Most of these regular needed species are not year-round residents – it’s less likely that I would have missed year-round species in my past trips. Instead, most are only seen in specific seasons, and/or in limited habitats. And now that we were getting into Spring, it was time to see what warmer weather species I might still need. In SC, there were 3 relatively easy species that breed not too far from my NC home – Worm-eating and Swainson’s Warblers, and Grasshopper Sparrow. Though each species has a rather limited preferred breeding habitat.
Just as the Spring birds were starting to arrive I noticed that my SC birding friend Michael Robertson had reported a number of Worm-eating Warblers in northern Greenville County not far from the SC/NC line. In fact, after a bit of research, it turned out they were right at the state line, at a spot called Saluda Mountain Passage. I reached out to Michael and got some tips from him on his Worm-eaters. And then he mentioned that in the past he had had Swainson’s Warblers just a short distance from that spot. With a bit of eBird research I found several Swainson’s reports over the years in the woodlands nearby called the Greenville Watershed. Though none had been reported yet this year. Swainson’s Warbler was a key target of mine for the region, as I’ve never seen it in the local mountainous habitat anywhere in the US. And my 3rd target, the Grasshopper Sparrow, had returned to Hayes Farm just a short distance to the south. This was another spot that Michael birded regularly, and in fact he took me there this past winter. So with leads on all 3 species, I was hopeful I could get multiple SC statebirds in just one trip.
I was out of the house early on April 19th and after a short ride arrived at the Saluda Mountain Passage. As soon as I got out of the car I was greeted with lots of bird song – I listened intently but couldn’t instantly check off the Worm-eating. That would be a bit too much to ask for I guess. There was a map of the trail right next to the parking area – I was at the “i” near the bottom of the map where Mountain Page Rd. in NC changes to Saluda Rd. when it enters SC. It looked like the trail started right on the SC/NC line, and at times moved into NC.
That meant that even if I was lucky enough to find a Worm-eating I’d still have to make sure it was in SC. I started down the trail and continued to hear lots of birdsong – featuring Wood Thrush, Ovenbird, and Black-throated Green Warbler. And then I heard a buzzy trill characteristic of my target Worm-eating Warbler. It was coming from up ahead and on the left side of the trail, likely making it in SC. But just to be sure, I walked a bit farther ahead and was able to confirm the song was indeed coming from SC. Only 5 minutes into my birding trip and I already had my first state bird!
In my statebird map below, the solid blue states are those where I’ve seen Worm-eating Warbler within its regular range. The cross-hatched states are those where it is regular but I have yet to catch up with it. And finally the two tan states of MN and NH are those where I’ve seen Worm-eating as a rarity.
Within a couple minutes I was back to my car and beginning to drive down Saluda Rd. within the Greenville Watershed. The road paralleled Fall Creek for about 3 miles going through excellent habitat, with riparian woodland near the creek principally on the west side of the road. And on the east side of the road were steep mountainsides, often with large groves of rhododendrons – the perfect habitat for Swainson’s Warbler. Or at least that’s what I’ve been told since I’ve never encountered Swainson’s in these inland ecosystems. There were no houses and almost no passing cars making for perfect conditions. You aren’t allowed to park and hike through this sensitive watershed area, so my strategy was to drive very slowly (and quietly in my Prius) with windows down to listen for birdsong. And when there were wide shoulders I would pull over, stand next to my car, and listen for 5-10 minutes or until I figured I had heard and seen everything in the area. As a result, it was almost as if I walked the entire length of the road tallying the birds as I went.
This strategy seemed to be ideal as the woods were alive with song, and I quickly added numerous vireos and warblers. But of course my key target was the Swainson’s Warbler. Before my trip I had listened to tapes of the very similar songs of the Swainson’s and Louisiana Waterthrush, and continued to struggle with separating the songs. The first 3 clear notes of the 2 songs seemed almost inseparable. So I was thinking it would come down to the softer notes at the end of the song – Swainson’s has clear “whip poor will” notes; while the Waterthrush has jumbled/varied notes. At least that’s the case for the typical calls. In the previous couple weeks I had heard Waterthrushes giving clear notes like whip poor will as well. Then again, maybe those were more distant birds where the softer notes weren’t easy to hear.
I also think I was getting a better handle on the preferred habitats of the 2 species. Swainson’s prefers steep mountain-side ravines filled with rhododendrons, often with a small creek flowing at the bottom. And an article I read said that they need hemlocks as well. By comparison, in my experience with Louisiana Waterthrushes, they prefer larger streams/rivers, which are not nearly as steep – and that has been the case locally this spring as well. Most of the steep ravines I’ve found which I think are good Swainson’s habitat have small creeks that flow into the larger/flatter rivers below already inhabited by a singing Waterthrush. My expectation was that I’d hear a Swainson’s singing from above me up a ravine, and a Waterthrush singing below me along the larger river.
