My First Real Rarity for the Yard – White-winged Dove, June 8, 2020

Now that Spring was over and birding in my yard had slowed down quite dramatically, I spent some time thinking about what the next additions to my yard list might be.  When I got to the doves and pigeons, I realized that I still needed Rock Pigeon for the yard list.  Sometimes you’ll see small groups of Rock Pigeons randomly passing overhead in areas where you wouldn’t normally expect them, so perhaps I might get lucky enough to be looking up when 1 or more passed by.  (One of the rare times when you might look forward to being “lucky” to find a Pigeon.)  And then there’s the Eurasian Collared-Dove as a remote possibility.  The only place where they are regular in the area is a small colony at a grain facility in Mills River about 30 minutes away.  Though there are occasional mostly single birds spotted here and there in the vicinity, perhaps wanderers from the Mills River group, or just birds passing through the area.  My best, albeit remote, chance might be to have one visit my feeders along with the wintering flock of Mourning Doves.  Then again, little did I know that the next Columbid for my yard list would be even less likely than these options.

I started my “Big Sit” on my back deck on June 8th just after 6 AM and settled in checking off the regular local nesters.  From the woodlands I heard species like Red-eyed Vireo, Eastern Pewee, Hooded Warbler and Scarlet Tanager.  And from the orchard next door I listened to the nearly non-stop song of the Indigo Bunting, the occasional Field Sparrow, and a distant Canada Goose or 2.  I was particularly interested in watching and listening for the Baltimore Oriole family as the babies seemed to have fledged from the nest in my yard 2 days earlier.  Unfortunately, I didn’t hear or see any Orioles that morning.  All in all it was starting off as just a regular kind of summer morning.

Then at about 7:45 it got really interesting – I heard a call of a White-winged Dove!  It was the 4-note call very similar to the cadence of a Barred Owl.  And the bird was close enough that I could hear the cooing tones of each note.  I’m very familiar with this call, and instantly identified it as a WWDO.  And although I might have expected it to be coming from the orchard below me, it sounded like it could be close enough to be right in my backyard.  Surely it would call again – but the only Dove I could hear was a distant Mourning Dove.  After about 30 minutes I took a walk to the orchard and played some tape, but got no responses.  I spent the next 2 hours on the deck with no further calls.

Two days later I was back on the deck hoping against hope that the Dove would still be around.  And sure enough it called again – twice giving the 4-note call and once a bit later giving the low cooing call.  This time the bird was more distant and calling in the general direction of the orchard.  I spent 45 minutes in the orchard, and another 2 hours on my deck, but didn’t hear, or see, the bird again. 

I had a similar experience on the 13th – two of the 4-note calls at 6:45, and again a couple times at 7:15.  The bird was once again singing in the distance to the northeast, in the general direction of the orchard.  Or could it be in the neighborhood just on the other side of the orchard?  I took a little drive through the area and discovered a pair of feeders in the lots adjacent to the orchard and in roughly the right direction.  Could it be visiting those feeders at least sporadically?  I got permission from the owner at one of the houses and spent 30 minutes watching his feeders with no luck.  This was getting frustrating.

Then on the 14th I thought I’d change my approach.  I started the morning at the feeders in the neighborhood below me rather than on my deck.  I waited for 45 minutes, seeing a fair number of Mourning Doves in the area, but no White-winged Dove. 

It turns out that the 13th would be the last day I heard the bird, despite continued “Big Sits” on my deck on subsequent days.

That was one of my most frustrating birding experiences ever.  I only heard the bird on 3 days over a 6-day period, and each time it called for just a few seconds.  I bet I didn’t hear the bird for more than 30 seconds total on those 3 days combined, despite a total of more than 14 hours of watching/listening on 5 of those days.  Not to mention that I didn’t see the bird at all.  If only it had been as cooperative as the Mourning Doves which were calling frequently during that time.

There are only 2 other eBird records of WWDO in the mountains of NC – interestingly one of these was less than a month earlier on 5/16 in Jackson County.  And a bit farther afield, there was a calling WWDO in northern GA (Forsyth County) on 5/11 this year.  That’s just 125 miles away as the Dove flies.  A mini invasion?

The White-winged Dove was #300 for my NC statelist – the 49^th addition since I moved here.  NC is now my 10th state with at least 300 species.  And it was yard bird #128 – my first real rarity for the yard. 

