Five Statebirds on the Georgia Coast While Returning from a Florida Chase, February 5-6, 2023

In January 2023 I had a most successful birding trip to the FL panhandle.  Not only did I see my first new life bird (White Wagtail) in several years, it was also my first trip to FL from my home base in western NC, greatly expanding my horizons for potential trips.  I was now watching the ABA Rarities eBird alerts more frequently, especially focused on potential lifers.  And the most likely “nearby” location for those additional lifers would be in south FL. 

Sure enough late in January I started to notice reports of a Bahama Mockingbird in Cape Canaveral, FL.  I’ve birded south FL a number of times, picking up several rarities there over the years.  But there has never been a Bahama Mockingbird there during any of my trips.  As a result, this species has been a key target for me.  And with this individual being relatively “close”, at only halfway down the peninsula, it was definitely one to chase after.

And of course, there was also statebird potential along my route back home through GA and SC.  My route would take me along the coast, and with a little research, I found no less than 7 statebird targets in GA.  From south to north I hoped for –

• Bullock’s Oriole coming to a feeder on Jekyll Island,
• Saltmarsh Sparrow near Jekyll Island (and most anywhere along the coast),
• Black Duck with Mottled Ducks in Brunswick,
• Dickcissel coming to feeders in Savannah,
• A White-winged Dove and a Western Tanager at a feeding station on Tybee Island, and
• Black Scoters off the north end of Tybee Island. 

That’s lots of potential for just 2 partial days of birding.  As it turns out I only found 2 of 6 targets in FL, though the 2 I found were lifers.  (See my previous blog post detailing the FL portion of the trip.)  To improve my hit rate in GA I reached out to birding friend Diana Churchill who lives in Savannah for local advice.  She gave me excellent tips to help me find my targets, especially in gaining access to all those private feeders.  

This blog post focuses on my GA searches on this trip.  The SC portion of the trip is summarized in my next post.

Day 2 – February 5

After an early morning stop in FL, where I missed both of my targets, my first GA stop was on Jekyll Island for a Bullock’s Oriole.  This bird had been regular at a feeding station through January 18, before disappearing for 2 weeks.  So it never made it to my radar screen as I prepped for my trip.  But then on February 3 the homeowner reported that it had returned.  So now one to chase, though given its recent history, I wasn’t too overly optimistic.  On a positive note, Diana shared with me that all the homeowner’s feeders were in the front yard and visible from the road.  So no specific access was needed.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the Oriole despite waiting there for 90 minutes.  In fact, there were no Orioles at all, which is a bit odd for coastal GA feeding stations.  A consolation prize was finding a female Ruby-throated Hummingbird that had not been previously reported there.

Next I had planned to look for Saltmarsh Sparrows in the marshes as I left Jekyll Island.  But it’s easiest to see these Sparrows (and their Seaside and Nelson’s cousins) during the highest tides.  And it was now a falling mid-tide, so not the best conditions.  Since I had a full day in front of me, I decided to pass on this pretty common target, and try for it later on a higher tide.

My day wasn’t exactly starting off very well…

My next stop was a small pond in a suburban neighborhood in Brunswick where a Black Duck had been seen with Mottled Ducks and Mallards.  In preparation for IDing these 3 very similar species, the night before I spent some time brushing up on the key field marks that separate them.  Now I had to figure out how to bird the site since it looked like the pond was surrounded by houses and pretty inaccessible.  But finally I found a couple eBird checklists with pretty explicit descriptions, including the access point at the end of a cul de sac.  I was all set. 

Within seconds of arriving I did a quick binocular scan of the pond and picked out 2 pairs of dabbling ducks.  With closer scope views I could tell all 4 were Mottled Ducks.  I made several more scans, this time with the scope, but found no more waterfowl on the water.  Then I looked over to a grassy bank on the right and noticed a pair of Canada Geese along with another pair of dabblers.  One was much darker than all the others, and with scope views I could confirm the ID as a Black Duck (GA statebird #1).  Not only was it significantly darker, but these pictures show its speculum had no white edges. 

