I decided I’d wait until the Spring migration season was over to make the road trip to look for the Barn Owls. So as migration was winding down I started to make my plans to visit Bill. And while monitoring eBird I noticed reports of two rare breeders just a short distance southeast of me in the Upstate of SC – Dickcissel, and no less than 2 pairs of Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. Perhaps I could make it into one longer trip, first into SC then a bit farther east into Cleveland County, NC. But wait there’s more… Two days before my trip a Wilson’s Warbler was spotted by my SC birding friend Michael Robertson in Greenville, SC, close to the Dickcissel and Flycatcher locations. The Wilson’s was re-spotted the day before my trip, so now I had 4 targets. The plan was to start with the Wilson’s, then off to try for the Dickcissels, then on to 1 or both Flycatcher spots, and then finally try for the Owls in the afternoon.
The Wilson’s Warbler was seen at a small hotspot in the Greenville suburbs called the Parkway Retention Pond. Not only did it of course include a retention pond but also a trail at the edge of brushy woods along the back edge which is where the Wilson’s had been spotted. Actually based on eBird photos it looked like there were at least 2 birds – both a female and a male had been photographed there. I arrived by 7:30 and started slowly walking along the short trail. The spot was rather birdy, but I could find no warblers at all. It was now 9 AM which was my planned departure time, but it was tough to leave my first target of the day after an unsuccessful search. I wanted to have enough time for my other targets, but what if I ended up getting the others quickly? I would end up kicking myself for not having spent enough time trying for the Wilson’s. However, given that the retention pond was pretty small, I felt like I had covered it quite well even in just 90 minutes. So I stuck with my original plans and left at 9 AM. It turns out that the Wilson’s were not re-found; I guess I made the right decision to not extend my search for the Warblers.
The next targets were the Dickcissels. Per the National Geographic Field Guide, Dickcissels are “irregular east of the Appalachians; occasional breeding is reported outside mapped range.” That was certainly the case in the Upstate of SC where Dickcissels were recent breeders in several locations. There were several reports of likely breeding birds down in Anderson County, but the closest reliable location (just 15 minutes from the retention pond) appeared to be on Snow Mill Drive in Woodruff, with eBird reports dating back to 2018. After the short drive I was now really close to Snow Mill, and as I pulled up to a stop sign I heard the characteristic song of the Dickcissel. (Of course I was driving with my windows open listening for birdsong!) But wait – I wasn’t at Snow Mill Drive yet. I parked safely and looked at the map – I was still a quarter mile from Snow Mill. I got out and walked toward the singing bird, nicely perched in a small roadside tree adjacent to a hayfield. I got this barely passable photo holding my phone up to my binocs.
As I tried for a better photo another bird flew into that same tree – it was a female Dickcissel. And then I heard a second Dickcissel singing a short distance away. Nice to find a new location for Dickcissel, though there was one reported from this location back in 2018 by another of my SC birding friends Gary Harbour.
Then again perhaps the Snow Mill birds had relocated to this spot. After a quick “high-five” I drove a short distance to Snow Mill and almost instantly heard a Dickcissel there as well. I only spent a few minutes here, but heard at least 2 singing males. I also heard Bobwhites here – a bird I haven’t heard in years as they have become extirpated in New England (where I’ve done much of my birding recently) and their numbers have dropped dramatically even in more southern locations. I also had a Bobolink here which is not supposed to be breeding this far south. Perhaps it was a last holdout from a large likely migrating flock that was reported here recently. And along with typical grassland birds like 8 Grasshopper Sparrows, 2 Meadowlarks, and 2 Blue Grosbeaks, it was a great stop!
Dickcissel was #266 for my SC statelist. In my statebird map below, the blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen Dickcissel in its regular range; the cross-hatched states are those where I still need this species. The tan-shaded states are those where I’ve seen this species as a rarity, at least based on Sibley’s range maps. Those maps indicate that Dickcissel is a regular winterer on the Mid-Atlantic coast, but a rarity in a number of others in the east and northeast. Though some might argue that Dickcissel is regular in many of these locations, including SC.
