Willow Ptarmigan
May, 2007 Denali National Park, AK
photo © 2007 by Ron Morris

Pee Dee Wildlife Refuge
New Year's Day Birdwalk
Greensboro Lakes
Snipe Hunt at A & T Farm
NC Zoo
Charleston, SC

This was the Piedmont Bird Club’s second annual New Year's Day bird walk which qualifies it as a tradition. I have always enjoyed taking a bird walk to start the New Year; it gets me "geared up" for the next 12 months of exciting birding. 

This year's walk produced different results from last year although we covered the same "spot" in northwest Guilford County. December  of 2000 was a record cold month, contrasted with a mild December the year before.  This year the ponds in the area were frozen over which eliminated the possibility of seeing the ducks and geese that were seen last year.  We also turned this New Year’s morning walk into a "noon walk" so we could all catch a little more sleep and let the outside temperature warm up. The number of species recorded on New Year’s Day 2000 was 35 compared to 17 this year.

The small area we cover is off Bunch Road near Oak Ridge.  One of the reasons for choosing this area for our walk is that the white-crowned sparrow has been seen here consistently on recent Christmas Bird counts, making this attractive sparrow our "Target Bird."

As we caravanned down Brookbank Road, we spotted both turkey and black vultures. (I'm going to say we saw the black vulture first so that will be my first bird of 2001; not a bad bird!) Not much else was happening in the fields as we drove slowly toward Banning Road.  Last year we had spotted killdeer and meadowlarks in the same fields.  We parked at the beginning of Banning Road and began the one-mile round trip walk along a gravel road past a couple of houses, open fields and a small pond.  Both years we have seen the "resident" yellow-bellied sapsucker on the same tree, at the same house, continuing to make his circular trademark.

Continuing down Banning Road, we were able to add the usual species that never seem to fail us: flicker, blue jay, Carolina chickadee, Carolina wren, mockingbird, bluebird, cardinal and song sparrow.  Red-tailed hawks were in abundance and we were able to view a male kestrel from several of his perches as he flew from one field to another.

But still no white-crowned sparrow target bird along Banning Road…… Finally, thanks to Emily Tyler doing her white-crowned sparrow homework (calling Jean McCoy to find out the location this little fella was spotted during the Christmas Count), we walked down Brookbank Road from Banning a short distance as Jean had described.  Sure enough, after a few minutes, one very handsome white-crowned sparrow popped up from the dead kudzu right in front of us!  We did our high five white-crowned sparrow dance and smiled triumphantly. (Last year, thanks to Joyce Barlett and Brant Gallimore's sharp ears and eyes, we picked up two white-crowned sparrows along the hedgerow on Banning Road just as we were getting ready to call it a day.) Our mission accomplished, we realized that it was lunchtime so we headed to the Gallimore's to celebrate White-Crowned Sparrow Day. Plan now to come join us for the New Year’s 2002  walk!!

Update: On Friday, February 9, Louise Brown, Jean Murphy and I did the same trip after a quick Gallimore lunch and again had different results.  It was a very mild day and the afternoon birding was slow. It was surely a raptor day, however, as we saw red-tailed hawks, a kestrel and both turkey and black vultures.  No white-crowned sparrow this time but a very pleasant afternoon with PBC birding friends nonetheless.

By a lucky coincidence, the weekend was a special one for the rangers of the Pee Dee- the Audubon Society had just recently designated it an IBA (Important Bird Area) so there were a lot of people present for the dedication ceremony, some brief and informative talks by some of the Park Rangers, Audubon Society members, and also representatives of a group called Friends of the Pee Dee, which assists refuge staff. 

The area is managed in part to attract waterfowl by flooding certain areas in the winter.  Hundreds of ducks, swans and shorebirds benefit from this practice. We saw many ducks (most of them flying away from us- about 40 people were present and such a large group is hard to keep quiet.) Most of them were dabblers- Mallards, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Black Ducks, and American Widgeons. There were a few Ring-necked Ducks and Hooded Mergansers to round out the population.  A respectable number of raptors were seen over the large fields, both Turkey and Black Vultures, Red-tailed Hawks, Kestrel, Northern Harriers.