My statebird map for Black Duck is inserted below.  The blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen this species in its regular range.  Iowa is the last state where I’ve yet to see it where it is a regular species (cross-hatched).  The 3 brown-shaded states are those where I’ve seen Black Duck as a rarity.  Although this species is a rarity on the GA coast, it is a regular wintering species in the northern half of the state.

My original planned next stop was a Savannah feeding station where a Dickcissel was an infrequent visitor (it typically didn’t appear until 4 PM or later).  I was a bit ahead of schedule so I had just enough time to squeeze in one additional brief stop before heading to the feeders.  Since it was an afternoon high tide I thought about trying for Saltmarsh Sparrows, but the tide wasn’t particularly high that day.  I guess they’ll have to wait for another trip.  Instead, I decided to move one of tomorrow’s stops up to today -a trip to the north jetty of Tybee Island for long-staying Black Scoters.  Several eBird pictures showed the Scoters right next to the jetty, which was only a 5-minute walk from the parking lot.  So if all went well a quick visit would give me plenty of time to see the Scoters and still get to the Savannah feeders in time.

I pulled into the parking lot for the Tybee Island Marine Science Center at 2:35, and took the short walk to the north jetty.  Not only were there no Scoters there, the jetty was almost completely underwater due to the high tide and waves.  In hopes that the Scoters were still around and just dispersed on the nearby waters, I did a number of quick scans, but the only waterfowl I could come up with were a small group of Buffleheads and 2 Red-throated Loons.  I would just have to come back the next morning which was my original plan.  I just hoped my 20-minute stay at the jetty didn’t make me too late for the Dickcissel.

The Savannah feeding station was in the back yard of Steve and Sandra Calver.  Once again with Diana Churchill’s help I connected with the Calver’s and they were happy to let me come into their yard to look for the Dickcissel.  They mentioned that the target bird appeared at 4:39 PM the previous day, so I was optimistic that my 3:44 arrival time was early enough.  I settled into one of the chairs they had in the yard, and began to take in the show – they had dozens of feeders that were just full of birds.  I had been there no more than 3 minutes when I spotted a large sparrow feeding on a tube feeder filled with millet – I had my target Dickcissel (GA statebird #2).  In my haste I took these two barely passable out-of-focus digi-binned photos of the bird.

Before I could get the bird in better focus it flew off, with a total viewing time of less than a minute.  Good thing I didn’t spend even just 5 more minutes looking for the Black Scoters on Tybee Island.

I’ve now seen Dickcissel in 13 states along the east coast.  It wasn’t too long ago that they were principally a species of the central US.

Since I had my target bird so quickly I thought about heading off to another spot, but decided to stay longer to enjoy the “show” at the feeders.  The Yellow-rumped Warblers were the most numerous bird there, with at least 5 to 10 there all the time.  Another highlight was an adult male Ruby-throated Hummingbird that stopped in twice.  But undoubtedly my favorites were the Baltimore Orioles.  There were at least 7 of them – 2 adult males, 1 adult female, 2 immature males, and 2 immature females – though there could well have been more.

At one point the immature female Orioles came in together.  Initially I got excited that I had a Bullock’s, but with good looks at both of these 2 birds I could see solid white wingbars and dull heads making them just Baltimores.  But then I noticed another immature female that had a noticeably brighter orange head.  Luckily it came to a jelly feeder giving excellent close looks at the wingbar.  I could see that the leading edge was notched with black feathers giving it a toothed look – I had found a Bullock’s Oriole (GA statebird #3).  Although I missed the stakeout Bullock’s earlier in the day, I had found one of my own.  I alerted the Calvers and they were able to confirm the bird with photographs the next day.

Since moving to NC I’ve seen Bullock’s Oriole as a rarity at feeders in VA, NC, SC, and now GA.

