8 Georgia Statebirds Following a Trip to the Florida Panhandle, January 7-8, 2023

Late in December 2022 I noticed a post from a local birder where he mentioned he had just seen a White Wagtail in FL.  That would be a lifebird, one I missed back in 2016 practically in my backyard in NH because I was out of town.  Although I’ve had the eBird ABA Rarities alert turned on for years, I haven’t been checking it lately since I’m not doing much traveling during Covid.  So a Wagtail in FL wasn’t exactly on my radar.  But with some quick eBird searches I found out that the White Wagtail was being seen nearly daily in Tallahassee.  That seemed pretty far away, but with a drive time of “only” 7 1/2 hours, it was actually about the same amount of time it takes to drive to the NC Outer Banks.  The hunt was on!

In theory I could drive down to Tallahassee in one day, hopefully see the bird, and drive back the next day.  But why not add a couple days to the trip and look for some statebirds in the FL panhandle and in southern and central GA on the drive back.  So I started planning for a 4-day trip to try for the Wagtail as a lifebird and a number of statebirds in both states.

I first focused on potential statebirds in FL within a couple hours of Tallahassee.  All told I found a possible 14 targets in FL (including the Wagtail), which was a surprisingly high number given that my FL list was already at 320.  I realistically hoped to find perhaps 8 of them.

Then it was time to research targets in GA.  My statelist was only 258, so there would be lots of possible statebirds.  My route to and from Tallahassee would go through much of GA, way too much to bird effectively on this short trip.  Plus all my GA stops would have to be just on the way back home since I wanted to make a beeline for Tallahassee on the first day of the trip in search of my key target, the Wagtail.  So I needed to focus on potential targets that might be closer to my direct route home, thus minimizing drive times for side-trips.  That meant I wouldn’t be able to get to the coast, which was unfortunate since there were a number of my targets there.  And north of Atlanta would be out of bounds as well.  Despite all those constraints, I was still able to map out a route back taking me through the center of the state then heading northeast to Augusta that would give me 12 possible statebird targets.  I figured if I could find 6 of them that would make for a successful GA portion of the trip.

This post covers the GA portion of my trip, on Days 3 and 4 of the trek.  The previous blog post summarized the FL half of the trip.

Day 3 - January 7

The first stop of the day was the last one in FL – agricultural fields in the panhandle close to where AL, GA, and FL come together.  Luckily it didn’t take long to find my target Horned Lark there since I had a full day of GA birding (and driving!) planned.  In fact, I probably had more stops planned than I could bird successfully.  So soon after seeing the Larks I was back on the road heading northeast through southern GA. 

My first GA stop was an eBird hotspot called Standard Elevator Rd. in Sumter County.  The key target here was Say’s Phoebe that had been reported there twice in late December, though the most recent report was now 10 days old.  And complicating the issue was that no details on the location of the bird were provided.  This was a 3-mile-long road, and the hotspot was apparently the entire road.  Certainly lots of territory a single flycatcher could hide in.  The only clues were that the one checklist included photos of the bird on the ground on a dirt road, on a telephone wire, and on a telephone pole.  Recent reports from the hotspot also included a Pectoral Sandpiper, though ID details were limited on this species that would typically be in South America this time of year.  Plus there were occasional reports of 3 of my other targets, Sandhill Crane, and White-crowned and Vesper Sparrows, which were also seen at a number of other sites in this part of the state.  Lots of opportunity, though with limited time and directions, I wasn’t too overly optimistic.

As I pulled into the eastern end of the road I noticed a small roadside farm pond with mudflats.  I broke out the scope and picked up 15 Least Sandpipers, both Yellowlegs, and a Snipe, but no Pectoral.  That is assuming that this was the pond where the Pectoral had been spotted in the first place. 

Then I turned my attention to my key target, the Say’s Phoebe.  My first strategy was to try to find the area where the photos had been taken.  But the road was paved instead of dirt, and it was lined with 3 miles of telephone wires and poles.  This would be next to impossible.  I drove along a short distance and briefly got excited when I found a couple Phoebes but they turned out to be Eastern.  I had basically given up on the Phoebe and turned my attention to my Sparrow targets.  There was some nice brush along the roadside and I played some White-crowned tape to see if I could get lucky.  Amazingly an immature White-crowned almost instantly popped up – it was the first sparrow I saw along the road (GA statebird #1). 

My statebird map for White-crowned Sparrow is inserted below.  The blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen this species in its regular range, which is basically the entire US.  The one cross-hatched location, Washington, D.C., is the last jurisdiction where I have not yet seen this species.