After lunch (as a bonus, the rangers had prepared dogs-and-fixin’s, complete with homemade macaroni-and-cheese and banana pudding) we explored some of the wildlife trails.  One of the things that attracted us to the area initially was that it is home to Red–cockaded Woodpeckers.  At the dedication ceremony we learned that there is one single male who lives there.  Attempts to introduce a female to him have been unsuccessful.  Although we looked in several likely areas we did not see this lone character.  It is an endangered species, only liking to nest in large live long-leafed pines.  We saw several trees that the bird had clearly been working on- bleeding sap gives away the fresh holes. 

We were delighted, however to discover an area where we saw five individual Redheaded Woodpeckers, a Pileated Woodpecker and a couple of Winter Wrens.  Several Hermit Thrushes were spotted as well. Other birds seen during the day were Tundra Swans, Wood Ducks, both species of Kinglets, a total of 48 species in all. -Louise Brown
 

Pee Dee NWR Rt. 1, Box 92 Wadesboro, NC  28170  704-694-4424

Susan Hennessy Yadkin-Pee Dee Lakes Project Phone: (704) 422-3215 Fax: (704) 422-5860 E-mail: shennessy@ctc.net

Website: http://www.peedeefriends.org

Wood Duck
images  of stamps by Louise Brown

 Although a little chilly it was not raining so the weather was good for our bird walk to the Greensboro lakes, led by Dennis Burnette.  Our first stop was to see the Bald Eagles’ new nest on Lake Brandt.  Lynn Moseley had informed us at the club meeting that the raptors were incubating, and indeed one bird was faithfully on the nest.  Her(his?) white head and yellow beak were clearly visible with spotting scopes.   Trosper Pond was still occupied with a good-sized flock of Buffleheads, happily diving in the water, sharing it with an assortment of domestic and semi-wild fowl. 
 At various points around Lake Townsend we saw: Red Tailed Hawks, Accipiters, Pied-bill Grebe, Turkey and Black Vultures, Gadwall, Downy, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Ruddy Ducks, but the most exciting group of birds were the Mergansers. We saw Hooded Mergansers, then on Lake Townsend between Yanceyville and Doggett Road, in the distance, some larger Mergansers - very red shaggy heads, pale throats- spotting scopes and expert discussions concluded they were Common Mergansers, not common to this area.  Farther down Doggett road there were a few Red Breasted Mergansers.  Three species of Mergansers in one day! 37 species in all.  Best bird of the day- Common Merganser!  Runner up- nesting Bald Eagles!                  -Louise Brown

Emily Tyler’s annual “Snipe Hunt” was highly successful despite ominous weather.  The farm fields were seething with robins.  Icterids of various species flocked and flew and called all over.  There were huge flocks of mixed Red-winged Blackbirds, Rusty Blackbirds, Brown-head Cowbirds and Starlings harvesting edibles from the fields and manure piles.  Meadowlarks could be heard calling from all sides and occasionally seen on a wire or fence post.  The resident Rock Doves clustered around the manure piles. 

As we approached the small cow pond, the Common Snipe were very active, constantly circling the area between it and a favorite wet grassy spot about 100 yards away.  They kept flying up in bunches of three, four, as many as eight, circling.

On the tiny pond were Canada Geese, a few Mallards and Gadwall, a single female Green-winged Teal, a single female Bufflehead, and some Ring-necked Ducks.  Bluebirds frequented the grassy area under some sycamore trees near the pond.  It was not a good day for raptors.  We saw a Black Vulture, a Kestrel, later a couple of Red-tailed Hawks.