I spent 90 minutes at the Calvers’ feeding station especially focused on the Orioles, and was able to see the Bullock’s come in one more time.  Though the Dickcissel never returned.  What an excellent way to end the day!

Day 3 – February 6

The plan for GA portion of the day was to make 2 stops, both on Tybee Island.  And since I had 2 targets in SC to pursue, and still needed to make my way home that day, I hoped for quick successes in GA.  I started at sunrise at the home of Deb Barreiro (thanks once again to Diana Churchill’s connections) where she hosted a White-winged Dove seen on a nearly daily basis.  The Dove was often found perched overhead in trees at her house, and sometimes coming to her feeder, often with Mourning Doves.  She also formerly had a Western Tanager in her yard.  But since she had not seen that rarity for a week I was much less optimistic about that one.  Soon after I arrived, Deb met me in her yard and we both spent quite a bit of time searching through her trees for perched Doves.  Unfortunately, we didn’t find any Doves of any variety over my 1 hour and 40 minute stay.

At one point she showed me the area where she used to see the Western Tanager - a hedge along the eastern edge of her lot.  While we were standing there we heard a 3-note call that sounded like the chatter of a Western Tanager.  Did we have the bird?  I stayed along the hedge for the next 10 minutes and heard the same call one more time.  Then I got a brief flash of yellow on a larger bird in trees above the hedge.  Then the bird flew up to a palm tree providing excellent views – it was indeed the winter-plumaged adult male Western Tanager (GA statebird #4).  The bird appeared to be eating fruit of the palm trees, as were a flock of roughly 50 Cedar Waxwings.

My statebird map for Western Tanager is actually quite similar to the map for Bullock's Oriole.  I've seen both species throughout their regular western ranges and in a number of states in the east as a rarity.  GA is now the 8th eastern state where I’ve seen Western Tanager as a rarity.

On one of my later searches for the Dove I once again saw the Tanager, this time perched high up in the live oak over the property.  I never would have thought I would end up missing the Dove but seeing the Tanager.  But if I could only see 1 of them, I’m glad it was the rarer of the 2.

Although I wanted to stay longer and wait for the White-winged Dove to appear, I had a full itinerary ahead of me.  Unfortunately, that included another try for the Black Scoters at the north jetty since I missed them the day before.  This time the tide was lower, and the wind was much lighter, so I was more optimistic than the previous day.  I pulled into the parking lot and started the short walk across the dunes toward the jetty.  In the distance I could see exposed jetty rocks and much calmer seas – things were looking up.  And even before I got to the beach I could see a small group of sea ducks swimming right along the jetty.  Even without optics I knew I had my target Black Scoters (GA statebird #5) – 9 of them.  They were often obscured by swells, but I managed these phone-scoped photos of both male and female birds.   

GA was my last Atlantic Coast state for Black Scoter.

What a great way to end the GA portion of my trip!  And with such a quick stop at the jetty I was back on schedule to pursue my SC targets on the way home.

I ended up seeing 5 of the 6 GA target birds I pursued, which was a huge improvement over my success rate of just 2 of 6 targets in FL.  Couldn’t have done it without the help of Diana Churchill, especially in helping me gain access to those private feeding stations.  And now with the addition of 37 GA statebirds since moving to the region in 2019, that brings my GA state total to 270. 

One Life Bird - Or Was it Two, Cape Canaveral, Florida, February 4-5, 2023

In January 2023 I had a most successful birding trip to the FL panhandle.  Not only did I see my first new life bird (White Wagtail) in several years, it was also my first trip to FL from my home base in western NC, greatly expanding my horizons for potential trips.  I was now watching the ABA Rarities eBird alerts more frequently, especially focused on potential lifers.  And the most likely location for those additional lifers would be in south FL. 

