Common Goldeneye “Consolation Prize”, Greenville, SC – December 20, 2019

On the 19th I received a text from Michael Robertson saying that he might have just found a Cackling Goose mixed in with Canadas at Lake Robinson.  Cackling Goose is an exceptional rarity in SC, with just one prior record for the state.  He sent me photos of 3 of the 4 small geese, and at least 2 seemed to be good candidates.  Then I saw additional photos from both Michael and Gary Harbour and now I was thinking all 4 could be Cackling Geese.  So I decided to head to Lake Robinson early the next morning to try to see them for myself.

I arrived shortly after dawn on the morning of the 20th and Michael was already at the viewing platform.  Unfortunately, there was just 1 Canada Goose in sight and no small geese.  We took a short drive to Fews Bridge Road to get a different view of the lake, and found a small flock of Canadas but nothing else.  Then we headed back to the main viewing platform and noticed some Canadas in the far distance foraging on a bank.  With a bit of searching we found the flock of Canadas at the edge of a subdivision.  Although I was cautiously hopeful that the Cackling’s would be in with them, the flock just consisted of Canadas.  It was about the same number that Michael and Gary had the previous day, so we likely had re-found that same flock of Canadas but the smaller geese had moved on.  Ugh...

I had commitments at home to tend to, so left after we concluded that this truly had become the proverbial “wild goose chase”.  Then minutes later Michael called to say he had spotted a Common Goldeneye.  Or I should say THE Common Goldeneye – a male that was returning for the 3^rd consecutive winter at small Jordan Pond.  Michael had shown me this spot a month earlier on one of our scouting trips.  Within minutes I had turned around and at Jordan Pond where Michael was standing with the Goldeneye in view.  A nice consolation prize for missing the Cackling Geese, though I would have preferred seeing the super rare geese instead.  That gives me 253 in SC – my 21st new species for the state since moving to the Carolinas in late August.

My statebird map for Common Goldeneye is inserted below – solid shaded states are those where I’ve seen this species; cross-hatched states are those where it is regular but I haven’t seen it yet.  I just need it in 4 more states and DC where it is a migrant or wintering species.  

As a postscript to the small Geese sighting – I shared the photos of the SC birds with a couple of my fellow NH Rare Bird Committee members and they too feel that these were indeed Richardson’s Cackling Geese.  These were later apparently accepted as a second state record.

Greater White-fronted Goose, Biltmore Estate, NC – December 12, 2019

The Biltmore Estate is probably best known as the largest privately held house in the US, and is still owned by the descendants of George Vanderbilt.  Tours are offered of this giant mansion making it quite an impressive tourist destination.  The Estate is less well-known for its 125,000 acres of woodlands, farms and rivers of excellent habitat, along with many miles of hiking trails.  And all that habitat makes it a great birding hotspot. 

The problem is that accessing the grounds is extremely expensive.  The price to just hike on the grounds is the same as if you were taking a tour of the mansion.  Daily fees are around $100 per person, which some may argue is appropriate for a mansion tour.  But that’s hardly justifiable for a day of birding.  “What about an annual pass?” you may ask.  The annual pass costs more than $200 per person – wow!  In Fall there was a remarkable sighting of a Kirtland’s Warbler at the Biltmore, which stayed for a couple days.  I briefly thought about buying either a daily pass or an annual pass, but couldn’t justify it.  Perhaps I’d feel a little differently if the money was going to some organization that had conservation objectives.  But handing that much of my hard-earned money over to the Vanderbilts – I don’t think so.

Then in November I saw an ad on television mentioning that the Biltmore was running a special on annual passes.  With a bit of research I found out that it was “just” $120.  Maybe it was now justifiable, along with a trip or two in spring to tour the gardens.  So my wife and I bit the bullet and bought annual passes.  Now we just needed to visit enough times to make it worthwhile.

The first birding opportunity came on 12/8 when there was a report of 3 White-fronted Geese with Canadas at the Lagoon at Biltmore.  They were reported there again on the 11th, so apparently chaseable.  I needed to reach out to some of my new birding friends to figure out how to bird the Lagoon, and soon got excellent advice.  Now I was ready for my first birding trip to the Biltmore.

On the morning of the 12^th I took the quick drive to the Estate and then successfully maneuvered my way on the winding roads through the grounds, eventually finding my way to the Lagoon.  When I arrived I was surprised to see how small the lake was.  It is surrounded by a ring of trees, and includes two small wooded islands.  I guess the waterfowl feel protected there, since there are often some good waterfowl reports from the Lagoon.  And there is a dirt road encircling the lake providing numerous close viewing spots.  All in all, great for birding.

