Least Bittern – a Rarity in Western North Carolina, May 11, 2020

Early morning on May 11th I received a text from the local western NC text group that a Least Bittern had been found at Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary in Asheville by Aaron Steed.  Then a couple minutes later another text came across – there was a Wilson’s Warbler there too.  I need both birds for my NC state list.  Plus Least Bittern is quite a rarity locally.  So minutes later I was out the door and heading to Beaver Lake.

I arrived at the park within an hour of the initial sighting, and soon was at the South Overlook as suggested in the text.  There was another birder already there, though the bird had not been seen since that first sighting.  On a positive note, he had gotten the specific details on the location from Aaron – the Bittern was seen among the vegetation at the edge of the creek just a short distance away.  There seemed to be pretty limited habitat for a Bittern, so I was hopeful that it didn’t go far.  But the vegetation that was there was pretty thick and more than enough for an elusive Bittern to hide in.  Ever the optimist, I started my vigil scanning the vegetation waiting for the Bittern to reappear.

It had been about 30 minutes since I started my search, and there were now 3 or 4 other birders on site.  The most excitement we had was when a Green Heron flew into that same area of the creek.  For a second or two we thought that we had the Bittern, but it was certainly not its smaller, browner cousin.  A couple minutes later the Green Heron flew off behind the creek and disappeared behind a tree line.  Was there a larger marsh back there out of view?  Could that mean there was a lot more habitat for the Bittern to be foraging in?  I briefly thought about changing my search to look for the Wilson’s Warbler, but realized I should maintain my focus on the much rarer target instead.

I now repositioned myself a short distance away to the North Overlook, getting me closer to the creek and giving me a different set of angles into the creek edge.  Other birders walked a short distance up the creek to get different views as well.  And just then I heard local birder Jay Wherley say that he had the bird.  Within seconds I was about 20 feet farther up the creek peering into the thickets.  After some anxious moments I finally noticed the tawny brown and yellow colors of the target Least Bittern, just a few feet away but mostly obscured by the vegetation.  I got this barely passable phonescoped photo of the bird as it perched motionless in the brush.  Just a minute later the bird had disappeared back in the vegetation – we got the bird just in time.

Least Bittern was #293 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 those where it is regular though I’ve yet to see it.  And the 2 tan states, NV and NH, are those where I’ve seen Least Bittern as a rarity.  In both states it wasn’t my first time searching for this elusive species – I remember those searches well! 

With a bit of research I found only 6 previous eBird records of Least Bittern in western NC, with several of these records going back to the 1980’s.  It sure was quite a local rarity. 

After a bit of well-deserved celebration, I started my search for the Wilson’s Warbler.  Almost the entire park has low wet habitat which is ideal for this species so I was hopeful.  But despite 3 hours slowly wandering through this small park looking and listening for the bird, I came up empty.  I’m sure glad I maintained my focus on the key goal - the Least Bittern.

Willow Flycatcher Chase Yields a Wilson’s Phalarope, Henderson County, NC, May 8, 2020

Willow Flycatcher was one of the many species on my NC “needs list” when I moved to the NC mountains.  Willows nest in limited numbers in western NC, and are occasional migrants through the area.  Three times last September I had a “Traill’s” Flycatcher pass through my yard.  Not surprisingly these birds were silent, hence my ID as “Traill’s”.  Back in the 90’s, while birding literally right at the NC/TN stateline in the Smokies, I had nesting Alder Flycatcher in NC, so seeing silent Traill’s Flycatchers wasn’t sufficient to add a bird to my NC statelist.  By comparison in SC, when I moved to the area I needed both Willow and Alder Flys.  In fall 2019 I had a couple silent Traill’s, so I was able to add Traill’s to my SC statelist.  Hopefully someday I will be able to hear singing Willows or Alders in SC so I can update that statelist to replace Traill’s with one or more specific IDs.