My statebird map for WWDO is inserted below.  The 9 solid blue states are those where I’ve seen this species in its regular range; the 2 cross-hatched states are those remaining states where it’s regular though I’ve yet to see it.  And the 9 tan states are those where I’ve seen this species as a vagrant, a comment on this species’ penchant for vagrancy across much of the country. 

Surely if I was lucky enough to find a White-winged Dove for my yard, Collared-Dove and Rock Pigeon couldn’t be too far behind.  I’m not exactly holding my breath.

Black-billed Cuckoo (Finally); And as a Yardbird No Less, May 25, 2020

Over my last 25 years of birding in New England I found that Black-billed Cuckoo was an uncommon migrant and breeder in the region, though often one that was difficult to see even while calling.  I expected a similar distribution in my new home base of western NC.  After all, the range maps show this species as a migrant and nester in this area just like in New England.  However, the following description of its relative abundance in the NC mountains region, from “Birds of North Carolina: their Distribution and Abundance”, would suggest otherwise:

“Summer resident, and transient. In summer, rare to occasionally or locally uncommon, but sporadic, more "numerous" in some years than others, but seldom even uncommon. Nests mainly between 3,000 and 5,500 feet, somewhat more frequent above 4,000 feet. A good majority of summer records are from the Blue Ridge Parkway, perhaps because of ease of access to higher elevations of deciduous forests. Rare as a transient across the province.”

And this statement in the General Comments of that publication seems to sum it all up – “the average birder will not see a Black-billed Cuckoo in the state in a given year unless he or she is afield several times a week.” 

Another factor in the challenges of finding either the Black-billed or the Yellow-billed Cuckoo is that they will often perch very still in dense vegetation.  So even though they are large birds, they can be very difficult to spot - even if they are singing.  For instance, the vast majority of my Cuckoo sightings over the years have either been heard-only birds, or individuals first seen in flight.

In any case, it would sure seem like Black-billed Cuckoo is actually a rarity in western NC.  Well perhaps except for Spring 2020.

Last Fall in my first migration season in the area I only remember a few sightings being reported.  A review of eBird data shows only 6 reports in the region.  However, the story was quite a bit different this Spring with a number of posts being mentioned on the Blue Ridge Birders text group.  Enough so that some suggested that there were more records than normal this Spring.  eBird records certainly indicated something was up – the NC mountains had just 5 Spring records in 2018 and 9 in 2019, while there were at least 32 records in Spring 2020.  Plus there were comments about the potential for nesting at a couple sites.

Some postulated that the higher numbers were correlated with the hatching of the local brood of 17-Year Cicadas.  But per the map below, the brood in Buncombe County (Brood XIV) wasn’t due to emerge until 2025.  And the Henderson County brood (Brood VI) wouldn’t emerge for another 14 years.  The closest area for Brood IX which was emerging this year was in the far northwestern corner of NC.  So an increased food source in the form of newly hatched cicadas didn’t seem to be a likely cause.

Source - https://www.fs.fed.us/foresthealth/docs/CicadaBroodStaticMap.pdf

Whatever the reason for their increased abundance, with each BBCU sighting mentioned on the text group or in eBird Needs Alerts my need to see one to add it to my NC statelist became greater and greater.  However, given the ephemeral nature of these birds in migration, I didn’t chase after any posted sightings, that is with the exception of one feeble attempt I made to find one seen the previous day at the Biltmore Estate.  Instead I figured I’d have to find one on my own.  Perhaps right in my yard.  But despite being out in the field a lot this spring, the only Cuckoos I was able to find were Yellow-billed– 2 in my yard, and 2 others elsewhere in the area. 

eBird shows BBCUs peaking in abundance in Henderson County in the first 2 weeks of May, so by late May I was pretty much resigned to the fact that I had missed my opportunity to see one in this banner migration season.  I guess I’d just have to wait for a future season to find one.  Migration had mostly ended in my yard by this point and I was generally spending less time on my deck doing “Big Sits”.  In fact, bird activity had reduced so much that on May 25th I almost decided to not bring my binocs out with me.  But I’m sure glad I did. 