A walk past the pond alongside a wooded stream was quite active with various species of birds: Kinglets, Towhee, Cardinals, a Brown Thrasher, Chickadees, Titmice, several species of woodpeckers and sparrows.  We flushed a couple of Wood Ducks from a swampy area. We were proud to report 46 species of birds in all.             -Louise Brown

We had a different field trip to see birds at the NC Zoo.  Ron Morris, general curator, arranged a group pass for the PBC.  It was actually a great idea for this time of year for those with the “birding blues.” 
 We focused on the waterfowl at the Cypress Swamp, the unique northwestern seacoast species of the Rocky Coast exhibit, the Sonora Desert exhibit and of course the tropical collection of the Aviary.
 Although the waterfowl in the Cypress swamp are ones we had all seen before, it was great to get very up-close looks at Hooded Mergansers, Blue-winged Teal, Buffleheads, Wood Ducks, and Ruddy Ducks.  The sunny day brought out all the brilliance of their iridescent plumage. The male Ruddy Duck was sporting breeding colors- a Carolina Blue bill and a brilliant rust-red back- that we never see here on the northern visitors.
 The Rocky Coast Exhibit offered Horned Puffins, Thick-billed Murres and Parakeet Auklets.  The habitat supplied rocks for them to climb on as well as an underwater view, so their breaststroke could be observed.  The birds frequently splash and “bathe,” as well as dive and swim. 
 The Aviary is a magnificent tropical display, featuring lush foliage so the residents feel at home.  The birds, from all the continents with rainforests, include brilliant Scarlet Ibis, the cartoon-like Red-crested Turaco, the iridescent maroon Amethyst Starling, the dainty Sun Bittern, and the baroque Victoria Crowned Pigeon.  Other colorful creatures are the bright blue Fairy Bluebird, the Grey-headed Kingfisher, the green and blue Leaf Bird, a Nocobar Pigeon, the Green Jungle fowl with its floppy pink and blue comb, and the songster Pekin Robin.  We had a great time searching for these characters in the foliage.  Some flew out at us while others skulked in the shrubbery. 
 Later in the afternoon we checked out the Sonora Desert exhibit, which features Roadrunners, black-chinned hummingbirds, Gila Woodpeckers, two kinds of doves, the White-winged and the Inca, a very noisy Cactus Wren (huge- twice as large as our Carolina Wren!) Gambel’s Quail, Pyrrhuloxias, and Hooded Orioles. 
 What a trip!  We felt like we had been all over the world!             -Louise Brown
Check out the NC Zoo website!

Dennis and Lynn Burnette led another marvelous trip, this time to various wildlife areas in the vicinity of Charleston, SC. 
Givhans Ferry State Park, where among other birds a Red-headed Woodpecker was spotted. 

The Frances Beidler Forest is a fascinating Cypress and Tupelo River Swamp, left totally in its natural state except for a boardwalk so people can enter the eerie landscape. The calls and songs of Parulas, Red-eyed Vireos, various woodpeckers, and Great-crested Flycatchers were heard all over in the dense vegetation. The tiny brilliant yellow Prothonotary Warblers were attracted to the multitude of insects that clustered around the boardwalk, and frequently landed in branches or on cypress knees just a few feet from us.  We managed to glimpse a couple of the many White-eyed Vireos that we heard all around, and got a brief peek at a Black-throated Green Warbler.  A Barred Owl made an exciting performance flying down to the ground practically right in front of us and then paused in a branch for a few moments before it disappeared into the swamp.  We also got to see a number of snakes, turtles, skinks, and a gator.
    The Caw Caw Plantation at one time grew rice and tea.  The system for flooding the fields is still in place and has been reconnoitered to manage the area for environmental purposes.  The woods swarmed many insects, warblers, vireos, flycatchers, woodpeckers, raptors and other birds.  We saw Pileated Woodpeckers, Yellow-throated Warblers, Yellow-throated Vireos, Bald Eagles, Wood Storks and Tree Swallows, to name a few of the fifty species that were counted that day there. Not to mention the alligator, Cottonmouths and other reptiles!
 At Patriot’s Point Park we saw a couple of Anhingas, a pair of Loggerhead Shrikes, various terns, gulls and pelicans. We stopped on the road to look at some Willets, Dowitchers, and Egrets in the Intracoastal waterway.  At the Pitt Street Causeway there were a couple of Oystercatchers, a Clapper Rail, and the Allens spotted an Upland Sandpiper, to name just the highlights.
Sunday A.M. it began to sprinkle intermittently and cut off our visit to the Cypress Gardens.  Fortunately, there were things to see indoors- an impressive aquarium, with many native turtles, snakes and fish, and a butterfly house, swarming with quite a variety of species, as well as a few birds.  Definitely a great place to go back to!
As a group, we saw over 90 species of birds on this adventure, got at least one bug bite for each bird, a little sunburn and otherwise had a wonderful time!               -Louise Brown