While birding around the area this past winter, several birders told me stories of recent Willow Fly nesting locations in nearby NC.  Several mentioned one specific ditch at the Sod Farm, but the vegetation had since been cut down.  And a couple mentioned a site at the Mills River park which apparently was still viable.  In addition, I found a local spot in Fletcher along Rockwell Drive with some excellent wetland habitat complete with a nice patch of willow trees – likely ideal for Willow Fly.  And I thought I heard one on a trip there at the end of April, but I couldn’t quite get it to cooperate enough to confirm it.  Then on May 6th local birder Kevin Burke reported that Willow Flycatcher was back at the Mills River park.  Probably no reason to rush right out there as they would likely be nesting, but I probably shouldn’t wait too long and go out there to look for them as soon as I had the opportunity.

That opportunity came the morning of the 8th which turned out to be a somewhat slow morning for migrants in my yard.  It had been tough to tear myself away from my excellent yard birds, but with nothing moving by mid-morning, it was time to take a short road trip to try for the Willow Flycatcher.  On my way to the Mills River park I realized I would pass right by a flooded field on Route 191 where Kevin had reported “a ton” of shorebirds 2 days earlier.  I imagined those individuals would be long gone, but who knows what I might find.  I wasn’t quite sure where the flooded field was, but I’d probably figure it out.  (I bet you were wondering how Wilson’s Phalarope would come into the picture…)

Just after I crossed over French Broad River on Route 191 I pulled over onto a wide shoulder on the east-bound side of the road.  There was a small pond in a low spot in a corn field in the distance which did indeed looked inviting.  It was pretty windy and quite chilly for early May, so I stayed seated behind the wheel and held my scope on my lap for a warmer look out to the pond.  The first birds I saw were a few Yellowlegs, and then I noticed a few small peeps.  Then I spotted a tall long-legged shorebird that was a bit smaller than the Yellowlegs with a gray back.  I increased the power on my scope and noticed shades of pink on the bird’s long neck – did I have a Wilson’s Phalarope?  I adjusted myself for better viewing, but then couldn’t refind the bird.  Did it fly?  Were my eyes playing tricks on me and it was just a Yellowlegs?  Then a minute later the bird re-appeared giving me long views – it was a breeding plumage male Wilson’s Phalarope.  Now the bird was running around in classic Phalarope fashion, both on the mud and in and out of the grasses.  Although the bird was not seen later that day, it returned for several birders to see it on the 9th and 10th. 

And good thing the weather was so cool and gloomy on the day I spotted the Phalarope – I went back and saw it again on the 9th on a sunny and warmer day and the heat shimmer made viewing challenging to say the least.  Not sure I would have first noticed the bird in the distance under those conditions.

I didn’t realize how rare Wilson’s Phalarope was in the area until checking eBird that night – there were only 6 prior western NC records in eBird.  And I also didn’t realize until later that I needed Wilson’s Phalarope for my NC statelist.  Years ago I had done a lot of shorebirding on the NC Outer Banks and had just assumed I had seen this species on one of those trips.  Instead it was #291 for my NC list, and a completely unexpected bonus bird. 

My statebird map for Wilson’s Phalarope is inserted below – solid blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen this species; cross-hatched states are those where it is regular but I still haven’t caught up with it.  The numerous tan-colored states throughout the east are the ones where I’ve seen Wilson’s Phalarope as a rarity, though it is regular very locally in several of these.

With that excitement behind me, it was time to move on to the Mills River park to search for my original target – the more mundane Willow Flycatcher.  I had heard that the bird was in a thick grove of trees on the right just after you enter the park.  When I got out of the car I realized the weather conditions that helped me find the Phalarope weren’t exactly ideal for finding a flycatcher – their food isn’t very active on cold, raw days, so the flycatchers aren’t either.  I listened intently at the edge of the grove but didn’t hear or see the target bird.  I then took a short walk along a wet tree-lined ditch leading from the grove, but still no luck.

