Impromptu Trip to Atlanta Yields 7 Georgia Statebirds, October 2-4, 2025

One of the organizations I volunteer for was planning a meeting on the southern South Carolina coast in October 2025.  Of course, I would take advantage of the trip to include some birding in route and while on the coast.  I scanned my Needs Alerts for SC but came up empty.  But since I’d be close to Georgia maybe there might be some coastal birds or fall migrants to pursue just over the state line.  There were a couple records of migrant passerines I needed, but they looked iffy at best.  Instead, there were far more possibilities in northern GA.  I started to wonder if I could swing by the greater Atlanta area on the way home from the SC coast.  But that would make for a very long time on the road.

As I had more or less given up on the possibility of seeing any new statebirds on this trip, my SC meeting got canceled.  Hmm…  I had already blocked out several days to be away from home in early October.  And the statebird potential was pretty good in northern GA. Why not just head directly to the greater Atlanta area and forget about SC altogether?  Atlanta was closer than the SC coast anyway.  My impromptu trip to Atlanta was a go!

With a bit of research, I came up with 3 key targets, or groups of targets, for my trip.  The first was a group of long-staying Limpkins in Clayton County a bit south of Atlanta - I felt pretty good at my chances for this one.  My next targets were migrant passerines.  Numerous species popped up on my Needs Alerts, though none were seen regularly at any specific location, nor in good numbers.  Lastly, I targeted several shorebird species that were reported at a sod farm north of Atlanta.  Though the last report of these birds was a full week before my trip.  Overall, I felt like it would be a successful trip if I saw the Limpkin, 1 new migrant passerine, and 1 new shorebird species.  That would be a rather long trip for just 3 new state birds, but since I had the time available, why not. 

October 2 – Limpkin Search

Ever since the big Limpkin irruption year in 2023 I’ve noticed large numbers of Limpkins reported at the Clayton County Water Authority Lake Blalock hotspot.  These birds have apparently colonized this spot and are likely breeding.  That was the good news.  The bad news is that the birds have been around so long that few of the recent checklists included details for finding the birds.  Plus, the hotspot title included the phrase “limited access”, so I wasn’t even sure if I’d be able to access the spot.  Luckily, I found a couple birders who had recently seen the Limpkins that had eBird profiles with e-mail addresses.  I was able to get the scoop from them on how to buy a daily pass to the site, and that the birds were most often seen at the western end of the lake. 

Armed with those details, finding my target birds was actually quite easy.  I got my daily pass, drove a short distance to the parking lot at the western end of the lake, took a short walk to the water’s edge, and started scanning the shoreline of a nearby island.  Within a few seconds I found a Limpkin foraging along the shore (GA statebird #1).  And with a bit of scanning found 3 more feeding nearby.

My statebird map for Limpkin is inserted below.  I’ve only seen this species in its regular range in light-blue-shaded FL.  The 5 dark blue states (SC, NC, TN, TX, and now GA) are those where I’ve seen it as a rarity.  To think that before the 2023 irruption I had only seen Limpkin in FL. 

October 3 – Passerine and Shorebird Searches

My Needs Alerts for migrant passerines included multiple species, and multiple locations for most.  But no specific sites seemed to stand out as the most likely ones for my targets.  So I reached out to several GA birders to see where they would suggest.  One birder commented that migrants were better in both riparian and wet/weedy open habitats.  And all included one site in their suggestions – the Cochran Shoals Unit of the Chattahoochee River NRA.  My GA birding friend Bob Johnson gave me great details regarding how to bird that site, including birding an area along the river where nearby boardwalks go through wet scrubby areas.  That satisfied both the riparian and open habitat recommended conditions.  It seemed like Cochran Shoals might well be a prime spot so I chose that location as my starting point for the morning of the 3rd.  Now I just needed the birds to cooperate. 

I arrived in the Cochran Shoals parking lot just before sunrise and was surprised how many joggers and cyclists there were.  But the trail along the river was wide enough that hopefully we all could keep out of everyone’s way.  Here’s a shot of the river just as the sun was beginning to rise.

I got to the boardwalk area that Bob had recommended and was just about to walk into the wetlands when I noticed some movement in the trees right along the river.  It turned out that there were quite a number birds flitting around in the treetops.

I stayed there for an hour or more and had 9 warbler species in the trees, dominated by Redstarts, Black-and-whites, Magnolias, and Parulas.  Then I spotted a bird fly in with fine streaking below.  And with a closer look it turned out to be a Cape May, which was soon joined by a second one (GA statebird #2).