The good news this morning was that the lake was covered in Canada Geese, so apparently the key flock of geese was indeed at the lake.  The bad news was that I’d have to find the White-fronts in over 200 Canadas.  Plus portions of the lake were hidden from view behind the islands from any given angle, so I’d need to make multiple stops to cover the whole lake.  I pulled over at the first opportunity and started to scan with my binocs.  And within just a few seconds I spotted the 3 White-fronted Geese swimming together quite close to me.  That was surprisingly easy.  I got these phonescoped photos of these cooperative birds.  

My statebird map for Greater White-fronted Goose is inserted below - solid shaded states are those where I've seen this species; cross-hatched states are those where it's regular but I haven't seen it yet.  I still need it in a few states where it is regular in the central and western flyways.  Though I’ve seen it in numerous states in the eastern flyway where it is a rarity.  

Other birds often reported at the Lagoon have been a pair of Egyptian Geese.  Obviously, these aren’t countable in NC, but who knows what the future may bring for this species.  (I've seen them in FL which is the only state where they are countable - for now.)  So after getting good views of the White-fronts I set out to look for the Egyptian Geese.  It took a while, but finally found them tucked behind one of the islands (phonescoped photo below).

One trip to Biltmore – one new NC statebird.  A good start for my annual pass investment.  That gives me 275 in NC – after adding 22 new birds since moving here in late August.

Purple Finch and Fox Sparrow, Spartanburg, SC December 6, 2019

Saturday December 6th was a day for Michael Robertson to introduce me to some of his preferred birding sites in Spartanburg.  It was my first trip to the area, so everything was new for me.  Our first stop was Croft State Park which is a former army training base, including 7,000 acres of excellent woodland habitat.  And imbedded in those rolling hills are two large manmade lakes – Lake Johnson and Lake Craig, which were our 2 key hotspots in the park.

First we headed to Lake Johnson, with our initial stop being at one arm of the lake.  We had a few Canadas, Mallards, and Bufflehead on the lake, and many of the regular expected landbirds – a nice stop but nothing unusual.  Next we headed a bit farther down the road to a picnic area on the Lake.  As soon as we got out of the car we heard the soft “pik” calls of at least one Purple Finch flying by.  There have been almost no reports of Purple Finches in the area this winter so we were very happy to have heard one. 

My statebird map for Purple Finch is inserted below – solid shaded states are those where I’ve seen this species; cross-hatched states are those where it is regular but I haven’t yet seen it.  I just need it in a few more states as a migrant or wintering bird.

Later we headed to Lake Craig and found where we found a flock of 10 Red-breasted Mergansers.  A rarity for the SC Upstate, but not new for my SC statelist.

Next we were on to local hotspot Cottonwood Trail.  Although located in a suburban portion of Spartanburg, this trail has some excellent riparian and woodland habitat.  And then later the trail took us to a nice wetland – more excellent habitat.  At one point I heard a brief portion of a song that sounded like a Fox Sparrow.  But since I still needed this one for my SC list I didn’t want to jump to any conclusions based on just a partial song.  But then later I heard the song again – and both of us independently thought it was indeed a Fox Sparrow.  A bit further down the trail we heard it giving its sharp call notes, and then finally we got a visual of the target as it perched in the underbrush.  I still need this wide-ranging species in a number of states across the country.

Nice to check off a couple more SC target species, albeit ones that typically quite regular.  That gives me 252 on my statelist.  And thanks to Michael for showing me these locations.

Ross’s Goose, Hendersonville, NC December 4, 2019

It was midday on the 4th when I got a call from local Hendersonville birder Wayne Forsythe – he had just found a Ross’s Goose in a pond with Canadas.  And it was right in Hendersonville!  Wayne is well-known for his knowledge of the local birding sites.  In November he found the Short-eared Owl at Hooper Lane, and he had now found the Ross’s.  It was only a 20-minute drive away, and I was free, so within just a couple minutes I was out the door and hoping that my target Ross’s Goose would stick around on the pond and not leave to feed in nearby fields. 