Sure enough late in January I started to notice reports of a Bahama Mockingbird in FL.  These rare vagrants typically appear somewhere in far southern FL which is actually a pretty short flight from their home in the Bahamas – less than 70 miles as the Mockingbird flies.  But this bird was being seen in Cape Canaveral, making it about a 3-hour shorter drive than trying for one that might appear at the southern end of the peninsula.  I’ve birded south FL a number of times, picking up several rarities there over the years.  But there has never been a Bahama Mockingbird there during any of my trips.  As a result, this species has been a key target for me.  And with this individual being relatively “close”, at only halfway down the peninsula, it was definitely one to chase after.

Now for the research.  The Bahama Mockingbird was being reported daily just outside the eastern end of the Jetty Park campground in Cape Canaveral.  It was first reported on January 10, and it or another one was at the same site from May through August 2022.  The bird was most often seen in a sea grape hedge, or along the edge of a paved parking lot just to the east.  It seemed that most birders just had to put in some time to wait for the bird to appear, often in the company of Northern Mockingbirds.  That seemed pretty straightforward.

What about other possible statebirds nearby?  In the few days before my trip an immature Iceland Gull was being seen daily in the waters just north of Jetty Park, though many birders were missing the bird.  Certainly one to look for.

And then there is the Indian Peafowl.  In 2020, the ABA Recording Standards and Ethics Committee concluded that Indian Peafowl has been established and “countable” in FL since 2007 per their policy “ABA Area Introduced Species”.  (www.aba.org/aba-area-introduced-species)  When the new policy was published I scoured my records but couldn’t find any notes about seeing “peacocks” in FL, though I might remember seeing them in Key West decades ago.  But that would have been before 2007 anyway.  So this possible new life bird has been on my radar screen since the ABA policy came out in 2020.  And sure enough it turns out there were quite a number of Peafowl records just south of Jetty Park.  One to definitely focus on when I got to the area.

Or was it?  In 2022 eBird published an article “Important Changes to Exotic Species in eBird”.  (ebird.org/new/news/important-changes-to-exotic-species-in-ebird)  In this article eBird concluded that Indian Peafowl was a non-countable “Escapee”.  They went on to say that a population of an exotic species is considered to be a non-countable “Escapee” because it is not yet a “population that is breeding in the wild, self-propagating, and has persisted for multiple years”. 

An obvious difference of opinion on the countability of Indian Peafowl.  But as I always say, see the bird first, then figure out if it’s countable.  So I would still look for it on my trip.

And of course there was also statebird potential along my route back from Cape Canaveral.  Though since the Mockingbird and Peafowl were my key targets I would take as long as realistically needed to find them.  If I had time, in FL there were relatively recent reports of Harlequin Duck and Ash-throated Flycatcher at Huguenot Park just east of Jacksonville.  Plus there were several targets in GA and SC along my route home. 

This blog post focuses on my FL searches on this trip.  Searches in GA and SC are summarized in later posts on my blog.

Day 1 – February 4

I stated on the 9-hour drive to Cape Canaveral on the afternoon of February 3rd, making it as far as Brunswick, GA.  That evening while updating my notes on my target birds I noticed several reports from that day of a male Cinnamon Teal at Merritt Island NWR.  That’s just a short distance from Cape Canaveral so definitely one to add to the itinerary if the Mockingbird and Peafowl cooperated.

With the excitement of potential life and state birds in front of me I was out of the hotel before sunrise on the 4th.  And with light traffic nearly the whole way I rolled into Jetty Park a few minutes before 10 AM.  I drove right to the east side of the park, and parked in the paved parking lot mentioned in so many checklists.  There were a couple birders in the area who shared that the Mockingbird was seen earlier in the morning, though not recently.  So I started my vigil especially focused on the seagrape hedge just east of the campground, hoping that the Mockingbird would appear. 

But over the next 2 hours the area was very quiet.  Not only was there no Bahama Mockingbird, but there were no Northern Mockingbirds either.  That was quite disappointing since both species were often seen together.  The closest I got was a Catbird I spotted in the hedge.  Then at about 11 AM a Northern Mockingbird appeared in the hedge and flew over my head to the east.  Then a second one popped out.  Although I hoped the Bahama Mocker would be with them it was not the case.

