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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Olive-sided Flycatcher – Yardbird!, May 14, 2020

Last Fall during the excellent migration season in my yard I had a larger flycatcher that perched for a while at the top of a dead snag.  It was dark above and vested below.  Olive-sided, right?  The only problem was it didn’t seem large enough to be able to eliminate the resident Pewees or maybe a migrant Phoebe.  Though arguably, if it was a Pewee it would have been a Western Pewee with that vested look.  In retrospect, I’m not really sure why I didn’t conclude it was an Olive-sided.

Then on May 13th I pursued an Olive-sided Flycatcher reported at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville.  I missed it by less than a minute, but then stayed for another 3 hours unsuccessfully waiting for it to return.  Then again maybe it did return.  Halfway through my vigil I spotted a large dark flycatcher flying across the river, leaving the Biltmore side roughly even with the island where the Olive-sided had been seen previously.  I followed it in my binocs as it continued across the river and land in a tree on the far side.  Even though I could see it perched, given that it was roughly 500 feet away I couldn’t be sure of the ID.  It could well have been the Olive-sided, but I couldn’t eliminate Phoebe, even though no one had reported one in the immediate area.

So the next morning when I started my daily “Big Sit” in my back yard I couldn’t help but think I could have already seen Olive-sided Flycatcher in NC - not once, but twice.  I settled in and quickly ticked off the local breeders that were here daily, like Baltimore Oriole, Hooded Warbler, Wood Thrush, Scarlet Tanager, and Eastern Pewee.  And there was still a smattering of late migrant warblers like Redstart, Blackpoll, and Chestnut-sided, plus a Swainson’s Thrush.  A typical morning on the back deck…

And then I heard a call coming from the top of the canopy that I didn’t instantly recognize – two clear plaintive notes, the first higher in pitch than the second.  Then it hit me –it was the last 2 notes of the Olive-sided’s “quick three beers” song.  I listened intently for it to sing again – but to no avail.  I searched the bare snag where last Fall’s bird had perched, and all the other possible tall perches I could see, but again no luck. 

Now I started second-guessing myself.  I’m very familiar with the song of the Olive-sided, which is quite diagnostic.  But just maybe it was the second half of a Pewee’s song – the one that drops in pitch.  But I could hear my resident (likely breeding) Pewee singing at the time far east of the house a hundred yards away.  Plus when would you hear a Pewee just give one snippet of one song?  Not to mention that call is quite different from the “three beers” notes.  And what about the fact that I didn’t hear the Olive-sided’s first “quick” note?  I’ve heard other Olive-sided’s singing where the first note was very difficult or impossible to hear because the bird was farther away, or there was too much other bird song in the area.  Then again, maybe I just didn’t notice it that day in my back yard. 

My gut/initial ID is almost always correct, and I couldn’t come up with other likely options.  So at the end of the day I decided to go with my initial ID and conclude it was a less-than-cooperative Olive-sided Flycatcher.  I just wish it had called again.  Or better yet – sat in the open for me to see my first Olive-sided for the state.  Then again, perhaps I had already seen Olive-sided twice before in western NC…

Olive-sided Flycatcher was #295 for my NC statelist.  In my statebird map below the blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen this species; cross-hatched states are the ones where it is regular but I haven’t caught up with it yet.  This species is generally rare in the east, and especially in the southeast where its migration routes just barely cut across the northern part of the region.  As a result, I still need it in quite a number of eastern states.

The Olive-sided was an amazing 125th species for the yard list.  This has been a spectacular Spring in the yard with many additions to my yard list including-
4/5 - Black Vulture - since then seen most sunny days; Rough-winged Swallow

4/6 - Great Blue Heron - flyover

4/8 - Common Loon – flyover in breeding plumage; Prairie Warbler
4/14 - Worm-eating Warbler, Palm Warbler, Red-shouldered Hawk  
4/16 - Orange-crowned Warbler
4/20 - Fish Crow
4/21 – Mallard, Purple Martin
4/24 - Orchard Oriole, Red-headed Woodpecker
4/27 - Summer Tanager
5/1 - Cerulean Warbler
5/2 - Veery
5/3 - Barn Swallow
5/4 - Kentucky Warbler
5/6 - Short-billed Dowitcher, Lesser Yellowlegs
5/13- Yellow Warbler

A few of these really stand out -

Red-headed Woodpecker – I’ve had one in my yard 3 times now, often enough to make me think they could be nesting nearby.  On one of my walks up the mountain I played some tape and got one to instantly respond.  Since then I’ve heard a bird calling from above the yard numerous times.  And a couple of those times there were 2 calling birds.  I need to head up there one day this summer to try to locate a nesting tree.