I returned to the grove resolved to the reality that I would just have to come back on a warmer day.  But just then I heard a single harsh “whit” call.  That was likely the Willow, but I needed confirmation.  I walked into the interior of the grove and heard several more “whit” call notes.  And then finally got good visuals of the little non-descript Empid with next to no eye-ring.  I could check off the Willow Flycatcher as #292 for my NC list.  As shown in my statebird map below I only need this species in 5 more states where it is regular, plus GA and SC where it would replace an unidentified “Traill’s” on those lists.

It was quite a day – certainly nice to get your target bird, and even better to find a totally unexpected rarity as well.

Filling 3 Gaps in My South Carolina State Bird List, Upstate SC, April 19, 2020

Before moving to the mountains of NC I put together lists of species that were regular in the western counties of both NC and SC that I needed for those 2 state lists.  Despite having made several birding trips to both states over the years, there are still a number of relatively easy species that I need for both lists, not to mention numerous rarities.  And of course, now that this is my home base, it was time to try to fill these gaps in my lists. 

Most of these regular needed species are not year-round residents – it’s less likely that I would have missed year-round species in my past trips.  Instead, most are only seen in specific seasons, and/or in limited habitats.  And now that we were getting into Spring, it was time to see what warmer weather species I might still need.  In SC, there were 3 relatively easy species that breed not too far from my NC home – Worm-eating and Swainson’s Warblers, and Grasshopper Sparrow.  Though each species has a rather limited preferred breeding habitat. 

Just as the Spring birds were starting to arrive I noticed that my SC birding friend Michael Robertson had reported a number of Worm-eating Warblers in northern Greenville County not far from the SC/NC line.  In fact, after a bit of research, it turned out they were right at the state line, at a spot called Saluda Mountain Passage.  I reached out to Michael and got some tips from him on his Worm-eaters.  And then he mentioned that in the past he had had Swainson’s Warblers just a short distance from that spot.  With a bit of eBird research I found several Swainson’s reports over the years in the woodlands nearby called the Greenville Watershed.  Though none had been reported yet this year.  Swainson’s Warbler was a key target of mine for the region, as I’ve never seen it in the local mountainous habitat anywhere in the US.  And my 3rd target, the Grasshopper Sparrow, had returned to Hayes Farm just a short distance to the south.  This was another spot that Michael birded regularly, and in fact he took me there this past winter.  So with leads on all 3 species, I was hopeful I could get multiple SC statebirds in just one trip. 

I was out of the house early on April 19th and after a short ride arrived at the Saluda Mountain Passage.  As soon as I got out of the car I was greeted with lots of bird song – I listened intently but couldn’t instantly check off the Worm-eating.  That would be a bit too much to ask for I guess.  There was a map of the trail right next to the parking area – I was at the “i” near the bottom of the map where Mountain Page Rd. in NC changes to Saluda Rd. when it enters SC.  It looked like the trail started right on the SC/NC line, and at times moved into NC.  

That meant that even if I was lucky enough to find a Worm-eating I’d still have to make sure it was in SC.  I started down the trail and continued to hear lots of birdsong – featuring Wood Thrush, Ovenbird, and Black-throated Green Warbler.  And then I heard a buzzy trill characteristic of my target Worm-eating Warbler.  It was coming from up ahead and on the left side of the trail, likely making it in SC.  But just to be sure, I walked a bit farther ahead and was able to confirm the song was indeed coming from SC.  Only 5 minutes into my birding trip and I already had my first state bird!

In my statebird map below, the solid blue states are those where I’ve seen Worm-eating Warbler within its regular range.  The cross-hatched states are those where it is regular but I have yet to catch up with it.  And finally the two tan states of MN and NH are those where I’ve seen Worm-eating as a rarity.