A short distance farther ahead I left the brushy area behind and came upon a dirt agricultural field.  I noticed some movement at the muddy edge and it was a Vesper Sparrow.  And then I realized there were actually 3 Vesper Sparrows foraging together (GA statebird #2).  Remarkably the first 4 sparrows that I saw along the road were a White-crowned and 3 Vespers.  Can’t ask for anything better than that.  Well I guess unless I saw the Say’s Phoebe too. 

Like White-crowned, Vesper is seen across the Lower 48 states, though I still need this one in 5 states plus DC.  (There aren’t too many good sparrow spots in DC I guess.)

I drove along a bit farther down the road and spotted a Phoebe flying nearby.  I quickly got out but it was just another Eastern.  But before I could return to the car I heard the bugling of a Sandhill Crane.  I looked up and there was a flock of 8 birds flying low overhead (GA statebird #3).  In my statebird map for this species that tan-shaded states are those eastern states where I’ve seen this species as a rarity.

The 2 Sparrows and the Crane had been reported at a number of my planned stops, so seeing them all so quickly meant I could spend less time looking for them on upcoming stops.  Plus 1 upcoming stop solely for Cranes could be eliminated altogether.  This gave me more time for my other targets.

And speaking of other targets, my thoughts came back to the Say’s Phoebe.  The place where I had parked was close to where farmer’s equipment had driven from the fields to the paved road, covering the road with large amounts of dirt.  Could this be what I thought was a dirt road in one of the pictures?  Then I started thinking about Say’s Phoebe’s preferred microhabitat – they especially like to forage and perch around farm buildings.  I could see a group of farm buildings up ahead near the western end of Standard Elevator Rd. – maybe I could re-find the bird after all.  I spent some time wandering around the buildings, seeing a number of perched birds like Mourning Doves and a Mockingbird, but not my target.

Then I remembered there were old farm buildings at the other end of the road as well.  I drove back there and just as I was getting out of the car noticed a telephone pole covered in poison ivy vines.  That reminded me that in the photo showing the Phoebe perched on a telephone pole the pole was also covered in vines.  Had I found the correct spot? 

Just when I started walking around the area near the pole a small flycatcher flew by and perched most cooperatively in a low tree – I had my Say’s Phoebe. 

GA was my 3rd eastern state finding this species as a rarity.

It’s most satisfying when my research and detective work lead to a successful chase!  And with 4 targets at my first stop I couldn’t have asked for a better start to my day.

Next I was off to the Dooly County Road Farm Pond hotspot where 2 Canvasbacks had been reported intermittently.  When I pulled up and did my first scan I didn’t see a single duck.  That wasn’t looking good.  But part of the pond was obscured by a small hill so I adjusted my viewing angle and noticed a group of 5 Hooded Mergansers actively diving.  And then 4 Cormorants swam into view.  But still no Canvasbacks though I picked out 2 rare continuing Long-billed Dowitchers.  I was now convinced that I could see the entire pond, and the Canvasbacks just weren’t there no matter how hard I tried.  But I had another spot for Canvasback on the next day so I wasn’t throwing in the towel on this species just yet. 

My next target was a Ross’s Goose reported twice in a small runoff retention pond in a suburban subdivision in Warner Robins.  Photos and a GoogleEarth view of this spot suggested the habitat was marginal, so I wasn’t too optimistic on this one.  But it was just a few miles off my route so worth the try.  When I arrived I realized that the pond was inside a gated community.  I tried driving around the outside of the community but fencing blocked my views.  I was tempted to just give up, but decided to try to talk my way into the neighborhood.  Luckily there was someone manning the gate, and they let me in to survey the waterfowl at the pond.  Just as I pulled in I spotted a couple Canadas - this was looking good.  But when I got a better view of the pond a small flock of Canadas were the only geese there.  In hindsight, with limited time available and more spots to bird yet that day, it would have been better to skip this spot altogether.

After a quick break to gas up, I was back on the road heading north to the Piedmont NWR to look for Red-cockaded Woodpeckers.  This one had not been on my radar screen until the night before when a report came through on my Needs Alert.  Then with some additional historical research I found out that Red-cockaded was actually regular on the refuge, presumably with active management for this endangered species.  If it hadn’t been for the previous day’s report I would have driven right past this spot.  But “shoe-horning” this additional spot in an otherwise already full schedule meant I had maybe just 90 minutes of birding time there.

After arriving at the refuge I went right to the location of yesterday’s report at the Wildlife Drive hoping the birds were still in the vicinity.  Foraging birds are often quite vocal, so I listened and watched intently.  I walked and drove along that section of the road, finding excellent managed habitat for Red-cockaded, but didn’t find my target bird.  Though I did see several marked trees the Red-cockaded was using for feeding or nesting.

I then went to nearby Cut-through Road where they had also been reported recently.  As before, I walked along the road through excellent habitat.  Several times I heard tapping but it turned out to be Red-bellies and Sapsuckers.  Then I heard more tapping and finally heard the characteristic “seep” calls of a Red-cockaded Woodpecker in the distance (GA statebird #5).  I briefly tried to track it down but realized the bird was pretty far away and my time was limited.  Not the most satisfying observation I’m afraid. 