Soon after coming out on the deck that morning I got a quick glimpse of a large bird flying into the understory in the backyard nearby.  I expected it was a Cuckoo, but what species?  I quickly headed over to the spot, and luckily was able to re-find the bird.  It was indeed a Cuckoo, but its back was toward me, and the head was completely obscured.  That meant I couldn’t see bill color, but that’s just one of many field marks for Cuckoo ID.  The folded wings didn’t seem to have any rusty coloration in the primaries, which was good for Black-billed.  But the reddish primaries are only easy to see on a Yellow-billed when it’s in flight, so I wasn’t 100% sure I’d be able to see the rusty primaries on this sitting Cuckoo.  Then I focused on the tail – I couldn’t see any white at all, but again with the bird facing away that’s of little help when looking for the amount of white under the tail to ID the bird.  And then with a step to one side I was able to see the face of the bird.  Although the bill was still blocked from view I could see the red orbital ring of the Black-billed Cuckoo – a field mark I had just learned earlier this Spring.  Who needs to see the bill color to ID a Cuckoo?  Eventually I did end up seeing the bill and of course it was all black.  I watched the BBCU for another minute or two before it headed back into the woods out of view.  Though perhaps the bird was hiding in plain sight just a few feet away.

Success!  New NC statebird #299.  (Wonder what #300 will be.)  And yet another great bird for my yard - #127 for the list.  I guess I didn’t have to worry about finding one this Spring after all.

My statebird map for Black-billed Cuckoo is inserted below.  Shaded states are those where I’ve seen this species; the many cross-hatched states are those where it is regular but I’ve yet to catch up with it.  I said these birds can be difficult to find…

Last of Three High Elevation Target Birds, Blue Ridge Parkway, May 23, 2020

When I moved to western NC I had 3 possible state bird targets that were most likely to be found in the higher elevations of the mountains – Ruffed Grouse, Saw-whet Owl, and Red Crossbill.  I was lucky enough to find a pair of Ruffed Grouse back in March 2020 at the Pisgah Campground along the Blue Ridge Parkway.  And in April 2020 I was able to hear a stakeout Saw-whet Owl amazingly at lower elevations in eastern Henderson County.  That left Red Crossbill as my last high elevation target bird. 

Inserted below is a screen shot of the eBird distribution map for Red Crossbill in the NC mountains over just the last 3 years.

At first blush it would look like Red Crossbill is a common bird that can be seen throughout the mountains.  In reality, they are generally only found in spruce/fir forests, though admittedly that habitat is located in many places in the higher mountains.  And they are quite rare even in the proper habitat.  The following description of their range in the NC mountains comes from “Birds of North Carolina: their Distribution and Abundance” -

Summer resident at higher elevations, and winter visitor to all of the region. In summer, rare to locally uncommon at higher elevations, mainly at spruce-fir forests, generally above 4,500 feet; very rare to rare and erratic in summer down to about 3,000 feet. Breeding populations seem to be stable. At other seasons, rare and erratic at lower and middle elevations, with numbers declining in recent years.

And even when you are lucky enough to find them, they are often heard-only birds, or at best birds seen in flight as they are passing by.  Perhaps the day you see them perched might be a good day to play the lottery. 

My first try for Red Crossbills in NC was the day that I had the Grouse at the Pisgah Campground.  There are several conifer patches in and around the campground, and there were some Crossbill records from the area in previous years, so I was definitely on the alert.  But I had none the day I was there, nor on a subsequent trip to the campground, despite what looked to be an excellent cone crop.

The bottom line is you need to be very observant whenever you’re in appropriate spruce/fir forest.  And of course knowing their call notes is a big help.  Not to mention being lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time is always beneficial.

On May 23rd, local birding friend Dave Minnich, Sidney Snyder – a new birder to the area, and I were participating in the annual Black Mountains bird count.  Our assigned territory was along the Blue Ridge Parkway on the Mountains to Sea trail from NC 128 (the road to Mount Mitchell) to the Walker Knob Overlook.  This was about 5-6 miles long and included the ridgeline going up to Potato Knob.  Normally we would leave a car at one end of the trail, carpool to the other end, and hike the entire trail in one direction.  But it’s tough to carpool while social distancing, so we decided to park all our cars at the Overlook, bird a portion of the trail, then double back to the cars.  Certainly not the best approach to census the area, but the right strategy to use all things considered.

Our entire territory would be in the higher elevation forests.  The lowest point was at the parking area at Walker Knob Overlook at 5,300 feet.  The highest point would be along the ridgeline at Blackstock Knob at 6,200 feet.  This should be great for those high elevation breeders.  Including of course, the Red Crossbill.

