State Park, and perused the boardwalks in different areas.  A pair of Bald Eagles presided in a large tree near the causeway.  Various herons fished the mud flats left at high tide.  There was a pair of immature Night Herons, subject to some debate as to whether Black or Yellow Crowned.  The red eye had some convinced it was yellow-crowned, the stocky body and looser striping indicating to others that it was black. The black is also considered more plentiful in that area.  These mudflats were also frequented by Tricolored Herons, White Ibis, Black-Bellied Plover, Short-Billed Dowitchers, Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets among others. 
 The causeway into Litchfield was another good spot.  Several people were able to watch a Clapper Rail coming out to feed early in the morning.  This was an exciting bird to see, as it is often quite shy.  A few small sparrows teased us in the marsh grasses- possibly Sharp-tailed Sparrows.
 The combined lists of various birders for the holiday weekend totaled 111 different species.  Phil Kellam spotted a number of ducks at the Sandpiper pond- Canvasback, Redhead and American Widgeon.  Jean McCoy spotted a Snow Bunting.  The Foutch’s saw an American Oystercatcher. 
It was a great trip, great birds, great weather, and great company! Personally, never having been there before, I boosted my life list by 21 birds!
-Louise Brown

 In January, Dennis Burnette led a wonderful trip to Jordan Lake.  A buddy of his guided us to a number of ponds in the area where we saw a number of waterfowl.  Sightings included Hooded Mergansers, Great Blue Heron, Bonaparte’s Gull, Cormorants, Buffleheads, Bald Eagle, Canvasback Ducks, Lesser Scaup, Ring- billed Ducks, Ruddy Ducks, Horned Grebe, and Pied billed Grebe.  Interesting non-water fowl we saw were among others a Hermit Thrush, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Kestrel, Meadowlark, Swamp Sparrow and Phoebe.  It pays to tag along with these folks who know an area and have had a lot of experience birding- they know what to look for and where to find it.  I got four life birds that day!
-Louise Brown