Then a few minutes later I noticed 3 birders all pointing low in the trees a few feet to the south.  I had met them earlier and they were especially looking for warblers, so I imagined that’s what they had found.  But as I say “bird the birders”, so I went over and asked them what they had.  They had just discovered the Bahama Mockingbird!  Although it just took me a few seconds, it felt like hours before I finally picked it out among the leaves just a few feet off the ground.  I wondered if I had missed it as it flew in from the seagrapes, or perhaps it flew in from the east.  Regardless I had my bird.

A few seconds later it flew to the west and disappeared into the seagrape hedge.  We all got good views of all the key fieldmarks – brown-backed instead of the gray of a Northern Mocker, streaking on the chest and flanks, lack of white patches in the wings, white only in the corners of the tail, and longer tail making it look more like a Thrasher than a Mockingbird. 

Just when we thought we had seen the last of the Bahama Mockingbird it reappeared in the seagrapes, and flew back toward us landing on the ground a few feet away.  The bird hopped right by us – I took this photo with my cellphone as it went by within 3 feet of me.

Later it foraged on the ground just a few feet away and I got this “digi-binned” photo.

What an amazing set of observations!  Certainly worth the wait for a species that I’ve wanted to see for decades. 

With the Mockingbird behind me rather quickly I had plenty of time to pursue my other targets.  Next i drove over to the northeast corner of the park to try for the Iceland Gull, and joined a couple birders already there scoping the offshore waters.  Apparently the Gull was seen early that morning but not since then.  I did quite a bit of scoping and found a number of gulls perched on distant markers and fencing, including both Lesser Black-backs and a Great Black-backed, but no Iceland Gull.  The latest theory was that the target gull was roosting there overnight, and foraging during the daytime somewhere out at sea.  If that were the case, I’d have to wait till later in the afternoon for the Iceland to return. 

Given the apparent timing of the gull I decided to pass on it and pursue my other targets.  While I was closing up my scope I asked the other birders if they had suggestions for my next target – Indian Peafowl.  They very manner-of-factly said to just drive up and down nearby Atlantic Avenue and I would run into them just walking along the road.  A great tip! 

After just a 5-minute ride I reached the northern end of Atlantic Avenue and started the slow drive south.  It was a very busy main thoroughfare through a suburban shopping district, not typically a place where you would be looking for a target bird.  But this was an exotic species very accustomed to human interaction.  I hadn’t driven more than a half mile when I noticed a male Peafowl walking in a small park to the right.  I quickly pulled over and doubled back to get these photos of 2 male Peafowl hanging out in the park.  That was surprisingly easy.

My next target was the male Cinnamon Teal discovered the previous day at Merritt Island NWR.  Although there were no reports of the bird that day, several birders reported it the previous day, and one report included coordinates of the precise location of the bird as it fed with Blue-winged Teal.  So I was hopeful.  However, despite lots of scoping through flocks of an estimated 450 Blue-winged Teal and 250 other dabblers I was unsuccessful in finding the Cinnamon Teal.  And the specific impoundment where it was seen the previous day had no ducks at all.  Notably, I did find a tight flock of 500 Long-billed Dowitchers, chattering away as they often do while feeding.  Here is a picture of one portion of the flock.

It was a bit disappointing to end the day with a miss, but I was still happy to get the Mockingbird and Peafowl.

Day 2 –  February 5

My one FL stop on Day 2 of my trip was at Huguenot Memorial City Park on the coast east of Jacksonville.  My first target here was a Harlequin Duck seen mixed in with Scoters and other seaducks on the north side of a rock jetty at the mouth of the St. Johns River.  And my second target was an Ash-throated Flycatcher seen near the parking area at the east end of the park.  Unfortunately, neither had been seen in about a week so I wasn’t overly optimistic.

When I arrived at the park the wind was howling out of the north.  And it was even worse as I got to the exposed jetty area.  This picture shows the waves overtopping the jetty.