 Herb Hendrickson led a fine expedition to Ashe County, where we looked for Empidnax Flycatchers along the New River. The Empidnax Flycatchers, related to the Phoebe, are a group of species with only slight visible variations between them.  They are all small gray birds with wings bars and a slight eye-ring.  Even an expert ornithologist has a hard time distinguishing them in the field.  Their most distinctive traits are their songs, only sung in the spring. 
 Another distinguishing feature of them is their habitat- the Acadian Flycatcher is found in deeper woods, the Willow Flycatcher in more open areas, in bushes and willow thickets, and the Least Flycatcher open woods.  Herb found all three, each in the same areas he has seen them in every year.  We saw Peewees and Kingbirds, one of the larger Flycatchers, as well.
 Present also were a number of the colorful birds of summer, the orange and black Baltimore Oriole and Orchard Oriole, including some of their yellow and black immatures, the brilliant blue Indigo Buntings, the Meadowlark with its handsome yellow and black breast, a Scarlet Tanager, the Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat and Yellow-throated Vireo, and even the Redwing Blackbirds were sporting their very distinctive red epaulets.  We heard a Bob White calling on the side of a distant hill.
   Up on Mount Jefferson we heard a Veery and accidentally flushed a Junco off her nest. Juncos nest on the ground- this one was in a little hollow under a tree root, with four little eggs. The walk on the trail in that park proved to be interesting as a general nature walk.  Luckily Herb and Jean McCoy know quite a bit about plants so we enjoyed the various species of ferns and wildflowers and trees.  There were also numerous butterflies, Mourning Cloaks and a Red Admiral among the ones we could identify.
 Jean and I stopped to visit a friend at her cabin on a different part of the New River on the way back, where we heard an Ovenbird, a Hooded Warbler and a Parula.  We saw about 50 species in all on this sunny, breezy, and deliciously cool day! 
-Louise Brown

PART II:  PILOT MOUNTAIN  9/29/2001

This was the second weekend in a row with great weather and great hawk watching! We went to Pilot Mountain, to join again other birders from the Forsyth County Audubon group, who were doing official migrating hawk counts.  The numbers were not great, but we saw quite a few species, and the winds were such that the birds generally came in very close, giving us great views of Broad-winged, Cooper’s, Red-tailed, and Sharp-shinned Hawks, Osprey, Kestrel, Turkey and Black Vultures.  A Peregrine Falcon and a Northern Harrier were also seen.  We were buzzed by Chimney Swifts, and when we first got there, a small group of Blue-headed Vireos hung out till a Sharpie scared them off. 

 -Louise Brown

We saw 35 species in all at the Bog Garden. The weather had been beautiful the few weeks prior to this trip, great for birders and outdoor activities, bad for the drought conditions.  The birds were plentiful and cooperative when we went to the bog garden.  Amongst the usual suspects, woodpeckers, nuthatches, Cardinals, Towhees, Chickadees, etc., there were abundant White-throated Sparrows, displaying themselves and their lovely song, as well as other winter birds, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Yellow-rumped Warblers, (affectionately known as “butter-butts”), Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, and Juncos. We were delighted by a very cooperative Hermit Thrush, feeding on berries. 
There were a small but surprising number of species of ducks and waterfowl- a Kingfisher, Shovelers, a Ruddy Duck, and a Coot as well as the expected Mallards and Canada Geese.