After I got home, I realized that I could also have searched for Bachman’s Sparrow in this same habitat.  Although they are easier to find in spring and summer while singing on territory, they are still present in the winter months.  If I go back for the sparrow hopefully I’ll get some nice views of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers as well.

My last stop of the day was the Augusta regional airport where there had been recent sightings of both LeConte’s and Henslow’s Sparrows.  But those birds would have to wait till the next morning.  Today I wasn’t arriving at the airport until sunset when my targets would be Woodcock and Short-eared Owl.  Both species were only reported there once, and it was more than 2 weeks ago, but I was hopeful that the Woodcocks were local breeders and would be calling each evening.  I was a bit less optimistic for the Owl, but still worth the try.

I arrived at the end of General Perry Smith Parkway at the edge of the airport property at 5:34, one minute before sunset.  Skies were clear and there was no wind - excellent conditions to see or hear both species.  From my vantage point I could see most of the airport property as I hoped to see a Short-ear either sitting on a low perch, or flying low over the ground.  My initial scans came up empty, though a flyover late Bald Eagle was interesting.  As it got darker, I scanned even more intently but couldn’t come up with an Owl.  There’s a rule of thumb that Woodcocks start calling 20 minutes after sunset, so at 5:55 I crossed my fingers that the “timberdoodles” would soon start their courtship.  But at 6:00 there were still no calling Woodcocks and it was almost too dark to see a Short-ear even if it was there.  My hopes were waning.  Then finally at 6:02 I heard the first of 2 Woodcocks calling a short distance away (GA statebird #6).  It’s nice to shade in GA in my statebird map, but I still need this species in a number of states especially in the western portion of its range.

At 6:10 it was now too dark to try to see a Short-eared Owl, so I gave up on my nocturnal search and called it a day. 

Day 4 - January 8

At sunrise on the 8th I was back at the airport to try for the LeConte’s and Henslow’s Sparrows.  Both species had been found in a very small grassy area with some standing water and clumps of broomsedge a short distance from the spot where I had the Woodcocks the prior evening.  Although I had excellent directions to the wet area where the sparrows were found, I wasn’t too overly optimistic since the LeConte’s was last seen nearly 2 weeks ago, and the Henslow’s was last seen 5 days earlier.  I spent a fair amount of time trudging through the area but only found Songs and Fields.  I spotted similar habitat across the road at a retention pond and gave that a try too but only found Songs and Savannahs there.  It looks like I was too late for these little skulking targets.

My next stop was the Brickyard Ponds hotspot a short distance away where Canvasback was quite reliable and Black Duck was seen occasionally.  And there was even a recent report of Neotropic Cormorant there.  I traded e-mails with local birders who shared advice how to bird this spot, and they suggested that Canvasback was most likely to be seen in the Garden Pond.  After paying the small entrance fee at the bait shop I began the drive into the large complex of lakes of various sizes and shapes.  The first couple lakes had few waterfowl, but quite a number of Double-crested Cormorants.  I checked each one but couldn’t come up with the smaller Neotropic.  There were also multiple Anhingas nicely perched around the perimeter of each of the lakes. 

Then I reached the Garden Pond and it was absolutely covered in waterbirds.  Closest to the road were large numbers of Coots, perhaps 400 of them.  Then I looked farther out on the lake and the water was covered in diving ducks – certainly critical mass to find a Canvasback.  The flock was dominated by at least 500 Ring-necked Ducks.  Some of the closest Ring-necks flew off when I drove up; I just hoped the Canvasbacks weren’t with them.  Now it was time for a closer look to see what other species might be mixed in.  With a more methodical scan I was able to pick out 15 Redheads, 10 Buffleheads, and 15 Ruddy Ducks in with the Ring-necks.  I was starting to get worried until I finally found a pair of female Canvasbacks swimming far in the distance among the other ducks (GA statebird #7).  I just need Canvasback in 1 more state in the continental US.

With the Canvasback behind me, it was time to get back to looking for Black Duck and Neotropic Cormorant.  I birded the remaining lakes but unfortunately couldn’t come up with either of those long-shot targets.  Although I only got 1 of my targets, the Brickyard Ponds hotspot sure looked like a great birding site. 

My last stop of the trip was Lake Olmstead on the northern side of Augusta where a pair of Long-tailed Ducks were first spotted 2 weeks ago and were being seen almost daily.  It’s a small lake so I was cautiously optimistic.  The reports often mentioned that they were being seen off the boat ramp, though they were diving frequently.  I pulled into the parking lot at the boat ramp and instantly noticed movement out on the lake – it was the pair of Long-tailed Ducks!  (GA statebird #8)  That was easy.  They were indeed diving frequently, but I was able to get this passable phone-scoped photo.