Miserable conditions to find a seaduck.  I tried scanning the mouth of the river thinking that maybe it had relocated to these calmer waters but with no luck.  One consolation was this large flock of 200 Black Skimmers that were pinned down by the wind and tide.

The parking lot where the Ash-throated Flycatcher had been seen was only slightly less windy.  Once again difficult conditions to find a flycatcher.  I walked around the area for close to 90 minutes but found few birds out in the strong winds.  The closest I got was to find a Phoebe foraging within a foot of the ground.

I couldn’t have asked for worse conditions to find my targets.  Both birds were re-spotted a few days later, undoubtedly under much calmer conditions. 

As I headed out of the park on my way to stops in GA, I reflected on the mixed results of the FL portion of my trip.  I’m not used to missing such a high percentage of my targets (4 of 6), but if I was only able to see two, the Bahama Mockingbird and Indian Peafowl were the most important.  And I’ve decided to follow the ABA’s rules for counting the Peafowl.  Afterall, I’ve been following the ABA’s rules for countability of exotics and other species for many decades.  Per the ABA, that brings my ABA Continental list to 765, and 745 in the Lower 48.  And my FL statelist is now up to 332 per the ABA (only 327 per eBird). 

See my next blog post for the GA portion of my February 2023 trip.

All-Day Birding Trip in Georgia Yields a New Statebird in South Carolina, January 28, 2023

Wait, what?  How do you get a new bird in SC when you’re on an all-day trip to GA?  The answer is you still have to drive through SC in order to get to and from GA…

I signed up to attend a Greenville County (SC) Bird Club walk at Lake Hartwell on January 28, 2023.  Lake Hartwell is a large man-made lake along the SC/GA state line near the northern end of both states.  With the exception of an initial couple stops in SC, the remainder of the trip was to be spent on the GA side of the lake.  We hoped for rarer waterbirds such as a Red-throated or Pacific Loon, Red-necked Grebe (seen on the lake 10 days earlier), a Scoter, or maybe a Long-tailed Duck.  And since most of our stops were in wooded campgrounds and picnic grounds, I was hopeful for a Brown Creeper that I still needed for my GA list.

But the lake did not give us any rarities that day.  Even though I counted an even 50 Loons, all were Commons.  And although our 176 Horned Grebes was probably the most I’ve seen in a single day, we could not find any other Grebe species.  Landbirds were quite plentiful, but not my target Creeper.  I even added an extra stop on my own at the end of the day in woodlands at the dam just barely in GA, but still couldn’t get a Creeper.  Though a rare Blue-headed Vireo was a nice consolation prize. 

I was just about to call it quits for the day when, on a lark, I decided to check my eBird Needs Alert for SC just in case something had recently been reported nearby.  Amazingly, the first bird that popped up was a Ross’s Goose spotted earlier in the day in nearby Abbeville County.  And it was re-found within the last couple hours.  A quick Google Maps search showed that the bird was only 20 minutes off my route home, so it was definitely worth giving it a try.  The chase was on!

As I headed there, I re-reviewed the eBird reports.  The Ross’s was found on Paco Road at 8 that morning with these details: “First spotted associating with an agitated pair of CANG by the pond, later flew to top of pasture with them.”  Then at 2:30 the same birder noted that the bird was continuing in the pasture with Canadas.  The satellite view of Paco Road on Google Maps showed a small pond with an adjacent pasture along this short road.  It all looked promising.

As I neared Paco Road I started to see several farm ponds scattered throughout the fields.  I figured the Ross’s Goose could actually be frequenting any of these ponds in the area so I watched for any Canadas, or better yet white geese, as I passed by.  Then just before taking a right turn onto Paco Road I came to a pond on the left.  With a quick glimpse I saw something white in the field nearby. 

I pulled off on the shoulder and put it in my binoculars – it was indeed a small white goose in a flock of Canadas.  Then with a scope view I confirmed the ID as the diminutive Ross’s Goose.