Within a couple minutes I was back to my car and beginning to drive down Saluda Rd. within the Greenville Watershed.  The road paralleled Fall Creek for about 3 miles going through excellent habitat, with riparian woodland near the creek principally on the west side of the road.  And on the east side of the road were steep mountainsides, often with large groves of rhododendrons – the perfect habitat for Swainson’s Warbler.  Or at least that’s what I’ve been told since I’ve never encountered Swainson’s in these inland ecosystems.  There were no houses and almost no passing cars making for perfect conditions.  You aren’t allowed to park and hike through this sensitive watershed area, so my strategy was to drive very slowly (and quietly in my Prius) with windows down to listen for birdsong.  And when there were wide shoulders I would pull over, stand next to my car, and listen for 5-10 minutes or until I figured I had heard and seen everything in the area.  As a result, it was almost as if I walked the entire length of the road tallying the birds as I went.

This strategy seemed to be ideal as the woods were alive with song, and I quickly added numerous vireos and warblers.  But of course my key target was the Swainson’s Warbler.  Before my trip I had listened to tapes of the very similar songs of the  Swainson’s and Louisiana Waterthrush, and continued to struggle with separating the songs.  The first 3 clear notes of the 2 songs seemed almost inseparable.  So I was thinking it would come down to the softer notes at the end of the song – Swainson’s has clear “whip poor will” notes; while the Waterthrush has jumbled/varied notes.  At least that’s the case for the typical calls.  In the previous couple weeks I had heard Waterthrushes giving clear notes like whip poor will as well.  Then again, maybe those were more distant birds where the softer notes weren’t easy to hear.

I also think I was getting a better handle on the preferred habitats of the 2 species.  Swainson’s prefers steep mountain-side ravines filled with rhododendrons, often with a small creek flowing at the bottom.  And an article I read said that they need hemlocks as well.  By comparison, in my experience with Louisiana Waterthrushes, they prefer larger streams/rivers, which are not nearly as steep – and that has been the case locally this spring as well.  Most of the steep ravines I’ve found which I think are good Swainson’s habitat have small creeks that flow into the larger/flatter rivers below already inhabited by a singing Waterthrush.  My expectation was that I’d hear a Swainson’s singing from above me up a ravine, and a Waterthrush singing below me along the larger river.

If I was correct on the preferred habitats, the riparian side of the road should be classic Louisiana Waterthrush habitat.  And the other side of the road with frequent large patches of rhododendrons on a steep hillside should be ideal for Swainson’s.  So if I was correct , I’d have Waterthrushes on the right and Swainson’s on the left. 

Now back to the Greenville Watershed - There were indeed a number of Waterthrushes singing classic songs in the deciduous lowlands.  And then I finally heard a candidate Swainson’s song on the left up a rhododendron-lined ravine.  And at that same spot there was also what I presumed to be a Waterthrush singing just below me in the deciduous area.  But both songs sounded the same, and not classic for either species – something in between.  I listened to both for a while and played tape of both species but neither responded.  Although I wanted to say I had 1 of each based on habitat, I wasn’t sure. 

A bit further along I came upon 2 birds singing in the riparian area really close together – again similar songs in between classic versions of each one.  My first thought was that 2 breeding birds of the same species wouldn’t allow competing males to be so close together.  Could these be 1 of each species?  I played Swainson’s tape and instantly got a response – a skulking bird with strong call notes – though again both species have similar sharp call notes.  Then it popped into the open and was a Swainson’s – but still in the riparian area, though quite close to a rhododendron hillside.  I assumed I had 1 of each.  About 50 yards farther along I heard song on the left in rhododendrons.  Still not the classic whip poor will notes at the end though.  I played a bit of Swainson’s tape and instantly got 2 Swainson’s to pop into the open.  I guessed that the male was the same bird that I had heard just a few minutes earlier. 

I ended up with 9 singing Louisiana Waterthrushes and assumed I had 3 Swainson’s.  Interestingly, another birder came through the same area a bit later that day and also reported 3 Swainson’s.  His were by song only, with the songs all coming from up the hillsides.