Wayne had spotted the bird on a small pond at a site called Camp Pinewood just northeast of downtown.  When I arrived I found the site blocked off by a gate, but the pond was still visible looking through the gate.   And with a quick scan I found the Ross’s swimming among about 100 Canadas.  A small white goose really sticks out among the Canadas.  Though there were about a half dozen Mute Swan decoys on the lake that caused a bit of confusion.  Here are a couple phonescoped shots of this diminutive goose.

That was statebird number 274 for my NC list.  Great to be connected with Wayne and so many other excellent birders in the area.

Numbers of both white geese have increased dramatically in the last couple decades.  For instance, in the 1983 First Edition of the National Geographic guide, Ross’s was shown as a wintering bird in just 5 states – LA, TX, NM, CA, and OR.  While the 2008 Fifth Edition shows a wintering range of more than a dozen states including much of the Mid-South and a couple east coast states.  A couple decades ago my work travels used to take me to Memphis, TN, and I took advantage of those trips to add birding time in five states in the Mid-South – TN, KY, MO, AR, and MS.  Ross’s was just starting to expand its range there at the time, and I was able to find Ross’s in each of these states.  

I really fell in love with this little goose during these Memphis trips, and have continued to enjoy looking for it across the country where today it is either regular or a sought-after rarity in virtually every state.  My statebird map for Ross’s Goose is inserted below – solid shaded states are those where I’ve seen this species; cross-hatched states are those where it is regular but I haven’t seen it yet.  I’m especially happy with my results in New England, having seen Ross’s in all 6 where it is still exceptionally rare though increasing.

3 North Carolina Statebirds, November 2019

November was another good month of birding in North Carolina – not only chasing after a few rarities but also scouting out a number of new spots for the future.  And on one trip I unexpectedly got a new statebird while on a scouting trip.  Good birding spots, good birders, good birding. 

11/11 - Green River Game Lands - Big Hungry Road
The principal objective of this trip was to scout out some very nice territory that harbors numerous breeding warblers in several types of woodland habitats.  Dave Minnich and I met up with SC birders Michael Robertson and Gary Harbour early on the 11^th, and after a short drive were in mixed pine/hardwood forest, often with a thick rhododendron understory, with deep ravines, streams, and steep mountain sides.  Beautiful habitat.  Then we spent some time in more open woodlands that had been burned some years ago as part of local forest management practices.  These areas had young saplings and grassy undergrowth that looked ideal for either Blue-winged or Golden-winged Warblers.  I can’t wait to get back here in April and May next year to see what is around.

As we neared one roadside brushy area we came upon a nice flock of sparrows so we got out to look.  Just the normal White-throats and Songs at first.  Then we all almost simultaneously spotted a yellowish-green bird skulking in the brush.  At first I thought it was a Ruby-crowned Kinglet but then got a better view – an Orange-crowned Warbler.  We all got several views of the bird off and on as it foraged in the brush, before it took off back over the road out of view.  That’s a species that I spent a lot of time looking for in New England, with only occasional success.  I know it’s not nearly as rare here in western NC, but it was still a nice find and an addition to my NC list. 

My statebird map for Orange-crowned Warbler is inserted below – solid shaded states are those where I’ve seen this species; cross-hatched states are those where it is regular but I haven’t yet seen it.  I still need it especially in a number of eastern states where it is a lot less common than out west.  And I’m particularly proud of having found it in 5 of 6 New England states as a rarity.

11/20 – Hooper Lane
The sod farm at Hooper Lane is becoming one of my favorite birding spots – and it’s just 25 minutes from home.  I’ve already had some great birds on my multiple trips there, and have heard stories of even better birds at the sod farm over the years.  One such story was of a long-staying Short-eared Owl this past winter, so that one was on my radar screen as we got into the colder months.  And then on the 19^th I got an eBird Needs Alert with a Short-eared Owl at Hooper Lane.  The post came across late afternoon, and I initially thought about heading to the site at dusk to watch for it to be flying around.  But I had other commitments and couldn’t make it. 

Plan B – head to Hooper Lane the next day in the late afternoon, look for it for a while in the daylight, and then if I don’t find it, stay till dusk to hopefully see it flying around feeding.  The problem was that the eBird report didn’t include any details on the location of the bird.  It was likely roosting in the daytime in a ditch at the site, but there are many miles of ditches there.  I exchanged texts with SC birder Michael Robertson about the bird, and he mentioned that he had contact info for the birder who found the owl – Wayne Forsythe.  It turns out that Wayne is an excellent local birder who knows the area very well – a good person to know.  So I contacted Wayne and he told me where he had the bird.  It turns out it was indeed roosting in a ditch, and specifically the first one north of the maintenance buildings east of Hooper Lane.  (I’ve been trying to promote naming the ditches so that birders can understand exactly where birds are being seen.  But that’s for the future.)