I then made my way to the boardwalk and found several Hooded Warblers, and a surprise Sedge Wren right along the boardwalk.  A bit later I heard sharp chip notes coming from the wet understory and eventually got great looks at a Northern Waterthrush (GA statebird #3).  GA is now my 34th state where I’ve seen this species.  The cross-hatched states are those where I’ve yet to see Northern Waterthrush in its regular range – 11 more to go.

I came back out to the main trail along the river and noticed a couple birders walking toward me.  They were local birders Rick Sellers and Pierre Howard who bird that site frequently.  They told me about a couple other areas to bird along the river, and we birded together for the rest of the morning.  We came up with a couple other good birds including a second Sedge Wren, and a few more warblers here and there.  They also took me to an area called the Vireo Trail that had some nice brushy understory.  Living up to its name we got Yellow-throated and Red-eyed Vireos here.  And most importantly I spotted an Empidonax flycatcher that was bright yellow below with a yellow throat - an adult Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (GA statebird #4).  Interestingly, the local eBird reviewers don’t accept silent Yellow-bellies without photos, though they are accepted here in western NC. 

We finished the morning with 55 species featuring 12 warblers, 3 vireos, and 4 Catharus thrushes and Wood Thrush.  It was great birding with Rick and Pierre.  In fact, birding was so good that morning that we decided to meet up there again the next morning. 

Next, I was onto the Etowah Indian Mounds Sod Farm north of Atlanta to try from some shorebirds.  Exactly a week earlier there was a checklist from this hotspot that included 4 of my targets - Golden-Plover, Buff-breasted, Baird’s and Pectoral.  But there had been no reports, positive or negative, from that site since.  I connected with a local birder familiar with the site who said that a week ago there had been heavy rains that flooded parts of the fields attracting those shorebirds.  But the sod had since dried up and local birders knew that meant the shorebirds were long gone.  I was tempted to pass on the site as a result, but I had the time and directions so I decided to give it a try.

There are 2 main viewing points onto the sod farm – one for the southern half and another for the northern half.  I first pulled into the southern pulloff and my eyes went right toward a small wet area in the distance – maybe I was going to be in luck after all.  But despite several scans I could only find Killdeer walking around the muddy area and neighboring sod.  I then started scanning the dry areas and found good numbers of Killdeer, but nothing else.  But then while scanning a more distant part of the farm to the southeast I spotted a more upright plover walking across the sod.  I increased the magnification on my scope to get a better look – tall upright plover with broad white eyeline and dark cap.  I had an American Golden-Plover (GA statebird #5).  Here are 2 distant phonescoped shots of the bird. 

Then with some additional scanning of adjacent areas I picked up 6 more Golden-Plovers.  Not bad for a bird that hadn’t been spotted for a week.

As they say on the TV commercials: “But wait there’s more…”  While scanning the Plovers another time to make sure I had an accurate count I noticed a pair of browner shorebirds a bit smaller than the Plovers.  They were Pectoral Sandpipers (GA statebird #6) – undoubtedly one of the most common species that I still needed in GA.  I’ve now seen Pectorals in all but 3 states in the continental US.

I was pretty confident that I had seen all the shorebirds present in the southern half of the farm, so I drove down the road a bit to the pulloff overlooking the northern areas.  This time I found a larger flooded area, and it was full of peeps.  I counted 62 Leasts and 5 Semis, along with 3 more Pectorals, a Solitary, 4 Snipe, and a Greater Yellowlegs.  I looked hard for Baird’s or something better, but to no avail.  Then in a more distant pond I spotted a pale bird that was very active – running along the banks, and swimming in the pond.  I thought it could be a Wilson’s Phalarope but couldn’t quite eliminate a more likely Lesser Yellowlegs.  Here are 2 miserable distant shots of the bird.

I ended the day with 5 new statebirds, and now 6 for the trip.  And I still had one more morning of birding ahead of me.

October 4 – Another Passerine Search

Given our success at Cochran Shoals on the 3rd, Rick, Pierre and I decided to head back there for a morning of birding on the 4th.  I once again arrived at dawn and headed to the boardwalk area where we had so many birds the day before.  But soon it was obvious that we wouldn’t have the same kind of morning, with fewer birds passing through the area.  I decided to return to the main trail to get a different view of the area.  And just after I arrived, I spotted a Cuckoo flying by – it had limited rufous in the primaries so I was hopeful that I had a Black-billed.  Luckily it landed in the open in the understory.  Lower perches are more typical for Black-billed so the evidence was mounting.  It started to preen, and as it preened its tail I got a good look at the underside which was mostly dark with limited white.  And then finally I got to see the all-black bill.  I had a Black-billed Cuckoo (GA statebird #7).  I still need this elusive species in a lot of states especially in the central part of the country.