With Dickcissel nicely checked-off, it was time to try for Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. Amazingly there were not 1 but 2 pairs of Scissor-tails in northwestern SC this year. Plus 4 birds likely nesting near Rock Hill. One pair in Cherokee County to the east had already started nesting in the same location where nesting occurred last year. A second closer pair was more recently discovered in Spartanburg County along Thompson Creek Drive near the town of Boiling Springs, though many eBirders commented on having just brief views of the bird(s). Although this was a new location, last year they nested just a short distance away, so perhaps this was the same pair returning to the general area. The Cherokee County birds were likely more reliable since a nest had been located. But then again, that was on private property and viewing was apparently from a considerable distance. Since I was now ahead of schedule I figured I could first try for the closer albeit perhaps less reliable birds, and then if I struck out there, I could try for the more eastern birds. And both stops would require just short side-trips in route to Lattimore, NC to try for the Barn Owls.
After a short drive I pulled onto Thompson Creek Drive and quickly located the single house on the road - a couple posts mentioned the Flycatchers were perching on wires opposite that house. I stopped a short distance away so as not to disturb any birds that might be near the house. And with a quick binocular view there was a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher perched on the wires opposite the house, just as described in recent posts. And perhaps just a minute later the bird flew to tall trees surrounding the house and disappeared. I was hoping for better views, so I drove to the other side of the house and started to search from there. I noticed some movement in the field to the west and spotted both Flycatchers flying to and from the treelines. And then watched the birds fly to the cell tower and the chain-link fence surrounding the tower. They would often go to the same area part-way up the tower – wonder if that might become a future nesting site. I got these phonescoped photos of one of the birds on two of its favorite perches.
And while watching the Flycatchers this Grasshopper Sparrow perched up most cooperatively.
I texted Michael Robertson about my success with my last 2 targets, and he responded with a quote from Meat Loaf – “two out of three ain’t bad”. So true, especially since the Wilson’s Warbler was a long shot at best.
In my statebird map below I’ve seen Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in all its regular south-central breeding states, and less common wintering state of FL, plus now 5 eastern states as a rarity.
Now with Scissor-tailed Flycatcher added to my SC stateliest as #267, I didn’t need to look for the pair in Cherokee County. So it was off to meet up with Bill Hooker and his wife Anita to try for their Barn Owls. After crossing the stateline into NC and driving through similar agricultural areas I couldn’t help but wonder why there were no breeding Dickcissels and Scissor-tailed Flycatchers nearby in my home state. The nearest Dickcissels were east of Charlotte nearly 2 hours away. And there were no Scissor-tails, at all. Though after my trip, on May 23rd, there was a tantalizing report of a flyby bird in Cleveland County. Hmmm…
Just after lunchtime I met up with Bill and Anita in “downtown” Lattimore. They described how they had found Barn Owls for a number of years in various former agricultural buildings scattered throughout the area. Though they once again stressed that the birds might only be found on half their trips. We hopped in our cars and I followed them to our first stop west of Lattimore. We pulled up to an old building where a couple months ago a birder was able to find many fresh owl pellets though no birds. We walked slowly around the perimeter, trying to peer into any opening we could find, but didn’t happen on any Owls. Nor did we find any fresh pellets. Perhaps the Owls were no longer using this building to roost.
Next we headed off to the north near Polkville to another former agricultural building. A birder had recently found 2 Barn Owls at this location so we were hopeful. First we sized up the building – seeing a couple likely openings where Owls might come and go. Then we poked our heads into one open window without any luck. We continued around the side of the building and noticed a pair of doors that could be opened. So I headed over to start to slide one of the doors open. Just then Bill yelled that he had an Owl flying away from the building. We all quickly looked over and there was a Barn Owl flying from the building to the nearby trees. And just after it landed a second Owl flew from one nearby tree to another tree – that one must has flown from the building a bit earlier and we hadn’t noticed it. I wouldn’t have seen the birds at all if I had been there on my own. Thanks Bill and Anita for all your help!
Barn Owl was #296 for my NC list. And NC is my 25th state for this quite common species, though often a challenging one to locate.
If Meat Loaf thought that “two out of three ain’t bad”, then three out of four must be pretty darn good!
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