Long-tailed duck 2 pic

Two days earlier I also added Long-tailed Duck to my FL list – nice to get this rarity back-to-back in these 2 southeastern states.

What a great way to end the trip!  My 8 new GA statebirds were 2 more than I hoped for, and it brings my statelist to 265.  And along with 10 new statebirds in FL (including a Lifer!), it was a great start to the 2023 birding year.

Life Bird and 10 State Birds, Florida Panhandle, January 5-7, 2023,

Late in December 2022 I noticed a post from a local birder where he mentioned he had just seen a White Wagtail in FL.  That would be a lifebird, one I missed back in 2016 practically in my backyard in NH because I was out of town.  Although I’ve had the eBird ABA Rarities alert turned on for years, I haven’t been checking it lately since I’m not doing much traveling during Covid.  So a Wagtail in FL wasn’t exactly on my radar.  But with some quick eBird searches I found out that the White Wagtail was being seen nearly daily in Tallahassee.  That seemed pretty far away, but with a drive time of “only” 7 1/2 hours, it was actually about the same amount of time it takes to drive to the NC Outer Banks.  The hunt was on!

It turns out the White Wagtail first arrived on November 24, and was being seen quite reliably at a couple runoff retention ponds in downtown Tallahassee.  It was feeding along muddy shorelines, and judging by the excellent photos posted on eBird, birders were able to get quite close to it.  In theory I could drive down to Tallahassee in one day, hopefully see the bird, and drive back the next day.  But why not add a couple days to the trip and look for some statebirds in the FL panhandle and in southern and central GA on the drive back.  So I started planning for a 4-day trip to try for the Wagtail as a lifebird and a number of statebirds in both states.

I first focused on potential statebirds in FL within a couple hours of Tallahassee.  I used to live in Gainesville, FL, and remember that the Tallahassee area was home to a number of wintering birds that are very difficult to find elsewhere in FL, including – White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Winter Wren, and Dark-eyed Junco.  And an agricultural area a short distance west of there was the only spot for Horned Larks in the state.  I only made it to the panhandle in winter once before but focused on water and marshbirds during that trip, so all of these local specialties were still targets.  And speaking of waterbirds, my eBird research revealed a number of other possible statebirds at nearby St. Marks NWR.  All told I had a possible 14 targets in FL (including the Wagtail), which was a surprisingly high number given that my FL list was already at 320.  I realistically hoped to find perhaps 8 of them.

Then it was time to research targets in GA.  My statelist was only 258, so there would be lots of possible statebirds.  My route to and from Tallahassee would go through much of GA, way too much to bird effectively on this short trip.  Plus all my GA stops would have to be just be on the way back home since I wanted to make a beeline for Tallahassee on the first day of the trip in search of my key target, the Wagtail.  So I needed to focus on potential targets that might be closer to my direct route home, thus minimizing drive times for side-trips.  That meant I wouldn’t be able to get to the coast, which was unfortunate since there were a number of my targets there.  And north of Atlanta would be out of bounds as well.  Despite all those constraints, I was still able to map out a route back taking me through the center of the state then heading northeast to Augusta that would give me 12 possible statebird targets.  I figured if I could find 6 of them that would make for a successful GA portion of the trip.

As I was making my final preparations for the trip I heard from my birding friend Bill Hooker that he and his wife Anita were planning to head to Tallahassee for the Wagtail the same day I was.  That would be great – whoever got there first could report their results to the other.  The trip was really coming together!

This post covers the FL portion of my trip.  The next blog post will cover the GA half of the trip.

Day 1 - January 5

I was out the door earlier than expected on the 5th and luckily made the trip around Atlanta through the morning rush with no backups.  My ETA in Tallahassee was around 2 PM.  That gave me lots of time to think about seeing my target Wagtail.  The bird was being reported from 2 runoff retention ponds – nearly daily at Lake Elberta, and occasionally at the nearby Mills Street Pond.  Unfortunately, there had been only 1 report of the bird on the 4th, at the Mills Street Pond.  And there were a couple posts where the Wagtail had not been seen that day.  And even worse, a Merlin was included on one checklist.  The Merlin might keep the Wagtail away from its regular feeding spots.  Or even worse, the Wagtail could become Merlin food.

So with the less than stellar reports from the 4th, I was very anxious to check reports from the morning of the 5th to see if the Wagtail was re-found.  The first report from Lake Elberta was posted about 8 AM - no Wagtail was seen.  Two others from Lake Elberta were posted soon thereafter and again no Wagtail was included.  Then there was a report from Mills Street Pond – no Wagtail there either.  Was I going to be a day too late for the Wagtail?  Then at 11 AM another Mills Street checklist was posted - I was almost too afraid to open it.  But I scrolled down to the end and there was the Wagtail complete with a picture.  The Wagtail was back!  I could breathe again!  I shared the news with Bill and Anita, and it turned out they would be arriving just a few minutes after me.  I pushed the accelerator down a bit harder as a I realized that I still had 3 hours to go before I got there.