Later we found at least 2 Yellow-billed Cuckoos, both perching higher in the trees which is typical for this species.  We finished the morning with 11 warbler species, 4 vireos, and 50 species total.  Not bad for a slow morning.  As lunchtime neared, I decided to call it quits and start the drive home.  I wished Rick and Pierre well, and hoped that we could bird again together either in north GA, or back home in western NC. 

I ended the trip with 83 species including 7 additional statebirds, obviously much better than the 3 I had hoped for.  That brings my GA state list to 279.  It would be nice to try to get to 300 someday, but there aren't too many easy birds left.

Lower Rio Grande Valley Trip Nets 6 Mega-Rarity Life Birds and 7 More State Birds, Jan. 5-9, 2024, Part 1 of 2

Before retiring in 2018 I would travel to Houston for work about a week a month.  I’d often squeeze in a little local birding time during most of those trips, working on my TX state list and sometimes even my LA list.  But the real attraction was the opportunity to bird in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, which after all was only an hour plane flight from Houston.  On a number of my trips, I would add a vacation day to chase after some extreme rarity from Mexico (or even farther away).  As a result, I’ve made 14 trips to the LRGV and nearby areas in south TX over the years, with each of the most recent 9 trips targeting a single life bird. 

Fast forward to mid-December 2023 – I started hearing some buzz about rarities being seen in south TX this winter.  I did a quick eBird Needs Alert for TX and was blown away by the number of rarities on the list.  There were no less than 5 mega-rarities that were seemingly quite reliable –

• Roadside Hawk and Gray-collared Becard (first record for TX) at Resaca de la Palma State Park
• Bare-throated Tiger-Heron and Mottled Owl at Santa Margarita Ranch – property only accessible by hiring a guide
• Cattle Tyrant (a first for the US) in downtown Corpus Christi

Needless to say, all 5 would be life birds for me.  What an amazing group of rarities!  Plus there were sightings of 2 parrots that I had never seen before - White-fronted and Lilac-crowned.  Although these “exotic” species are countable per eBird rules, they are not countable per ABA and the TX Bird Records Committee. 

With all those potential life birds it was a no-brainer that I had to give it a try and make my 15th trip to the LRGV.  After all, I’ve taken numerous trips to the Valley for just 1 potential life bird.  Albeit those trips started in Houston instead of western NC.  I found a window of free time in my schedule in early January, and made reservations to fly to TX on the 4th, returning on the afternoon of the 9th, giving me 4 and a half days of birding in south TX.   

Now for the research…  First I had to figure out how to hire a guide to get onto Santa Margarita Ranch.  My good friend Bill Hooker had just come back from TX and he gave me the scoop – you needed to make a reservation for a daytime trip to try for the Tiger-Heron, and then a second reservation for a nighttime trip for the Owl.  A recent checklist included contact info for one of the guides, so that was easier than expected.  Except that it turned out that even with a 3-week advance notice they had few spaces available on the day trips, and no spaces on the evening trips where they would play calls for the Owl.  I had to reserve a spot on a trip where they don’t play tape, greatly reducing my chances of hearing the Owl. 

And there were more than just potential life birds to pursue.  Although my TX state list was already pretty respectable at 452, there were quite a number of possible TX state birds also being seen.  Key targets included – Long-tailed Duck, Western Grebe, Limpkin, Mountain Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit, Iceland Gull, Dusky-capped Flycatcher, and Hermit Warbler.  Another great list of targets!

All things considered I hoped to find 4 or 5 lifers, and an additional 5 state birds.  That’s quite a step up from my recent trips to the Valley hoping for just 1 target bird.

January 5 – Resaca de la Palma, Greater Brownsville, and First Try for Mountain Plover

The key targets for this day were the Roadside Hawk and Gray-collared Becard at the Resaca de la Palma State Park.  Although I had other targets in the park and the area in general, I would first spend as much time as would be needed to find my 2 life bird targets before chasing those other possible state birds.  The Hawk was most often seen perched or feeding in the dry resaca near the end of the Ebony Trail.  And the Becard was often seen in mixed flocks around the parking lot or by the feeders behind the visitor center. 

I arrived pre-dawn at the park and took a little walk around the area to get my bearings, locating the feeding station and the Ebony Trail, and walking around a portion of the parking lot.  Along the way I heard Screech and Great Horned Owls and a Pauraque – a nice start to the morning. 