And speaking of the singing locations for these 2 species - I've only heard Louisiana Waterthrushes sing from their riparian habitat.  While I've now heard Swainson's Warbler sing multiple times in that same riparian habitat, though each time very close to its preferred rhododendron thickets.

My Swainson’s Warbler statebird map is below – I still need this elusive species in quite a number of its regular states.  Though I was happy to hear it years ago as an exceptionally rare stakeout in MA.

I ended up with 15 warbler species – 9 other nesters (8 Ovenbird, 7 Black and White, 1 Kentucky, 13 Hooded, 5 Redstart, 7 Parula, 1 BT Blue, 3 Yellow-throated, 17 BT Green) and 3 migrants – a very confused Blue-winged (in all the wrong habitat), 1 Yellow-rump, and 2 Orange-crowns.  And I can’t forget the 9 Worm-eating Warblers – I didn’t need to make that first stop afterall.

As a post-script to my Swainson’s Warbler experience, I was back at the Greenville Watershed a week later as part of the Greenville County Spring Migration Count.  I had a whopping 7 Swainson’s that day, which I’m told is a new record for Greenville County.  I spent LOTS of time listening to their songs, including one spot where a Waterthrush was within 25 feet of a Swainson’s, both singing back and forth nearly non-stop.  And I’m feeling much better about the differences.  I think I can even hear the differences between those first notes.   Here are my thoughts on separating the songs –

Swainson’s Warbler-

“Seeeer seeeer seer whip poor will it”

Initial notes clearer/sweeter and a bit higher-pitched than Louisiana’s

First 2 notes longer than the third, and the first 3 notes drop in pitch a bit  

Louisiana Waterthrush -

“Seer seer seer it whip poor will it it”

Initial notes a bit lower-pitched than Swainson’s

3 initial notes identical in length and pitch; a bit more metallic than Swainson’s

Now back to my trip on April 19th –

The next target bird was Grasshopper Sparrow, which is a breeder in multiple grassland locations nearby, the closest spot being Hayes Farm.  After a short ride I arrived at the fields at Hayes Farm and got out of my car to listen.  I quickly heard and saw Savannahs and Chipping, but no Grasshopper.  Then a small sparrow flew to a post a short distance away – it was a perched Grasshopper.  Not often you see these birds before you hear them.  I ended up with 5 Grasshoppers as I walked along the roads through the Hayes Farm fields – all the others were heard only.

I only need Grasshopper Sparrow in 6 other states in its regular range.

That gave me 3 new SC statebirds before lunchtime – I just needed to get into the right habitat (at the right time of the year) to be able to fill those gaps in my statelist.  And speaking of statelist – that brings my SC list up to 265.  That's 33 additions since moving to the area, but I still have a number of relatively easy birds to try for.  Not to mention any number of possible rarities.

Saw-whet Owl, Henderson County, NC, April 9, 2020

One of my key local targets now that I’ve moved to the mountains of western NC is Saw-whet Owl.  Although they are occasionally found as a wintering bird throughout the state, they are most often encountered in the NC mountains.  The following information on Saw-whets in the NC mountains comes from “Birds of North Carolina: their Distribution and Abundance”  (http://ncbirds.carolinabirdclub.org/view.php?species_id=341) -

Breeder in the higher elevations; winter resident over most of the region. Uncommon to fairly common in the breeding season along the southern Blue Ridge Parkway (Great Balsam and Pisgah ranges) and in Great Smoky Mountains NP, above 5,000 feet. Generally uncommon elsewhere in spruce-fir stands, being found at essentially all such stands (Black Mountains, Grandfather Mountain, Roan Mountain, Long Hope Valley, etc.). Also apparently nests in some hardwood stands, such as Pickens Nose (Macon). On the breeding grounds, arrives probably in Mar. At lower elevations, probably Oct into Apr; abundance poorly known in winter, though likely not truly rare except at lower elevations.