Dennis Burnette led an extended trip to the Greensboro lakes, where we saw a single Bufflehead on Trosper pond, Pine Warblers, Wood Duck, and Pied-billed Grebe on Buffalo Lake, Gadwall, Hooded Merganser, Cormorant and Ring-billed Gulls on Lake Townsend. 
-Louise Brown

PBC’s Thanksgiving weekend trip was to South Carolina’s coast, just south of Myrtle Beach, led by Don and Carolyn Allen.  Huntington Beach State Park offers a variety of coastal habitat and in the winter is home to many waterfowl.  The tidal marshes of the park offer rich nutrients for many birds.  We saw a pair of Bald Eagles, Loggerhead Shrike, Northern Harrier, Osprey, many species of Egret and Heron, White Ibis, and Clapper Rails.
A vigorous walk out to the jetty gave us a different picture.  On the beach were Sanderlings, 5 species of gulls, the ever-present Pelicans, 3 species of Terns, and Double-crested Cormorants. Hundreds of birds swarmed in the salt ponds the other side of the dunes; Dowitchers, Dunlins, Black-bellied, Piping and Semi-palmated Plovers, and Greater Yellowlegs. The jetty was populated by a number of very tolerant Ruddy Turnstones and some fleeing Purple Sandpipers.  Common Loons bobbed in the inlet and Northern Gannets dove in the sea just off shore. 
Returning through the dunes we chased and identified (with the expert help of Herb Hendrickson) two species of Sharp-tailed Sparrows, the Nelson’s and the Salt Marsh.  These had formerly been lumped as two variants, but the Ornithologists have recently decided they are truly separate.  The Nelson’s has a lot more yellow on the breast, interestingly the very same yellow ocher as the winter color of the dune grasses they appeared in.  The Salt Marsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow, while it shares the same facial markings, a gray patch on the cheek with a yellow ocher stripe both above and below it, has no yellow on the breast, and is more streaked. 
Another pond in the park was home to a number of ducks, Ring-billed, American Widgeon, Black Duck, Gadwall, Coots, and a Moorhen.
Saturday we went to the Georgetown Wastewater Treatment Plant, which is like a fancy sauna to quite a number of birds.  Green-winged Teal, both Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Coots, Shovelers, and Cormorants abounded.  
An automotive mishap led us to a garage, neighbored by a small grove of trees in which a variety of noisy black birds were roosting.  One of the mechanics there shared our enthusiasm, pointing out to us the “little’uns” and the “big’uns.”  There were actually more kinds than that, as the flock contained Grackles, Boat-tailed Grackles, Starlings, American Crows, Fish Crows, and at least one Brown-headed Cowbird!
Automotive troubles solved, we proceeded to Brookgreen Gardens, where we spent some time chasing and identifying a Western Kingbird.  Other birds seen there were Phoebes, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Ruby crowned Kinglets, Turkey Vultures, Carolina Wren, Chipping Sparrows, Cardinals, Blue Jays.  A splinter group spotted a Seaside Sparrow on Pawley’s Island.  Collectively we saw 116 species of birds!
-Louise Brown

Lynn and Dennis Burnette led their annual birding/potting trip to Seagrove.  We had a respectable list of 26 species for the event in which birding is interspersed with shopping forays into the pottery shops. 
Our “Best Bird” was a Loggerhead Shrike, which we spotted in a field near an intersection of two country roads, moving from bush to fence to grass.  We also saw a number of raptors- Red-shouldered and Red-tailed Hawks, Flicker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Kestrel, Phoebe, as well as a number of the smaller birds, Juncos, Chipping Sparrows, Kinglets, White-breasted Nuthatch, and Chickadees. 
-Louise Brown