I was the first to arrive at the parking area and decided to bird around the car while I waited for Dave and Sidney.  The habitat right at the parking area was very nice with mature conifers in nearly every direction.  The trees were full of singing Golden-crowned Kinglets and Black-throated Green Warblers.  A pair of Sharp-shinned Hawks flew overhead, toying with each other as if in courtship.  And a single Pine Siskin passed almost directly overhead, giving its classic call.  It was like I was back in the boreal forests of northern New England that I visited many times while living there the last couple decades.

And then just a short distance I away I heard the sharp “kip-kip-kip” calls of the Red Crossbill.  I followed the call notes as multiple birds flew from one side of the road to the other, though unfortunately I never saw them.  I hoped that they might have landed in one of the trees nearby, but despite lots of scanning I could not relocate them.  They must have been nearby flyovers that just kept going.  Good enough to add to my NC list as #298, but I sure wish I could have seen them, even if just as flyovers.

A few minutes later Dave and Sidney arrived, and we started our walk up the Mountain to Sea trail.  Although we only had 24 species during the 3-hour walk, there were some really nice ones, likely all breeding.  Key birds on the trip – Blue-headed Vireos, many Golden-crowned Kinglets, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Creepers, Winter Wrens, Veery, Hermit Thrushes, Juncos, and Blackburnian and Black-throated Green Warblers.  One of the highlights was a bonded pair of Canada Warblers that were so tame that at times they came within 5 feet of us.  And up near the ridge we had another flyover calling Red Crossbill.  Alas, again heard only.

My statebird map for Red Crossbill is inserted below.  Solid shaded states are those where I’ve seen or heard this species; cross-hatched states are those where this species is regular though I’ve yet to catch up with them.  I still need this species in a lot of states.  Though a note on Idaho is in order – although I still need Red Crossbill in that state I’ve seen the endemic Cassia Crossbill there.

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Ecusta Pond, Brevard County, May 19, 2020

“Black bellied whistling duck @ Ecusta”  That text from Michael Plauche came across the local text group early on May 19th.  Michael regularly birds Ecusta Pond and has found some great birds there.  For instance last Fall and Winter he had locally rare Common Mergansers on the lake.  And then this Spring he had a Cave Swallow there in a mixed swallow flock.  I chased after the Mergansers and needed two trips before I found them.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t successful with the Swallow despite two tries.  But I didn’t let my less-than-spectacular track record on recent Ecusta Pond searches deter me from dropping everything and heading out for yet another rare bird search at Ecusta Pond.  At least it was just 45 minutes from home.

Birding Ecusta Pond is not exactly very intuitive.  The only location from which to view the pond is from a church on the north side.  The church has given birders permission to stand on the second floor fire escape of the sanctuary, just large enough for 3 birders to squeeze in.  Or with social distancing, barely enough room for 2. 

Michael sent me text updates as I headed to Ecusta.  Although one text said the bird was spooked by a Cormorant, his next one said “Back on aerator.  Your chances are good.”  I was optimistic.  I finally made it to the church and there was Michael still up on the fire escape keeping tabs on the Duck.  After a brisk walk up the steps I quickly set up the scope and as Michael suggested focused on the aerator just left of the white sign on the far side.  There was the Black-bellied Whistling-Duck just hanging out on the aerator.  But before I counted it as a new NC statebird, I looked to be sure there were no bands on the bird’s legs.  And with some effort I could see that it had both hind toes – often aviculturalists will remove the hind toes of their captive birds.  So it was very likely a wild bird and countable - #297 on my NC statelist.

Here’s a photo of the aerator in the distance where the BBWD preferred to perch.

And then a phonescoped photo of the bird with the scope set at 50 power.

Although Black-bellied Whistling-Duck is certainly a rarity for the NC mountains, we’re not too far from the northeastern edge of its range.  The closest regular locations for this expanding species are at a park in Augusta, GA (130 miles away), and along the SC coast, especially from Charleston and south (about 200 miles away).  Ironically, I still need this species in both of those states.  In my statebird map below, the blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen BBWD as a regular species.  The cross-hatched states are those where it is regular but I have yet to catch up with it.  Though I’ve now seen it in the 6 tan states as a rarity.  It’s not only expanding its range, it’s also a vagrant where a single bird or a small flock can pop up almost anywhere.