After taking what seemed like forever to navigate through the traffic lights of downtown Tallahassee, I finally pulled up to the Mills Street Pond.  Pretty unremarkable actually.

Just up ahead there was a car parked on the side of the road with a camera sticking out of the driver’s window.  This was looking positive - “bird the birders” as I always say.  I pulled in front of the birder’s car and quickly scanned the small grassy mudflat while still sitting in my car.  In just a few seconds I picked out the White Wagtail walking along the mudflat, wagging its long tail as it went.  I called Bill and gave him the news, suggesting they stay in the car when they arrive.  A few minutes later they pulled in, and Anita got this great photo of our key target bird.

Unfortunately, my digi-binned photos were not nearly as good.  I tried to get out to get a phonescoped photo but the bird flushed to the southern end of the pond.  At least we got to hear the 2-note “pipit” call when it flew.

White Wagtail was #763 for my Continental ABA list, and #743 in the Lower 48.  It was the first new lifebird I had seen since 2018, though I’ve added at least one new lifebird each year since then due to ABA splits or decisions that certain introduced species were now countable. 

With our key target out of the way, we could focus on our other birding priorities for the trip – mine were new statebirds and Bill’s were county birds.  But Bill mentioned that since so many of my statebird targets were pretty rare in FL, he would come along with me and try for them as well.  Afterall, they would likely be new county birds for him as well.

And since we saw the Wagtail so quickly we had quite a bit of birding time left that day.  Our next stop was just a short 30-minute drive to the east at the Fred Myers Williams Fish Pond where a large flock of Brewer’s Blackbirds were reliably being seen.  A little surprising to have Brewer’s at a fish pond – normally they’re associated with cattle feed lots – but we’d give it a go.  As we pulled up to the hotspot location we saw a small herd of cows in the field immediately to the right, and sure enough there was a large flock of blackbirds with them.  

With a quick scan we realized that nearly all of them were Brewer’s – we estimated 300 (FL statebird #2) – with just a few cowbirds mixed in.  We never did see a pond.  My statebird map for Brewer’s Blackbird is inserted below.  The blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen this species in its regular range.  The 3 cross-hatched states are the last ones in its normal range where I’ve yet to see it.  And the 5 brown-shaded states are those where I’ve seen Brewer’s as a rarity.  Since I moved to NC I’ve added Brewer’s Blackbird to 5 southeastern statelists – VA, NC, SC, GA, and now FL.

We had time for one more stop that afternoon, and decided to head to Faulk Drive Landing on Lake Jackson where a Clay-colored Sparrow had been reported earlier in the week.  Unfortunately, the only sparrows we had there were a couple Swamps in the marsh.  A consolation prize was a most cooperative Orange-crowned Warbler.  A nice way to end a most successful day.

Day 2 – January 6

Our first stop of the day was at Elinor Klapp-Phipps Park on the north side of Tallahassee.  There had been a number of recent reports of Dark-eyed Junco in the park with specific directions to one spot near Gate A.  It was also known as one of the better spots for White-breasted Nuthatch in FL (though with no recent reports), and occasional winter sightings of Brown Creeper including one in the past week.  A target-rich location.  We didn’t have specific locations for the Nuthatch and Creeper, so we’d just have to get lucky to run into them.

We arrived at Gate A a bit before sunrise and quickly heard a couple Great Horned Owls as our first birds of the day.  As we headed over to the trail where the Juncos had been reported we were surrounded by excellent hardwood and softwood woodlands.  We kept our ears open for our Nuthatch and Creeper targets and crossed our fingers.  While we waited for the morning sun to hit the Junco trail we played some Screech Owl calls nearby and were inundated by passerines with big numbers of Pine Warblers, Chickadees, and Titmice, a few Brown-headed Nuthatches, and goodies like Yellow-throated Warbler and Blue-headed Vireo.  But none of our targets stopped by. 

Then we walked over to the spot where the Juncos had been reported most often and I noticed some movement in the grass.  There was a group of 3 Juncos foraging on the ground at the edge of the trail (FL statebird #3).  FL was my 48th state for Dark-eyed Junco – I have to get back to ND to finish filling in my statebird map for this species.

We headed back to the car and kept our ears open for Nuthatches and Creepers but to no avail.  At least we added one of our targets.