Good thing I noticed it there instead of going right to the pond on Paco Rd.

Ross’s Goose had been somewhat of a nemesis bird for me in SC, having chased after several reported birds with no luck.  So it’s finally nice to add it to my list - #297 in SC.  Even though virtually all my birding time that day was in GA. 

And it was a great way to cap off the month of January 2023 in SC where I added 3 rare waterfowl to my state list – Common Merganser, Red-necked Grebe, and now Ross’s Goose.

My statebird map for Ross’s Goose is inserted below.  In its regular range the blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen this species, and the cross-hatched states are those where I’ve yet to see it.  The numerous brown-shaded states are those where I’ve seen it as a rarity as this species is prone to vagrancy throughout much of the east.  

Red-necked Grebe, Lake Hartwell, South Carolina, January 19, 2023

On the evening of January 17 my birding friend Bill Hooker e-mailed me this photo of a bird he and Vicky Burke had seen earlier in the day at the Oconee Campground on Lake Hartwell in SC.  He was asking me to confirm the ID as a rare Red-necked Grebe. 

I responded right away - it was indeed a Red-necked Grebe.  A great find this far south, especially inland!

That was definitely one to chase after, but would it stick around?  As with any rarity, it was certainly possible that it was just passing through and had already moved on.  But in this case, even if it was still around, visibility and distance to the bird could make for a difficult identification.  Lake Hartwell is a very large man-made lake, and despite having many viewing points, there are still large portions not visible from a nearby public vantage point.  Given all those challenges, I decided to wait for other birders’ posts before committing to the 90-minute one-way drive.  

On the morning of the 18th there were negative reports from 2 different birders, so I figured the Grebe had moved on.  However, both birders commented that visibility wasn’t the best in the morning fog, so maybe there was still hope.  And sure enough, later that day came reports from those same birders that they had re-found the Grebe.  Although Bill and Vicky had the bird not too far out north of the Oconee Campground, sightings on the 18th were east of the campground, and likely farther away.  Although it sounded like the ID was challenging at that distance, I was willing to give it a try on the 19th.

The morning of the 19th was rainy, but forecasts showed the rain would stop midday.  Unfortunately, the winds would pick up soon thereafter with the passage of a cold front.  So it sounded like I had a small window of dry and calm weather where viewing would be best.  Now I just had to time it right.  It was still raining at the house when I left at noon, but the rain stopped about halfway there.  So far so good.  And when I arrived at the Oconee Campground there was just a light breeze and no fog.  Nearly perfect conditions.  Now I just needed the bird to cooperate.

I first checked the area off to the north where it was found on the 17th.  There were 3 Horned Grebes not too far off, but little else.  If only my target Red-necked Grebe was associating with them...  Then I walked to the eastern end of the campground peninsula and started to scan off to the east where it was seen on the 18th.  In the nearshore waters there was a flock of Canada Geese, some Cormorants, and a pair of Lesser Scaup in, but no Grebes of any variety.  Then I started scanning the water farther east and picked up a large flock of distant Bonaparte’s Gulls near the far shore.  If my target Grebe was that far away I doubt I would even spot it let alone be able to confirm the ID.  I was beginning to question the likelihood of a successful search.

I changed my angle a bit and did a quick binocular scan toward the east.  Amazingly I very quickly spotted a bird on the water about midway across the lake.  My first impression was that it was a brown Grebe, and certainly not the black-and-white look of a Horned Grebe.  And in the general area where the Red-necked was seen yesterday.  I wasn’t jumping to any conclusions just yet but I was getting hopeful.  I quickly put it in the scope, and although it was pretty far away, I could tell I had my target Red-necked Grebe – its neck was longer than Pied-billed or Horned, was brown-bodied, with a throat paler than the body, and in profile I could see a large yellow bill.  I’m glad I spotted it when I did because the wind was starting to pick up and the rougher waters were making the viewing more difficult.  