If I was correct on the preferred habitats, the riparian side of the road should be classic Louisiana Waterthrush habitat. And the other side of the road with frequent large patches of rhododendrons on a steep hillside should be ideal for Swainson’s. So if I was correct , I’d have Waterthrushes on the right and Swainson’s on the left.
Now back to the Greenville Watershed - There were indeed a number of Waterthrushes singing classic songs in the deciduous lowlands. And then I finally heard a candidate Swainson’s song on the left up a rhododendron-lined ravine. And at that same spot there was also what I presumed to be a Waterthrush singing just below me in the deciduous area. But both songs sounded the same, and not classic for either species – something in between. I listened to both for a while and played tape of both species but neither responded. Although I wanted to say I had 1 of each based on habitat, I wasn’t sure.
A bit further along I came upon 2 birds singing in the riparian area really close together – again similar songs in between classic versions of each one. My first thought was that 2 breeding birds of the same species wouldn’t allow competing males to be so close together. Could these be 1 of each species? I played Swainson’s tape and instantly got a response – a skulking bird with strong call notes – though again both species have similar sharp call notes. Then it popped into the open and was a Swainson’s – but still in the riparian area, though quite close to a rhododendron hillside. I assumed I had 1 of each. About 50 yards farther along I heard song on the left in rhododendrons. Still not the classic whip poor will notes at the end though. I played a bit of Swainson’s tape and instantly got 2 Swainson’s to pop into the open. I guessed that the male was the same bird that I had heard just a few minutes earlier.
I ended up with 9 singing Louisiana Waterthrushes and assumed I had 3 Swainson’s. Interestingly, another birder came through the same area a bit later that day and also reported 3 Swainson’s. His were by song only, with the songs all coming from up the hillsides.
And speaking of the singing locations for these 2 species - I've only heard Louisiana Waterthrushes sing from their riparian habitat. While I've now heard Swainson's Warbler sing multiple times in that same riparian habitat, though each time very close to its preferred rhododendron thickets.
My Swainson’s Warbler statebird map is below – I still need this elusive species in quite a number of its regular states. Though I was happy to hear it years ago as an exceptionally rare stakeout in MA.
I ended up with 15 warbler species – 9 other nesters (8 Ovenbird, 7 Black and White, 1 Kentucky, 13 Hooded, 5 Redstart, 7 Parula, 1 BT Blue, 3 Yellow-throated, 17 BT Green) and 3 migrants – a very confused Blue-winged (in all the wrong habitat), 1 Yellow-rump, and 2 Orange-crowns. And I can’t forget the 9 Worm-eating Warblers – I didn’t need to make that first stop afterall.
As a post-script to my Swainson’s Warbler experience, I was back at the Greenville Watershed a week later as part of the Greenville County Spring Migration Count. I had a whopping 7 Swainson’s that day, which I’m told is a new record for Greenville County. I spent LOTS of time listening to their songs, including one spot where a Waterthrush was within 25 feet of a Swainson’s, both singing back and forth nearly non-stop. And I’m feeling much better about the differences. I think I can even hear the differences between those first notes. Here are my thoughts on separating the songs –
Swainson’s Warbler-
“Seeeer seeeer
seer whip poor will it”
Initial
notes clearer/sweeter and a bit higher-pitched than Louisiana’s
First 2
notes longer than the third, and the first 3 notes drop in pitch a bit
Louisiana
Waterthrush -
“Seer seer
seer it whip poor will it it”
Initial
notes a bit lower-pitched than Swainson’s
3 initial
notes identical in length and pitch; a bit more metallic than Swainson’s
Now back to my trip on April 19th –
The next target bird was Grasshopper Sparrow, which is a breeder in multiple grassland locations nearby, the closest spot being Hayes Farm. After a short ride I arrived at the fields at Hayes Farm and got out of my car to listen. I quickly heard and saw Savannahs and Chipping, but no Grasshopper. Then a small sparrow flew to a post a short distance away – it was a perched Grasshopper. Not often you see these birds before you hear them. I ended up with 5 Grasshoppers as I walked along the roads through the Hayes Farm fields – all the others were heard only.
I only need Grasshopper Sparrow in 6 other states in its regular range.
That gave me 3 new SC statebirds before lunchtime – I just needed to get into the right habitat (at the right time of the year) to be able to fill those gaps in my statelist. And speaking of statelist – that brings my SC list up to 265. That's 33 additions since moving to the area, but I still have a number of relatively easy birds to try for. Not to mention any number of possible rarities.
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