A month or two ago I ran into local birder Eric Smith while we were birding Jackson Park.  At the end of our walk Eric told me about a calling Saw-whet Owl he had had at his house almost all summer long in 2018.  But Eric doesn’t live in the higher mountains – he lives in east central Henderson County at about 2,000 feet in elevation.  They’re not supposed to be nesters at those lower elevations.  When we parted ways Eric agreed to get back in touch with me if his Saw-whet happened to return. 

I stayed in touch with Eric subsequently, sharing recent sightings and trading ID tips.  Then on April 8th Eric contacted me to say he had just seen a Saw-whet at his house – his first observation since the calling bird 2 summers ago.  That sure was intriguing to say the least.  He was happy to have me come by his place and try for it, and although I was skeptical about whether we might re-find it, I decided to give it a try the very next night. 

I arrived at Eric’s house at about 8 o’clock on the 9th to give it a go.  Three other birders were there as well, and we all promised to maintain our social distancing while trying for the little owl.  Eric’s property is located just a bit north of Big Hungry Road near the Green River Gamelands, one of my favorite birding spots.  He has tremendous habitat, though the woodlands are mostly deciduous with a few white pines and hemlocks.  There are certainly no spruce-fir stands which are the preferred Saw-whet nesting habitat.

We waited a while hoping for some spontaneous calls, but with no luck.  Then one of the other birders, Vicky Burke, played some tape, but still no response.  Again we waited hoping for some calls.  Then at about 8:40 Vicky played some more tape but still no replies.  One of the other birders mentioned he was going to give up.  And just then we heard 2 “toots”.  We looked at each other – what was that?  I mentioned that I had experience with Saw-whets responding with a single toot, so just maybe we had our bird.  Then we heard 2 more toots.  Then after a short break there were 3 more toots.  We indeed had the Saw-whet Owl!  We played some more tape but to no avail.  It certainly wasn’t the long call you hear on the tapes or hear when the bird is calling spontaneously, but it was enough for a solid ID.

Many thanks to Eric Smith for inviting us to his yard and sharing his special bird!

The next day I did a bit of research to try to understand if Eric’s Saw-whet could still be a migrant or whether it was a possible breeder.  I was principally trying to estimate when the last migrant Saw-whet might leave our region.  In other words, was yesterday’s sighting late enough in the year that the migrants have already left, implying that the bird would be a possible breeder. 

I went onto eBird to see when migrant Saw-whets might leave the area using eBird’s “Explore Species” function.  This function allows you to create a bar chart for a specific region – county, state, country.  The complication is that if you select a region where Saw-whets are both migrants as well as breeders, then the eBird data won’t easily separate sightings of migrants vs. breeding birds.  For instance, the North Carolina bar chart has sightings for every week of the year except the 3^rd week of March, with almost the same frequency each week. That means you can’t separate the summer sightings of breeders up in the mountains with wintering and migrant birds throughout the state.  I then selected Henderson County and there are only sightings in 4 weeks – 1^st and 3^rd week of Feb., 3^rd week of Nov., and now the 2^nd week of April (of course Eric’s sightings from Summer 2018 aren’t included).  So there’s not nearly enough Henderson County data to make any conclusions.

So next I started looking at other nearby states at roughly the same latitude, hoping to find states where Saw-whets winter and migrate, but don’t breed.  I can’t use data from VA and TN because they are breeders in the mountains of both states.  So I started looking a bit farther away and found these 6 states where there are no Saw-whet observations from the summer (suggesting no breeding).  The last spring sightings in each state are –

·       KY – end of March

·       AL – 3rd week of March

·       AR – end of February

·       DE – end of March

·       IN – 3rd week of April

·       KS – 3rd week of March

With the exception of IN, Saw-whet migration in all these states appears to be over no later than the end of March.  Which of course is at least two weeks before the observations of the bird at Eric’s house.