So now it was it was time to implement Plan B.  I arrived at Hooper Lane at about 3 PM and headed right to the ditch mentioned by Wayne.  But despite walking the entire length of the ditch, the best bird I found was a Snipe.  So I continued to walk other nearby ditches east of the road and again came up empty.  I ended up briskly walking along more than 2 miles of ditches without any luck.  It was now 4:30, and I decided to head to ditches west of the road.  But first I scanned the fields to see if the bird might have come out to an exposed roost a bit early as they often will do.  With my binoculars I started to scan across a recently plowed dirt field and spotted a slightly lighter brown “bump” in the distance in the field.  I got out the scope and sure enough I had the Short-eared Owl.  Here’s a phonescoped photo of the bird in the distance without cropping.

And here are two heavily cropped photos. 

I got the word out that I had re-found the Owl, and was able to show it to 2 other birders.  I stayed with it until after sunset hoping that I might get a chance to see it in flight.  But it stayed still in the field the entire time, only moving its head to check out vehicles moving by.

NC was my 24^th state for this species – still many to go for this widespread species.

11/25 – Ecusta Pond, Pisgah Forest
On the 22^nd I received a Needs Alert for a pair of Common Mergansers seen at a location called Ecusta Pond in Transylvania County.  The eBird Hotspot name included the word “Private” so at first I figured it was not a site I could access.  Then I noticed there was another checklist from later that day that also included the Mergansers – I guess it couldn’t be that private.  I looked at the site on GoogleMaps and it looked like the pond was surrounded by a berm so that the water would not be visible from roads around the perimeter.  I had the contact info for one of the observers, Michael Plauche, and asked him for suggestions to bird this site.  Michael got right back to me, mentioning that the church on the north side of the pond had given birders permission to stand on the second floor fire escape of the sanctuary, from which most of the pond was visible.  That’s certainly a unique viewing spot…  So armed with that great information, my plan was to head there the next morning to give it a try.

The morning of the 23^rd was a wet one, with rain which was heavy at times.  But I could still bird the lake with a rain suit and umbrella.  When I arrived there was a lull in the rain, and another birder was there looking through the waterfowl in the lake.  The birder was Frank Porter whom I had met on an earlier walk.  As I arrived he gave me the bad news – no Common Mergs that morning, though a couple Red-breasted Mergs was a nice consolation.  We were later joined by Michael, and despite lots of scanning we couldn’t scare up my target birds.  Michael commented that maybe the Mergs were still in the area, going back and forth from the pond to the nearby Davidson River.  And sure enough, later that day Michael texted me that the Common Mergs were back in the pond.  But it was too late for me to chase yet that afternoon.

Hmmm….  Would the Common Mergs stick around?  I was planning to be out birding on the 25^th, so I decided to swing by there to give them a try again that day.  This time the weather was much better, and Frank was once again at the fire escape when I arrived.  As I got up to the landing he said he just had the Common Mergansers right in front of us.  So I quickly set up the scope – but there we no Mergs.  Though there was an adult Bald Eagle sitting on one of the aerators right in front of us.  Did it scare off my targets?  I continued to scan but with no luck.  Then I looked to the east and found quite a number of waterfowl, though viewing was tough in the distance and with a difficult sun angle.  But finally I spotted a Merganser, and then a second.  And with just a couple seconds of study we ID’d them as Common Mergansers.  Finally!  Nice to get this species in my first southeastern state where the bird is much less common than farther north - it truly is "Common" in most other parts of the country.  Hopefully I can add it to more nearby states over the next several winters.

 
That gave me 3 new species for my NC list in November, bringing my total to 273.  And 2 were eBird rarities, though not particularly unexpected.  As for my yard list, I only had 2 additions in the month – Common Grackle and Purple Finch, bringing the total to 94.  And my feeder is loaded with all the regulars – sparrows, chickadees, titmice, etc.  Not to mention squirrels.  So far no visits by bears though I’m taking the feeders in every night just in case.