A few birders were beginning to arrive, and I introduced myself to one, Jerald Zimmerman, who had my same targets.  Jerald mentioned that one suggested strategy for our targets was to look for the Hawk at the Ebony Trail at first light, then double back to the parking lot to look for those mixed flocks that might contain the Becard.  That certainly sounded like a sound strategy, so we headed toward the Ebony Trail. 

As we neared the end of the short Ebony Trail we got our first look at the dry resaca.  We quickly spotted one of the tree stumps that the Hawk would often use as a perch.  But there was no Hawk.  We turned the corner and got a different angle on the resaca, giving us a view of another stump.  And there was our Roadside Hawk, perched nicely up ahead (Lifer #1, State bird #1).  I got these passable digi-binned photos of the bird.

That was fast!  The bird had become a bit less dependable of late, so it was good to be able to find it so quickly.  And it was still too early for much passerine activity, so it didn’t take time away from our Becard search. 

By now there were at least a dozen birders in the park, most walking around the parking lot with the same target in mind.  We started down the south side of the parking lot but weren’t finding too much activity.  As we neared the end of the lot I heard a nearby birder give a whistle and noticed him pointing up in the trees.  We quickly headed over to him and found a mixed feeding flock dominated by Orange-crowned Warblers.  Eventually we got on our target, the Gray-collared Becard, doing what Becards often do - sitting nearly motionless in the tree above us (Lifer #2, State bird #2).  It didn’t take long for all the birders in the park to get on him as well.  As I always say – “bird the birders”.

The Becard stayed in view for most of the next 30 minutes, always associating with those mixed passerine flocks as they moved around the parking lot.  I took advantage of the sedentary nature of the bird to get these digi-binned shots of the bird.

A bit later our Gray-collared Becard was joined by a female Rose-throated Becard, which was even more cooperative.

I had my two top targets out of the way and it was barely 8 AM!  So now I could focus on my other target seen in the park – Dusky-capped Flycatcher.  This species is normally rare in TX, but for some reason it was being seen in multiple locations in the Valley this winter.  I’ve seen it in AZ in its normal range and as a rarity in CA.  The Dusky-capped at the state park was most often seen and heard along the tram road near the bridge over the resaca.  After just a 5-minute walk we arrived at the bridge and once again had the Roadside Hawk perched nearby.  And just a bit later we heard the distinctive mournful call of the Dusky-capped Flycatcher, and eventually got good views of the perched bird (State bird #3).  It was part of a nice mixed passerine flock that included Least Flycatcher, Western Tanager, and Black-throated Gray Warbler, all nice mid-winter birds for south TX that had been reported recently in the park.

It was only 9 o’clock and I had already seen all my targets at Resaca de la Palma.  Although we could have stayed and birded the park longer, instead Jerald and I decided to head out and try for another of our joint targets - the Hermit Warbler at Buena Vista Cemetery.  This bird had been seen throughout the winter moving through the cemetery with mixed passerine flocks.  Complicating the search was that there were also several similar Black-throated Green Warblers in these flocks.  Some birders were able to find the Hermit Warbler practically right away, while others had mentioned it took them up to 4 hours to find it.

We reached the cemetery after a short 15-minute drive and quickly found a mixed passerine flock.  The flock was dominated by Orange-crowns, with Yellow-throated, Nashville, and Black-and-white Warblers and Blue-headed Vireos mixed in.  Several times we briefly got excited when a Black-throated Green would appear, but we couldn’t turn them into a Hermit.  We spent at least 45 minutes with this flock and eventually decided that the Hermit just wasn’t mixed in this group.  So we headed towards the northern end of the cemetery where the Hermit had been reported a couple times recently.  Here we picked up another flock to search through.  At one point I spotted a bird flying away from me that had white in the outer tail feathers.  And just then Jerald mentioned he had a brief glimpse of a bird with a yellow head.  Finally we both tracked down our bird and had brief looks at the female Hermit Warbler (State bird #4).  The several times I saw the bird it was in juniper trees and not the numerous deciduous trees in the area.  Several posted photos also showed it junipers – that’s got to be more than a coincidence. 

My state bird map for Hermit Warbler is copied in below.  The blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen this species in its regular range.  The cross-hatched states are those in its normal range where I’ve yet to see it.  And the brown-shaded states, MA and now TX, are those where I’ve seen Hermit Warbler as a vagrant. 