My conclusion – Eric’s bird on April 8th and 9th is not likely to be a migrant, and is instead a summering bird.  That would mean it’s either already breeding, or could be a bird actively looking for a mate.   

A few years ago I met a birder in SD that was managing a whole line of Saw-whet nest boxes, and had pairs nesting in many of the boxes.  The species wasn’t even known to nest in SD until he put up his boxes and met with considerable success.  Just as in SD, perhaps this secretive little bird may well be more common in the area than we think.  And small colonies of birds might well be breeding outside what we think of as their normal range – including at or near Eric’s place.

I pulled this information from owlpages.com –

Northern Saw-whet Owls nest in old woodpecker cavities, (primarily those made by Pileated Woodpeckers or Northern Flickers) or in natural cavities. They will also take to nest boxes quite readily. Nest trees are often dead and nest heights average 4 to 6 metres above ground. Nesting occurs between March and July.

Maybe they would use nesting boxes if they were put up nearby in Henderson County.

Saw-whet Owl was #290 for my NC state list.  My statebird map for Saw-whet is inserted below.  States highlighted in blue are those where I’ve seen or heard this species; cross-hatched states are those where it is regular though I've yet to see or hear it.  This is a wide-ranging species, though really difficult to find.  So although I’m happy to have seen or heard it in 15 states, I still need it in more than 20 others.

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!

Ruffed Grouse, Pisgah National Forest, NC, March 15, 2020

Ruffed Grouse can be a very challenging bird to find.  First of all, their preferred habitat includes mature woodlands that are often quite inaccessible.  And even if you can get into their best locales, they often are real skulkers.  But not to worry – in Spring they can often be heard drumming.  Though that is a challenge for me as I have problems hearing those low frequency sounds (even though my high-pitched hearing is still quite good).  Plus a final complication – Ruffed Grouse numbers have dropped significantly over a major portion of their range.  But despite these difficulties, sometimes you can get lucky and find one out in the open, even being quite tame.

The mountains of western NC provide excellent habitat for Ruffed Grouse.  As a result, I’ve been receiving a fair number of eBird Needs Alerts with Grouse sightings.  Few are likely chaseable, so I just treat them as reminders of a future target down the road.  But then came a Needs Alert on March 13 of a sighting by local birder Vicky Burke.  I reached out to her and got a specific location – along the Blue Ridge Parkway on a the trail heading northeast from the Mills River Overlook.  And more importantly, she has twice recently seen one in that same location.  Could this one be chaseable?  I decided to give it a go.  Besides, I haven’t done any birding along the Parkway yet, so this would be an opportunity for me to do some scouting in this area. 

I was out of the house at dawn the next morning and after a short drive I was heading south along the Blue Ridge Parkway.  As I climbed in elevation I got into areas of very thick fog, so as I got to the Mills River Overlook visibility was next to zero – no nice scenery views this morning.  I quickly found the trail suggested by Vicky and was soon taking a slow walk through some really nice habitat.  I spent more than a 90 minutes on this 1-mile trail but with no luck on the Grouse.  Birding was a bit slow at this elevation, but I enjoyed multiple Winter Wrens and singing Juncos.  Plus it was a great walk even though I struck out on my target bird.

It was still early so I decided to check out some more of the Parkway.  A bit farther south I came to the Mt. Pisgah Campground where there were a few reports of Red Crossbills in previous years - another of my higher elevation targets.  There were no eBird reports from the campground yet this year, so no recent news on Crossbills.  So I figured it could be worth a search.  Plus, again it would be a nice scouting effort.  The campground wasn’t open yet this early in the year, so I parked safely nearby and decided to take a slow walk through the campground.