Next we were on to Gardner Road Landing just to our north where Winter Wrens had been rather reliable, and quite vocal.  When we arrived we found quite a bit of very nice wet wooded habitat perfect for a Winter Wren.  We listened for their chattering calls but only heard Carolinas.  We then walked a short distance to the end of the road and noticed some movement low in the brush.  Then the small brown bird started to chatter and gave us brief views – it was our target Winter Wren (FL statebird #4). 

After a quick view of the wetlands at the end of the landing road, we headed off to Roden Cove Landing where there had been a report of 2 White-faced Ibis.  Unfortunately that was 10 days ago, so this one could well be a long shot.  We took a short walk to the edge of the wetlands and began to scan.  There were quite a number of birds there, dominated by at last 1,000 Coots.  And the marshy edges had good numbers of waders, including a small group of White Ibis, but no dark ones.  Then I spotted a flock of 6 dark Ibis in flight in the distance, unfortunately way too far to ID.  And they kept flying farther away and eventually disappeared.  That was frustrating. 

We went back to scanning the closer marsh and picked up another dark Ibis foraging alone.  This one was close enough for a potential ID, but we had left the scopes in the cars.  So Bill and I rushed back to get the scopes and Anita stayed with the bird.  When we returned the bird had moved a bit but was still close enough to try to see eye color.  The Ibis was actively feeding so it took a while to get good views of the face, but we could definitely see red eyes.  Plus the wings and mantle were greener than you’d normally see on a Glossy – we had our target White-faced Ibis (FL statebird #5).  FL was my 9th state seeing this species as a rarity.  White-faced sure is prone to vagrancy in the east.

A bit later we found another group of 7 dark Ibis nearby, though the difficult sun angle made it tough to see eye color.  Luckily one bird was close enough that we could see it had dark eyes and confirmed it as a Glossy.  We started to take a hike along the marsh edge to change the sun angle on the others but decided it would be best to spend that time looking for our other targets instead.

We headed back to the parking lot which was nearly surrounded by mature live oaks.  There had been a recent report of White-breasted Nuthatch at this hotspot, and these trees looked like an ideal spot for one.  We played some Screech Owl tape, getting a number of birds to respond, but not our target Nuthatch.  I hated to leave that one behind, but with no specific locations for the Nuthatch, and several targets waiting for us at the coast, we decided to pack up and headed south.

Our next stop was St. Marks NWR, a spot I had not visited since I lived in FL in the late 80’s.  I had 3 possible statebird targets there, the first being a long-staying American Golden-Plover that was reported to be most cooperative at the East River Pool.  Little did we know that our biggest problem finding this bird would be gaining access to the pool.  The 2-lane road was being repaved, and nearby parking lots were full of construction vehicles.

But Bill was able to talk one of the workers into allowing us to park briefly in one of the lots, giving us enough time to walk to the pool.  With the clock ticking we quickly made it to the metal pier and almost instantly picked out the American Golden-Plover (FL statebird #6).  Most cooperative indeed.

Although I lived in FL for a time, I was never able to see any of the “grasspipers” including Baird’s and Buff-breasted.  Interesting that I finally saw the Golden-Plover in FL in winter when they are normally supposed to be in southern South America.

The next target was a Long-tailed Duck that had been reported for awhile at the end of the Cedar Point Trail near the Lighthouse Pool.  But the sightings had been intermittent.  In fact, as we walked down the trail we met a couple groups of birders coming back from unsuccessful searches for the bird.  So I wasn’t very optimistic.  We got to the end of the trail and started scanning the offshore waters.  There were quite a number of Scaup and Bufflehead in the distance, but no sight of my target bird.  Then in one of my distant scans I noticed some ducks in the foreground.  I focused on the closer waters and there was the Long-tailed Duck (FL statebird #7).  It was diving frequently, along with a small group of Buffleheads.  Maybe it was overlooked by the other birders because they were focused on the more distant ducks, like I did initially.  I was able to get Bill and Anita on the bird, along with a number of other birders that passed by.  FL was my 4th state with Long-tailed Duck as a rarity.

Our next target was a long-staying American Flamingo that is often seen in the Lighthouse Pool.  I had seen Flamingo before in FL – a flock of 16 off of Snake Bight Trail at Everglades NP in 2008.  But I could never turn down an opportunity to see such a striking bird.  Unfortunately, the Flamingo was not on the flats at the pool, nor on the small offshore island it sometimes frequents.  Though the pool was full of waterfowl and shorebirds.

Our last stop at St. Marks was to bird the offshore waters near the lighthouse to look for a Surf Scoter that was first found there in late December.  Although it had been spotted numerous times since then, it was last reported 3 days ago.  There had also been occasional reports of Black Scoter from this spot.  I did several scans from the parking lot but came up empty.  We then walked west along the south shore, and I scanned at several more vantage points but to no avail.  With no other possible spots for Surf Scoter I hated to give up, but it was time to throw in the towel.  Even though we missed a couple targets, it was still fun to bird St. Marks again after so many years.