There were 3 other birders in the cemetery at the time, but they were at the southern end of the cemetery.  So I walked back to give them a heads-up, and Jerald and I stayed in the area to try to help them re-find the Warbler.  Then a few minutes later Jerald got a text – a Fan-tailed Warbler had just been spotted at the Rio Grande Valley campus of the University of Texas.  He passed along the coordinates and the bird was just 20 minutes away!  We all instantly ended our search for the Hermit Warbler to go after the much rarer Fan-tailed.

The Fan-tailed Warbler had been seen along the northern edge of a resaca on campus.  Luckily classes were not in session so I could park on campus quite close to where the bird was seen, and after a 5-minute walk I was among a half-dozen birders looking for the Warbler.  Included in the group was the person who discovered the bird, and I got all the details of his sighting from him.  This species is notoriously a skulker, and this bird was true to form as it was seen low in poorly lit brush, providing only brief partial views.  There was also a Wilson’s and an Orange-crowned Warbler in the vicinity of the Fan-tailed. 

Here is a picture of the bush in the background where it was seen.

I was there within 30 minutes of the first sighting, and had micro-details on the bird’s location and behavior, so I was optimistic.  But over the next 90 minutes, despite 20 or more birders looking, no one spotted the bird.  Though a couple times I did have the Wilson’s and Orange-crowned in the same bush where the Fan-tailed had been seen.  At 1:30 I decided to call it quits, and moved on to my other targets.  In hindsight it was the right call as the bird was not found again that day. 

I gave my best to Jerald, and headed to San Benito where a Limpkin had been spotted for the last few days.  Since last summer Limpkins have undergone an unprecedented irruption across the eastern US, and TX was no exception.  I had leads on several Limpkins in the area, but the bird in San Benito required only a 2-minute detour from my route, so it was worth a try.  The bird was being seen along Resaca de los Fresnos, just east of the US 77 bridge.  One post mentioned it was on the side of the health care facility. 

When I pulled up to the bridge I pulled into the parking lot for the San Benito Primary Care facility.  I quickly got out and scanned the edge close to the building but did not see any birds.  Was the Limpkin gone or had it moved to another area?  I looked across the resaca and got this view of the extensive scrubby border on the other side.  That’s lots of possible habitat to search!

I started to scan the edge and noticed something in the distance.  I got out my scope and there was the Limpkin, just standing at the edge of the bank as Limpkins often do (State bird #5).   Success - and now I don’t need to pursue any of the other Limpkins in the area.  Here is a phone-scoped photo of the bird in the distance (at the red arrow).

Since last summer I’ve seen Limpkin as a rarity in NC, TN and now TX, along with SC in previous years.  

My last stop of the day was northwest of McAllen in farm fields in Edinburg County where Mountain Plovers had been recently reported.  I’ve tried for this wintering species several times in south TX over the years, but have never come up with them.  The Plovers had been reported at multiple sites in plowed fields over an area covering several square miles, so I would need some luck to find them.  When I arrived in the area I found that same habitat actually covered dozens of square miles.  And the fields were plowed in a way that created furrows that were deep enough for the Plovers to hide in.  Yikes!  I spent an hour scanning the couple fields where most of the sightings were focused, but came up empty.  I hated to end my day with an unsuccessful search, but I was very happy to have found 2 lifers and 3 other state birds that day.

But there was one more highlight on the 5th – that evening I received an e-mail from the Santa Margarita Ranch guides that a spot had opened up to take the evening Owl trip on the 6th.  This one would be using playback for the owl, greatly improving my chances, so I quickly jumped at the opportunity and signed up for that trip.

January 6 – Santa Margarita Ranch

This was my day to take the guided daytime tour of the Santa Margarita Ranch in hopes of finding the Bare-throated Tiger-Heron.  And although recent tours have included other LRGV rarities like Brown Jay and Red-billed Pigeons, my key target was the Tiger-Heron.  The bird had been seen on nearly all the recent trips, but the key issue might well turn out to be in which country the bird is seen.  The bird was always right along the river, and checklists from some trips included close pictures of the bird on the US side, others mention seeing the bird fly across the river (i.e., in both countries), while some have only spotted the bird in Mexico.  Hopefully that wouldn’t turn out to be an issue.

The tour started at 7 AM along a portion of the border wall that was under construction.  Here is a surreal picture of our group next to the wall.

The first stop of the tour was to head to tall bluffs overlooking the Rio Grande River and adjacent broad valley.  There was a bit of early morning fog in the valley as we arrived, obscuring the river a bit, but it was still a nice view from the top of the bluffs. 

Within just a couple minutes someone mentioned that they had the Tiger-Heron.  It was downriver, mostly obscured by fog, and standing on the Mexican side of the river.  The fog eventually lifted providing good but distant views of the bird.  Here are my best 2 phone-scoped pictures of the bird.