It was great habitat in the campground, with numerous singing Juncos.  Were they already singing on territory?  There were also many calling Golden-crowned Kinglets, along with several in full song.  And Robins were everywhere.  I especially spent a fair amount of birding time focused on the mature conifers around the campground, hoping to hear or see Crossbills.  But even though they were loaded with cones, no Crossbills were around. 

After walking around the two western campground loops I was pretty much seeing more of the same.  So I debated about whether I should walk around the eastern loop as well, but decided I ought to head there especially for more opportunities at Crossbills.  As I turned onto that last loop I spotted some movement on the pavement up ahead.  And just as I got my binocs focused on that spot I heard and saw a whirr of wings – it was a pair of Ruffed Grouse that took off into the woods as they spotted me.  I quickly headed to the edge of the woods where they had disappeared, and could hear some rustling in the leaves, but never got any more visuals on the birds.  Boy was I lucky.  I didn’t find the potentially chaseable Grouse but found 2 other more cooperative birds nearby.  Though I never did find any Crossbills - they could wait for a future trip along the Parkway.

My statebird map for Ruffed Grouse 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 them.  As I said at the beginning of this post, Ruffed Grouse has been a tough bird for me - I still need it in many states across the country. 

Ruffed Grouse was number 288 for my NC statelist.  And what a great introduction to birding along the Blue Ridge Parkway! 

Brewer’s Blackbird, Fletcher, NC, March 14, 2020

When I participated in the Henderson County Christmas Count in December 2019 I was assigned the territory in and around the town of Fletcher.  This was my first time on the count and I had never birded around Fletcher, so I made a couple scouting trips to try to find the best sites to bird on the count.  One of the sites I found was an area of agricultural fields covering about 150 acres north of Rockwell Drive.  Plus the fields were surrounded by very nice hedgerows and thickets, many of which were posted with signs noting that the lands were designated as conservations areas by the state of North Carolina.  During these scouting trips and the count itself I found good numbers of sparrows in the brush (including uncommon White-crowned), and flocks of Pipits and Killdeer in the fields. 

Given the nice habitat I continued to bird this site throughout the winter and into spring.  On one trip I found a nice flock of Snipe in a wet portion of one of the fields.  And twice I found rare wintering Vesper Sparrows – including 3 together on one visit.  Then I found an excellent wetlands that looked great for rare migrants like Sedge Wren and Nelson’s Sparrow, and maybe even a Virginia Rail.  Though on my visits I only found Swamp Sparrows.  So far at least.

As the weather warmed I would typically spot good-sized flocks of Blackbirds around the fields – both Red-wings and Grackles.  And often there were a few Rusty’s mixed in.  I’m always hopeful for a rare Yellow-headed in with the Red-wings, so I would spend a bit of time scouring those flocks for something different.  That was exactly the case on March 14 when a flock of Red-wings was feeding in the corn stubble.  While watching them leapfrog across the field I spotted a pair of very glossy birds mixed in.  They were roughly the size of the Red-wings so too small to be Grackles.  And it was a gray day so there was no sun to enhance the irridesence of a Rusty.  I quickly thought I might have a pair of male Brewer’s Blackbirds but needed better looks. 

I continued to follow the flock and finally got close enough to re-spot the glossy blackbirds.  They were two very glossy birds, roughly Red-wing sized, with yellow eyes.  (I often say that male Brewer’s remind me of miniature Grackles.)  Plus there were 2 females with them – uniform grayish-tan with dark eyes.  I indeed had found a group of 2 male and 2 female Brewer’s Blackbirds.  A rarity for the NC mountains, though not completely unexpected.

My statebird map for Brewer’s Blackbird is inserted below.  States highlighted in blue are those where I’ve seen this species; cross-hatched states are those where Brewer’s is regular though I haven’t yet seen them.  Finally, the tan-colored states of MD and NC are those where I’ve seen Brewer’s as a rarity.  

Brewer’s Blackbird was number 287 for my NC statelist.  And another great bird for the Rockwell Drive ag fields.