Summer Tanager – Back in my New England days Summer Tanager was a rarity I searched for often in early spring as an overshooting migrant.  So when I heard its 2-note “chick it” call in the yard, it brought back fond memories of a successful northeast Tanager search.  And the bird was a young 2-toned red/yellow bird which was often the case for the New England birds as well. 

Shorebird Flock – I have a tree in my yard that budded out this spring, but then those buds never opened.  Early that morning I was searching through the canopy of that tree with my binoculars in hopes that I could find at least some of the buds opening up just when a flock of large shorebirds flew into my binocular field.  I was able to get an extended view of the flock as I followed them across the sky in the distance and concluded I had about 10 Lesser Yellowlegs and 1 Dowitcher, which was most likely a Short-billed.  I doubt I would have ever seen these birds if I hadn’t been inspecting the tree buds.  Boy was I lucky.  Unfortunately the tree wasn’t as lucky – I’m pretty sure it has died. 

Yellow Warbler – that was my 29th warbler species for the yard list in less than a year, with 26 species this Spring and 22 species last Fall.  There aren’t too many more possibilities, with perhaps Wilson’s, Connecticut, Mourning, and Swainson’s being the most likely.  My yard is pretty dry, so it’s not likely I’ll ever get other more remote possibilities from wetter habitats like Northern and Louisiana Waterthrush, or Prothonotary.  But then again, who knows.

Like I said, it’s been a spectacular Spring in the yard.

Merlin, Hendersonville Yard, April 3, 2020

When I moved to the mountains of North Carolina I needed both Peregrine Falcon and Merlin for my NC state list.  And that was also the case in SC.  But over time I slowly started to run into these Falcons.  In NC I found Peregrine twice, and in SC I’ve been successful in finding Merlin 3 different times.  Hmm… - multiple Peregrines in NC but no Merlin, and multiple Merlins in SC but no Peregrine.  I guess it would be too much to ask to get at least 1 of each species in each state. 

Since neither species is a rarity in the region, I wasn’t too worried that I’d eventually get all 4 “ticks” for my lists.  In fact, I would often receive eBird Needs Alerts for Merlin in NC and Peregrine in SC, reminding me that they are regular in the area.  Some of the NC Merlins were close to home, and I ended up chasing after birds in no less than 4 different reports, unfortunately all unsuccessfully.  And that’s despite the fact that 2 of my searches were within a couple hours of the birds first being spotted.  Perhaps Merlin had become somewhat of a nemesis bird for me in NC.  Since they don’t often hang around for long, I figured I’d just have to find one on my own somewhere along the line.  I even half-heartedly thought I’d find one in my yard.  After all I had a Kestrel stop by once last Fall.

Speaking of my yard – birding continues to be spectacular here!  Though my lot is just 0.8 acres, it is nicely situated on an isolated mountain (Lewis Mountain) covered in deciduous woodlands.  And adjacent to me is a small farm, including a nice mix of field, orchard, and hedgerow habitat.  That provides quite a diverse set of habitats for birds to call their home within earshot of my backyard deck.  Additionally, Lewis Mountain is surrounded by agricultural areas, making it an oasis of woodlands that could concentrate migrant passerines searching for natural habitats as they pass through.  As a result, as of the end of March my yard list was up to 101 species, even though I’ve only lived here for 7 months. 

During these days of isolation due to the corona virus I’ve been spending quite a bit of time birding from my deck.  Most days I’ll spend 3-4 hours doing what amounts to a “Big Sit”, getting 30 to 35 species most days in late March and early April.  And then mid-afternoon on April 3rd I looked up at just the right time to spot a small raptor flying overhead at treetop level.  I quickly got the bird in my binocs and realized I had my NC-first Merlin.  Yard bird #102, and NC statebird #289.  And it was the 8th species where I spotted my state-first bird in my yard.

My statebird map for Merlin is inserted below.  States highlighted in blue are those where I’ve seen this species; cross-hatched states are those where it is regular though I've yet to see it.  This is a wide-ranging species, though uncommon to rare in many areas.  As a result, I still need Merlin in quite a number of states especially in the center of the country.  

And now an update on my yard list:  As of April 16th my yard list is up to 111, including 26 warbler species.  It’s been a good spring migration so far.  Since the Merlin, I’ve added the following species –

4/5/20 - Rough-winged Swallow, Black Vulture

4/6/20 - Great Blue Heron

4/8/20 - Common Loon (a nice flyover bird in breeding plumage), and Prairie Warbler

4/14/20 - Worm-eating Warbler, Palm Warbler, and Red-shouldered Hawk

4/16/20 - Orange-crowned Warbler

A silver lining to these times of self-isolation – there’s more time to spend on back yard birding.  And it sure helps when birding in your yard can be so productive!