But the problem was our target bird was standing firmly in Mexico.  Once it walked 2 steps into the river, but our guide said the border is the deepest part of the river.  GoogleMaps shows the border being roughly in the middle in this part of the Rio Grande.  So even 2 steps into the river was apparently still in Mexico.  I’ve always contended that for counting purposes it’s not where the birder is located, it’s where the bird is located, which appears to be ABA’s rule.  But eBird’s rule apparently goes by where the birder is located.  But it was still early and if the bird flew across the river the issue would be moot.  Here's a shot of most of our group looking down on the Tiger-Heron.

Although there were plenty of other birds in the area, I mostly kept an eye on the Tiger-Heron hoping to see it fly across the river.  Though I did look up at the right time to spot our only Red-billed Pigeons that flew by.  Later I diverted my attention briefly to see the Brown Jays that others spotted in the distance.  The only other time I’ve seen both of these species was my first trip to the Valley in 1985 – 39 years ago (yikes!).  Other nice birds seen from the bluffs included Gray Hawks, all 3 Kingfishers, and a long-staying Limpkin, as well as birds of the desert like Rock and Cactus Wrens and Roadrunners.

We spent roughly 3 hours on the bluffs, and in that entire time the Tiger-Heron only moved perhaps 50 feet up and down the bank always staying right along the water’s edge.  During that time several of us had a nice debate as to whether to count the bird on our US lists.  A later stop on the tour would take us to the river edge a short distance upstream so maybe we would still have views of the bird on US land.

We headed back to our cars and drove a short distance toward the north, and began to take a trail through thick thorn scrub to head toward the river.  Though first we had to go through another one of the gates for the border wall.  The area was rather birdy, with key highlights being a male Rose-throated Becard and a flyover White-tailed Hawk.  We stopped at one point to allow the guides to put out oranges and suet cakes especially to try to attract Brown Jays.  Hopefully they would find it by the time we returned from our walk. 

Eventually we made our way down to the riparian area near the river.  The guides mentioned that often the Tiger-Heron will spend time along a couple small islands in the area.  But despite our best efforts, including wading ankle deep to reach one of the islands, we couldn’t find the bird.  We were now quite a bit upstream from where we saw the bird earlier, so apparently it had chosen to stay downstream that day.  More debate ensued on the countability of the bird we saw well that morning.  I decided to count it, given all the effort I took to try for the bird, and that it was within just 100 ft of the ill-defined border.  After all, the bird doesn’t know where the border is.  Bare-throated Tiger Heron was Lifer #3 and State bird #6 of the trip.

Highlights on the river were 12 species of waterfowl and a Roseate Spoonbill.  Plus a continuing Hammond’s Flycatcher as a rarity and several Morelet’s Seedeaters in the riparian section.  On our way back we stopped by the feeding station but saw no activity – maybe birders on tomorrow’s trip will be treated to activity there.

We returned to the cars at 2 pm with a trip list of 88 species.  A highly productive trip including of course extended views of the Tiger-Heron.

I had to be back to the Ranch at 7:30 that night for the evening Owl tour, which gave me several free hours.  I had thought about making a 45-minute ride to the Falcon Lake where there were occasional sightings of a Western Grebe.  But the most recent checklist from the spot did not include the Grebe, and I figured a couple hours of rest at my hotel might be a better choice.  Along the way to my hotel I spotted a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher on the wires – a nice winter bird for south TX.

The nighttime Owl tour was led by the same guides we had in the morning.  I was surprised to see that there were 21 birders in the group – it’s difficult to keep such a large group quiet enough to not spook our target Mottled Owl.  But the leaders were very clear in their instructions to us about the importance of not making a sound, and minimizing the use of flashlights and head lamps.  And as we started back down the same route we took that morning, everyone was truly on their best behavior.  Early in the walk the leaders spotted a silent Screech Owl which is of the McCall’s subspecies.  We got nice views using a spotlight.

After about 20 minutes we arrived at the spot where the Mottled Owl was most often heard.  We stopped and quietly listened – several Screech Owls were calling in the area.  The leaders first played Elf Owl calls, and after a pause played Screech Owl calls.  And within a few seconds the Mottled Owl responded nearby.  We could see it fly in, and then the leaders were able to put the spotlight on it (Lifer #4, State bird #7).  It sat perched nearby for an extended time, and I was able to get this passable digi-binned photo

The guides later played Tiger-Heron calls but got no responses.  But they were successful getting 3 Barn Owls to respond to playback, and an estimated 11 Screech Owls were heard or seen throughout the walk.  Just before returning to the cars we passed through the border wall gate once again.  To say that the wall, and forest nearby, were well-lit would be an understatement.  Wonder what impacts 24-hour lighting has on the vegetation.