Our next target was Black Scoter which was quite often seen nearby at Alligator Point and Bald Point SP.  In fact, I had a 20-year-old FL birdfinding guide that said that Alligator Point was the best spot in the area for Black Scoter.  The local birder I ran into at the Wagtail spot mentioned that they are best seen near the “area of new pavement”.  As we arrived near the point this spot became obvious– there was a section of the coastal road that had apparently washed out in a recent storm and had just been replaced.  And sure enough large rafts of ducks were there just offshore - we estimated 500 birds.  With a quick binocular scan all I could find were Greater Scaup.  But with so many divers surely there were Scoters mixed in somewhere.  I scanned through the flocks more closely and picked out a few Redheads and even a Ring-necked Duck, but no Scoters. 

I could see another raft in the distance a bit farther west so I decided to change my vantage point and give them a look.  But a couple scans revealed just more Scaup.  Then I spotted a group of 4 larger, all dark ducks just offshore which only provided a quick but tantalizing view before they dove.  Did I have my target bird?  A few seconds later they all resurfaced - they were indeed Scoters but surprisingly they were female Surf Scoters instead of the expected Black Scoter (FL statebird #8).  I’ve now seen Surf Scoter in each of its expected coastal and Great Lake states except for PA, plus have seen it in 4 inland states as a rarity.

I then spotted another Scaup raft a bit farther to the west and again picked out 2 more Surf Scoters diving at the nearshore edge of the flock.  Anita was able to get this nice picture of this pair of birds.

It sure was great to find these 6 Surf Scoters, especially since they had not been reported here recently.  But we were still missing our target Black Scoter which was supposed to be the Scoter species for this spot.  There had been a Black Scoter report from nearby Bald Point SP the day before, so maybe we’d get lucky there.  It took us a while to find the park and an access point to scan the offshore waters, and it was now closing in on sunset.  But at least we were looking nearly due east with the setting sun to our backs, and the water was almost flat, giving us excellent visibility.  An initial scan revealed just a couple Scaup and little else.  So I started scanning farther out and picked out perhaps 200 Scaup and 10 Redheads far in the distance but they were way too far out to try to see if a Scoter might be mixed in.

Then I spotted a flock of perhaps 50 ducks far to the east roughly flying towards us.  As they got closer I could finally start to pick up some field marks – they were generally uniform brown indicating they were Redheads.  Then the flock turned so that they were flying perpendicular to our line of sight and I noticed one darker bird mixed in.  I was getting excited…  I kept staring at the flock and eventually could see the darker bird was all black, and on their closest approach I could see the yellow knob on the bill.  Finally, we had our Black Scoter, and an adult male at that (FL statebird #9).  My Black Scoter statebird map has a few less states shaded in than in my Surf Scoter map - Black Scoter is often the least common of the wintering scoters.

What an excellent way to end the day, finding 2 Scoter species and Long-tailed Duck on the Gulf Coast.  When the eBird checklists were all compiled (thanks to Bill for maintaining the checklists!) we came up with 109 species for the day – an outstanding total for a January day.

Day 3 - January 7

We had just one more planned stop together in the FL portion of our trip – a set of fields in Jackson County in the panhandle close to where AL, GA, and FL come together.  This area is well-known as the sole spot where Horned Larks are somewhat reliable in FL.  In fact, I remember this location when I lived in FL in the 80s but never made the trek there to give the Larks a try.  There were also a couple recent records of Lapland Longspur mixed in with the Larks and Pipits.  Another one to watch and listen for. 

We left the hotel pre-dawn so that we could arrive at the Concord Road Ag Fields hotspot by sunrise.  When we arrived I was bit surprised to see that the soil in the agricultural fields was nothing but sand.  Must be tough to grow a crop there.  But it sure was great habitat for those “prairie birds”.  And the roads were mostly just compacted sand, though hard enough to be passable.  Here’s a picture of one of the fields with the road in the foreground.

Our first birds of the morning were a pair of Great Horned Owls calling in the distance.  Then we picked out a Harrier sitting in the fields.  A nice start to the day…  But it was time to focus on our targets.  Eventually we started to hear Pipits calling overhead or out in the fields.  And with scope views I could see some Pipits flying far out in the fields.  Then we heard the characteristic calls of Horned Larks as a pair flew overhead.  And a couple minutes later a flock of 4 Larks flew over low enough that we could see their unique face pattern (FL statebird #10).  Horned Lark is 1 of only 26 species that I’ve seen in all 49 continental US states and Washington D.C. 

