More Rarities at Dobbins Farm – But Not the Expected One, Anderson County, SC, February 10, 2021

Ross’s Goose is one of my favorite birds, dating back to my numerous work trips to the Memphis area in the late 90s and 2000’s.  During the colder months I would enjoy seeing large flocks of white geese either migrating through or wintering in the area.  The vast majority were Snows, but with close examination I would spot occasional Ross’s Geese mixed in.  In flight, a Ross’s would often be at the head of the line.  It was fun to play “Where’s Waldo” looking for those diminutive geese among their larger cousins.  Over the years I would end up adding Ross’s to my lists in 31 states and 1 Canadian province as this species rapidly increased in numbers. 

When I moved to the Carolinas I needed Ross’s Goose for my statelists in both NC and SC, as well as Snow Goose in South Carolina.  I was able to see Ross’s in NC within just a few months of moving to the region in 12/19.  And finally got Snow Goose in SC about a year later in 11/20 at Dobbins Farm in Anderson County.  And although there were several more Ross’s records in the mountains of NC, there were no nearby records of Ross’s in SC.

That is until late January 2021 when Ross’s and Snows appeared at not 1 but 2 farm ponds in Anderson County.  Remarkably the sites were just 11 miles apart “as the goose flies”.  Unfortunately, I had commitments at home that prevented me from getting out at that time.  But the reports continued at both spots for a couple weeks, until I was finally able to make a run to the area on February 10.  The last report from the first site, Clemson University Simpson Research Station, was on the 7th – 2 Ross’s were seen with 5 Snows.  And from the other site, Dobbins Farm where I’ve seen several rarities since moving to the area, the last report was on the 8th with 1 each Ross’s and Snow.  There were no reports positive or negative from the 9th.  But I was still quite optimistic that the birds that had been around at the Clemson site for 13 days, and at Dobbins Farm for 11 days, would still be around when I was finally able to look for them.

My plan for the 10th was to first head to the Clemson site since it was closer, then bird the Dobbins Farm area.  I got out of the house early on the 10th and arrived at the Clemson site at about 9 AM.  The Ross’s and Snow Geese were sometimes seen with Canadas on the farm pond there, and sometimes seen foraging in fields nearby.  As I pulled up to the pond I hoped (dare I say expected) to see some white dots on the water which would be my target birds – but I didn’t see a single goose.  I got out and with a quick binocular view couldn’t find any waterfowl at all.  They must be feeding in the fields I surmised.  There was suitable grazing habitat all around me, so I did a 360-degree search but still found no geese.  I drove east a short distance and looked from that different vantage point but again found no geese.  At least I still had Dobbins Farm to search for my target.

Twenty minutes later I arrived at Dobbins Farm again hoping to see those white dots on the ponds in the distance.  First I arrived at the upper pond – no geese at all.  Then I pulled down to the lower pond – no geese again.  I checked both ponds more closely, but there’s next to no way a white goose could hide on these relatively small farm ponds.  To say that I was upset would be an understatement – saying a number of things to myself that I can’t put in print here on my blog.  I had gotten there just a day or 2 too late.

I was tempted to just get back in the car and drive home, but decided to do at least a little birding at Dobbins before heading back.  One of my other targets at that farm has been Brewer’s Blackbirds that are occasionally reported from the site.  In fact a male/female pair were spotted there a few days earlier.  The cows were feeding in their troughs along the road so I though perhaps a blackbird might be there feeding on some spilled grain.  I quickly searched the area but came up empty.  Then I heard a couple blackbird call notes in the distance.  The recent report mentioned the Brewer’s were “Seen in top of trees behind lower pond”, so I looked into those trees in the distance and sure enough there was a blackbird perched near the top.  Too far to ID with binoculars, so I quickly got out my scope.  The bird was very glossy, with a yellow eye, and short tail – I had myself a male Brewer’s Blackbird!  Here’s a picture of those trees in the background behind the lower pond.

And a phonescoped view of the bird, though admittedly too distant to confirm the ID in this less-than-ideal photo.

 While studying the Brewer’s I realized that there was a nearby meadowlark singing an odd song.  I focused on the call and realized it was the singing Western Meadowlark, a bird I first heard here back in November and was now being occasionally heard and seen yet again among all the Eastern Meadowlarks.  Who knows how long it had been singing and I hadn’t noticed it while concentrating on the blackbird.  Then I turned back to the blackbird and realized there was a second one in the trees – another male Brewer’s.  Nice consolation prizes – a new SC statebird in the Brewer’s, and an even rarer Western Meadowlark.

Here’s my statebird map for Brewer’s Blackbird – the blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen this species in its regular range.  The cross-hatched states are those in its regular range where I’ve yet to see this species.  The 4 tan states are those where I’ve seen it as a rarity.

I drove back to the upper pond hoping against hope that I might still find those white geese.  At the northeastern end of the pond I spotted a few Canada Geese at the edge of the pond.  While scanning through them I noticed a pair of geese flying overhead.  They circled and pitched in right in front of me – it was a pair of Greater White-fronted Geese.  I got these passable phonescoped photos of the pair.

White-fronts are actually rarer in the region than Ross’s.  Over the last 6 years in the SC Upstate there have been 15 reports of Ross’s while just 11 reports of White-fronts.

I’ve now seen White-fronted Goose throughout most of the states in its regular range, along with most east coast states where it’s a rarity.  Most of those northeast sightings are of birds from the Greenland flavirostris race, while sightings from the western Carolinas are most likely from the inland frontalis race.

That gave me 2 additions to my SC state list, bringing my total to 284.  Not to mention my second observation of the Western Meadowlark – only the second SC state record.  So even though I missed my target (and expected) Ross’s Goose, I’ll gladly take this great set of consolation prizes.  I’ll just have to get the Ross’s Goose in the future – maybe on a future trip to Dobbins Farm.