I was really tired when I got back to the hotel at 11 that night, but very happy after such an excellent day of birding.

See my next blog post for a summary of the second half of my LRGV trip. 

Two Extreme Rarities (and Almost a Lifebird) in Central Tennessee, November 25, 2023

Early on the morning of November 25th I received this notification from the Tennessee birding Facebook group – “Ancient Murrelet at Chickamauga Dam”.  I wasn’t quite sure where Chickamauga Dam was, but Ancient Murrelet would be a lifebird for me so I might be interested in a chase.  It turns out that the dam is close to Chattanooga, some 3 ½ hours from home.  My normal one-way maximum statebird chase distance is 2 hours, and sometimes I’ll stretch it to 2 ½ hours for a really good bird.  But this would be a lifebird, so I guess I could justify more time on the road to go after it.  That is if it was reasonably reliable.

With a bit of eBird research I found out that the bird was first discovered the previous day, and was seen by many.  But with the long driving time I decided to wait for it to be spotted again on the 25th before I headed out.  In the meantime, I looked at my TN Needs Alert to see if there might be other potential statebird targets in that region.  Sure enough there was a semi-reliable Limpkin just 30 minutes away and not too far off my route to and from home.  So now I had 2 targets to pursue – I just needed to get confirmation that the Murrelet was still around.

As of 9 AM on the 25th there were just negative posts from the TN Facebook page.  There were lots of birders looking for the Murrelet, but they were coming up empty.  But just as I was about to write it off as a one-day wonder I noticed a post on Facebook that the Murrelet had been re-found.  It took me a bit of time to get myself ready, but finally at 10:30 I was out the door.  The chase was on with cautious optimism that a lifebird awaited me.

Shortly after getting on the road I noticed my travel time had increased to over 4 hours.  It turns out there was major construction on I-40 in western NC, reducing the road to just 1 lane each way.  Even though I was able to use some back roads to avoid some of the backup, I still had added more than 30 minutes to my route.  And then when I neared Knoxville I started to see signs to expect backups due to football traffic – the University of Tennessee is in Knoxville and it turns out a home football game was about to start.  That added even more time.  And then when I was just about 30 minutes away from the dam there was another backup – a tractor trailer had caught fire and was burning on the shoulder.  Now my 3 ½ hour drive had become a 5-hour drive.  But it would be all worth it if I got that lifebird.

As I neared Chickamauga Dam I checked recent reports and most said the Murrelet was feeding quite cooperatively near the dam.  It had apparently moved from the nearby boat ramp area where it had mostly been seen the day before.  So I headed right to the parking lot at the dam.  As I pulled in I noticed 2 birders walking toward their cars.  I flagged them down and found out that the bird was not presently being seen at the dam, but likely had returned to the boat ramp.  As we headed back to the cars I mentioned something like a lifebird was worth a 5-hour drive, and the one birder mentioned he was surprised it was a lifebird for me.  Hmm…  That started me thinking whether I had actually seen this bird before out west.  But there was no time to research my lifelist - my chase wasn’t over yet.

I quickly got back in the car and drove a short distance to the boat ramp lot where I spotted this group of 25 or more birders at the water’s edge.  This looked promising.

I arrived at the end of the boat ramp and the birders directed me to look to the left.  There was the Ancient Murrelet not more than 50 feet away floating near the shore.  Over the next 15 minutes it actively fed and swam in that same general area.  Interestingly, there were some large oak leaves floating on the water nearby, and it was hardly larger than the leaves.  I was able to get this phonescoped photo of the bird, complete with one of those floating oak leaves in the background.

While watching the bird I heard a photographer lament that the lighting wasn’t good.  To which another birder responded – “would you rather take pictures of a Mallard in good light or an Ancient Murrelet in bad light?”

I didn’t stay too long because I still had the Limpkin to pursue.  Plus I was way behind schedule given all the backups.  But as I walked back to my car I started thinking again whether the Murrelet was actually a lifer or not.  I pulled up my lifelist on eBird and there was the Ancient Murrelet already on my list.  I had actually seen this species in Alaska (on both of my trips there), and as a rarity on a pelagic trip out of California.  I was confusing this with the Long-billed Murrelet, another alcid that rarely shows up on inland lakes, which would have truly been a lifebird.  Another senior moment I guess.  I wouldn’t have made the long drive if I had realized it was just for a couple possible statebirds – even though the Murrelet was a first record for TN. 