I then spent a little time scanning the fields hoping to find a Longspur.  But with the exception of that initial group of distant Pipits, I could find no other birds foraging in the fields.  I was tempted to spend more time scanning additional fields but had a full day of stops planned through GA as I headed back toward home.  So I decided to pass on further attempts for the Longspur to ensure I had enough time for my GA targets.  And with Bill and Anita now focused on birding other nearby counties in the FL panhandle, we wished each other good birding and went our separate ways for the rest of the trip.

I ended the FL portion of the trip with 10 new statebirds, including of course the White Wagtail as a life bird.  That’s much better than the 8 I had hoped for.  That brings my FL list up to a respectable 330. 

The GA portion of my trip is summarized in my next blog post. 

Calliope Hummingbird Along With 2 Rufous at One Feeding Station, Polk County, NC, December 7, 2022

Although I’ve set up eBird Needs Alerts for a number of the nearby western NC counties, I don’t check them too often since there aren’t too many species reported that I still need for those county lists.  But luckily I checked my Polk County Needs Alert for November 23 – it contained a report of not only an adult male Rufous Hummingbird, but also an adult male and immature Calliope Hummingbird!  And all at the same feeding station!  More importantly, the Calliope would be an NC statebird for me.  Review of the photos posted on the eBird report revealed that what was initially ID’d as an immature Calliope was actually a Rufous/Allen’s – but the adult Calliope was still a good ID.

As is often the case for wintering hummingbirds at feeding stations, the key hurdle to overcome in chasing after them is gaining an invitation to visit those feeders.  And this time would be no different.  The person who first reported the birds was a bander that I knew, but he was apparently not at liberty to invite others to see the birds.  Then came reports on November 27 that birders were allowed to band the hummingbirds, but only 1 Rufous was present.  Although I’d still love to add the Rufous to my Polk County list, I was less interested in pushing the issue since there was no longer the potential for a statebird at the site.  Or was it…

On December 3rd I got word that the Calliope was back.  Now I needed an invitation to visit the home the hummingbirds were visiting.  Three local birders accompanied the bander on the 27th (Kevin Burke, Simon Thompson, and Vicky Burke), and I knew all three of them well.  They figured out a way to get invites, so perhaps they could get me an invitation as well.  I reached out to all three and found out that the homeowner was not generally willing to allow birders to visit, but since she had birded with those local birders in the past she was OK for them to come to her yard.  All 3 of my friends still needed the Calliope so they likely had an interest in coming back for another try.  Perhaps I could join them.  Sure enough, Vicky offered to meet me there on the 4th.  Unfortunately, I was leading a bird walk for the NC Bird Atlas that day so was not available.  As it turns out they were lucky enough to see the Calliope on the 4th but dipped on both Rufous.

Now I had to grovel some more to try for another invitation.  Just as I suspected Kevin and Simon wanted to see the Calliope as well, and planned another visit for December 7th – and I could come along.  The plan was to arrive at first light to be there when the hummingbirds started their feeding activity for the day.  We were all set – now we just needed the hummingbirds cooperate.

We carpooled to the homeowners residence and arrived just before 7 AM.  Simon and Kevin pointed out that there were three feeders that the hummingbirds were visiting – one on the front porch, one on the back of the house, and one on the side.  Plus, they often fed on pineapple sage flowers still in bloom in this garden near the driveway out back.  

We had only been there a couple minutes before we heard the characteristic hummingbird chipping notes at the pineapple sage.  It was still too dark for IDs, but we were optimistic.  Then we saw one hummingbird fly over our heads toward the side yard – we were up to 2 birds.  A few minutes later it was light enough to see the immature Rufous/Allen’s at the pineapple sage.  And a bit later I briefly spotted the adult Rufous at the side feeder.  But soon thereafter all was quiet.

Now that the initial flurry of activity was over we needed a game plan to find the Calliope.  Where the 3 feeders were located meant we could only see one at a time.  So we decided to split up and each of us focus on just one feeder.  I chose the one in the back of the house because I could also see the pineapple sage from there.  The 3 of us took up our posts and waited for our key target Calliope to appear. 

But with each passing minute with no hummingbird sightings at all I grew less and less optimistic.  We had now been there at least 45 minutes with no Calliope even though the Rufous were active at least at dawn.  Then Simon poked his head around the corner and said he had the Calliope.  I notified Kevin and we all converged on the front of the house.  Simon said the Calliope had just visited the feeder on the front porch and had flown to a small pine tree nearby.  With a bit of a search we spotted the adult male Calliope nicely perched in the pine right in front of the trunk.  Here’s my barely passable digi-binned photo of my target bird.  Sure was glad I was able to get an invite… 

Calliope Hummingbird was #322 for my NC statelist.  My statebird map for this species is inserted below.  The blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen this species in its regular range.  Cross-hatched Oregon is the only one in its regular range where I have yet to see it.  And now NC is the 7th state (shaded in brown) where I’ve seen Calliope as a rarity.