All things considered that was a very satisfying chase, and #296 for my SC statelist.  Made the drive home more tolerable.

My statebird map for Red-necked Grebe is inserted below.  The blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen this species in its regular range.  The 4 cross-hatched states are those in its normal range where I’ve yet to see it.  The brown-shaded states are those where I’ve seen it as a rarity – several southern Atlantic states as a wintering bird, and 2 central states as a rare breeder.

A Common Merganser Hunch Pays Off, Greenville County, South Carolina, January 14, 2023

It was 8:45 in the morning on January 14th when I got a call from my birding friend Gary Harbour.  He had just seen a pair of Common Mergansers on Tankersley Lake in Greenville County, SC.  Common Merganser is quite a rarity this far south, so it was definitely one I wanted to chase.  The problem was that I was just about to lead a bird walk for the Blue Ridge Audubon Chapter and couldn’t break free right away.  That is unless no one showed up.  You see it was bitterly cold that morning with light snow so not the best birding conditions.  But one birder did come for the walk, and we stayed out for an hour until we just got too cold.  As soon as I got back to the car I punched in the coordinates for Tankersley Lake and started the 30-minute drive south. 

I finally arrived at 10:30 and quickly found a good spot to park to view almost the entire lake.  But it didn’t take long to realize there were no Mergansers there.  The only waterfowl were a pair of Buffleheads.  I got out of the car and walked a short distance to view a small cove that was not visible from the car, but still no Mergansers.  What to do... Perhaps they had moved on.  Or just maybe they were out feeding in one of several fast-flowing rivers in the area.  Ever the optimist, I decided to drive the roads in the area hoping to see the Mergs on one of those rivers.  But it was like finding a needle in a haystack because I could only see small portions of the rivers, and most views were obstructed.  After a few minutes I gave up and headed home.

After I got home I did some eBird research and found out that these Mergansers were actually first spotted the evening of the 13th.  Then of course they were seen again early in the morning of the 14th, but gone by mid-morning.  Perhaps the Mergs were roosting on the lake at night and feeding in the rivers during the daytime.  That was the story with a several Common Mergansers at Beaver Lake in Buncombe County the previous winter.  There were several reports of birders observing them flying into the lake near sunset.  I was finally able to catch up with them at first light one early morning, watching them fly off the lake still 15 minutes before sunrise.  If the SC birds were using the same routine, perhaps I could see them as they return to the lake near sunset.  I decided to give it a try that evening.

I arrived back at Tankersley Lake at 5:20, 20 minutes before sunset.  I quickly scanned the lake in hopes that the Mergs had already returned, but only found the same pair of Buffleheads.  It was time to start my “Merganser watch”.  I parked the car so that I could sit inside out of the wind and still view the lake, also using the car as a blind to not scare them off.  I figured there would still be enough light to see them fly in as late as 30 minutes after sunset, or 6:10.  Although I was optimistic initially, that optimism waned as it got later and darker. 

But then at 5:37 I spotted a pair of large waterfowl flying low overhead, passing directly over my car.  They were close enough that with binocular views I could confirm it was the male and female pair of Common Mergansers.  My hunch had paid off – they had returned to the lake.  The Mergansers turned as if to circle and I expected they would come in for a landing.  But instead, they kept flying to the south out of view.  They were only in view for about 10 seconds so it sure was good that my attention was focused on the lake as they passed by. 

There are other lakes in the area so maybe they were going to roost elsewhere tonight.  Or maybe they would still come back to Tankersley Lake a bit later.  I thought about staying to see if they returned, but I was getting cold and dinner awaited, so I decided to head out content to have had brief but good views of a new statebird, #295 for my SC statelist.

My statebird map for Common Merganser is inserted below.  The blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen this species in its regular range.  The 5 cross-hatched states are those in its normal range where I’ve yet to see it.  And now I’ve seen Common Merganser as a rarity in SC along with NC (the states shaded in brown).  Here in the southeast I call it the “Not so Common Merganser”.