But now I was off on a Limpkin chase.  This had been an amazing year for vagrant Limpkins throughout the east, and this Limpkin was being reported sporadically feeding near a bridge over a small arm of Chickamauga Lake.  After a quick 30-minute ride I arrived at the bridge and parked nearby.  This part of the country has been under an extreme drought and all the water bodies were extremely low.  Here is a picture of the wetlands upstream of the bridge – there was a huge amount of potential muddy habitat for a Limpkin to feed in. 

It was time to find a brown bird in an all-brown background.  And oh by the way, it was about the size of a lot of those brown rocks now exposed by the low water levels .  I scanned the area below the bridge and found a nice flock of Ring-billed and Bonaparte’s Gulls, plus a few Killdeer, but no large brown wading birds.  Then I checked upstream of the bridge and found no birds at all.  Was the Limpkin search going to be more difficult than the search for the Murrelet?  I went back to the downstream side and scanned more slowly, but still no target bird.  Then I returned to the upstream side and noticed some movement in the water in the distance.  There was the Limpkin wading in the middle of the little stream of water that remained.  Here’s a digi-binned picture of the bird without zooming in – it really blended in with its surroundings.

And here it is heavily cropped.

My statebird map for Limpkin is inserted below.  I’ve seen Limpkin in FL which is the only state where it is regular (shaded in blue).  And now TN is my 3rd state (shaded in brown) where I’ve seen it as a rarity.

That was certainly a most successful day, despite all the driving.  In hindsight, I guess I’m glad that I hadn’t remembered my lifelist correctly or I wouldn’t have been able to add these 2 extreme rarities to my TN statelist, which now stands at 258.

Limpkin, Mountain Creek Park, Catawba County, NC, August 26, 2023

There had been quite a number of sightings of Limpkins throughout the southeast in the summer of 2023.  This species is not generally prone to vagrancy.  But this year, it was apparent that some type of post-breeding dispersal was occurring similar to what happens with other waders.  Unfortunately, all the reports were quite distant from home, including several in central NC and a couple in central TN. 

But then I noticed a Limpkin report from Catawba County on August 25.  The bird was seen at Mountain Creek Park a bit northwest of Charlotte about a 2-hour drive from home – within my self-imposed driving limit.  I could chase after it the next day, but some of the local Limpkin reports were one-day-wonders.  So it sure would be nice to know that the bird would stick around before I made the trek. 

As it turns out my birding friend Bill Hooker was also interested in pursuing this bird to add it to his Catawba County list.  He was able to relocate it on the 25th, and went back on the morning of the 26th and found it again quite easily.  Bill passed along his suggestions to find the Limpkin – set up your scope on the fishing pier and scan the islands and small mudflats a short distance away.  Although the bird was sometimes seen in the open on the flats, it seemed to prefer perching somewhat obscured in low branches in front of the right most island as you look out from the pier.  With that great advice I was all set and headed off for Mountain Creek Park.

I arrived just after 1 PM in the heat of the day – my car thermometer said the outside temperature was 100 degrees – yikes! 

I quickly made my way to the fishing pier, which thankfully was partially shaded.  I did a quick scan of the island to the right but came up empty.  Then with my scope set up in the shade I searched that right-most island more closely but could not find the Limpkin.  Slow scans of the flats and remaining portions of the islands were unsuccessful as well, with the best find being a Pectoral Sandpiper. 

This was going to be a challenge.  If I was going to be successful, I would need to just settle in and keep doing frequent scans of those islands.  About a half hour after I arrived I heard the unmistakable calls of a Limpkin coming from the shoreline a short distance away.  But the calls were a little too good – it was another birder playing tape. 

Then a half hour later I finally got the break I needed – I noticed a large brown bird flying from the back of the right island towards the flats.  With a quick scope view I had my Limpkin!  I was able to get a couple quick phonescoped shots as it briefly walked out in the open.

A few seconds later it walked into vegetation toward the left and disappeared.  It was in view for maybe just 60 seconds.  I remained there for another hour hoping to get better views but it never re-emerged.  I guess a 1-minute distant view over 2 hours would have to be good enough.

Limpkin was #323 for my NC statelist.  And now NC is my third state, after FL and SC, for this expanding species.

 

As a postscript – just a couple weeks after the Mountain Creek Park sighting a Limpkin appeared at Jackson Park only 15 minutes from home.  I saw this bird on September 9, which certainly was much more cooperative than the one in Catawba County.  I could have saved myself a 2-hour drive if the Jackson Park bird had shown up a couple weeks earlier.