6 South Carolina Statebirds in November 2019

November was another great month of birding in South Carolina, focused not only on finding new birds for my SC list, but also on learning about hotspots within the “Upstate” (the higher elevation counties in western SC).  Along the way I teamed up with fellow Hendersonville birder Dave Minnich, who in turn introduced me to several Greenville County birders including Michael Robertson, Gary Harbour, and David Palmer.  And given my success with so many relatively easy birds, I prepared this monthly summary rather than individual blog posts for each trip – that will likely come in December.

11/4 – Tall Pines WMA

Dave Minnich and I had visited Tall Pines WMA in October and got a great introduction to the area with Michael’s, Gary’s, and David’s help.  When we came back on November 4^th, Dave, Michael, and I first headed to several fields that looked like they could have good sparrow habitat.  We had a few sparrows here and there, but not the good numbers, and good species, we hoped for.  When we reached the third field we headed to the far side that was flooded and found some nice weedy habitat.  And within just a few more steps we flushed a small sparrow which flew a short distance to a brushy perch.  It sat in the open for just a couple seconds which was just barely long enough for Michael and me to ID it as a rare inland Lincoln’s Sparrow, new for my SC list.  Unfortunately, Dave didn’t get on the bird in time. 

My statebird map for Lincoln’s Sparrow is inserted below – solid shaded states are those where I’ve seen this species; cross-hatched states are those where it is regular but I haven’t yet seen it.  Now that I’m living in the southeast maybe I can fill in some of those gaps for this species.

As we walked from the field we entered a brushy area along a stream and began to hear the chattering calls of a Winter Wren – target #2.  This one was more cooperative, sitting in the open for us all to see.  I just need this species in one more state in the southeast as a wintering bird, though several more as a breeder in the Midwest.

Next we headed to a nice mixed hardwood/pine woodland.  In our previous trip to Tall Pines we took this same trail and didn’t see much.  This time we all thought that the woodlands could be a good spot to find my next target – Brown Creeper.  As we slowly walked the trail, we admired the trees and plants in the undergrowth, but once again didn’t see many birds.  But then we heard a single high-pitched call from high in the woodlands, which we all thought was likely to be a Creeper.  It continued to call and we eventually got looks at this shy bird.  We later had 2 others in this same stretch of woods.  Nice when a prediction comes true.  Six more states to go to fill in my statebird map for this widespread species.

11/9 – Anderson County - Townville Area

This was an organized trip run by the Greenville County Bird Club to visit several hotspots in the Townville area in Anderson County.  The key targets were Vesper and White-crowned Sparrows, along with Snow Goose as a recently reported rarity.  I met Michael near Greenville and carpooled to the starting point of the walk.  There we met up with about a dozen other birders, and we started with some nice woodland birding at Beaverdam Creek WMA.  Key highlight here was a late Yellowthroat.  Then we were off to the farm fields at Dobbins Farm.  A pair of Snow Geese had been reported on a small farm pond at this site for several days, as recently as the day before our trip.  But despite our best efforts we found no white geese.  We even tried several other ponds nearby without success.  Our best find here was a distant flock of 7 small peeps that were just too far to identify.  Michael mentioned that this spot was also well-known for wintering Brewer’s Blackbirds – something to keep in mind for a future trip.

Next Michael and I decided to leave the main group and head directly to Prater Farm where he has had the best luck with our target sparrows.  We made our way to Tom Martin Rd. and stopped at a brushy edge that had been good for the sparrows in the past.  Just as we got out of the car we flushed a sparrow from the roadside which flew up to a cedar tree.  Hmm… - that’s very typical of Vespers which will fly up to a higher perch after being flushed.  We changed our angle a bit and got a view of the sparrow in the tree – it was indeed a Vesper.  Then we noticed more activity in the tree, and spotted no less than 4 more Vespers.  It was an amazing flock of 5 Vesper Sparrows – I don’t remember seeing anything more than individuals away from their breeding grounds.

After celebrating our experience with the Vespers we started walking a bit further down the road and flushed another sparrow – it was a young White-crowned!  We found five other White-crowns here, including at lead one singing adult.  I just need this species in GA and DC to complete my statebird map.

At this same spot we also had a large flock of 100 Pipits in an adjacent field, a Eurasian Collared-Dove, and a perched Loggerhead Shrike.  A nice stop, and a nice way to end the morning’s trip.  I’ll definitely have to come back here in the winter to look for Brewer’s Blackbirds.  And since this area is close to the GA/SC stateline, maybe a future trip could include some time working on my GA list as well.

11/19 – Northern Greenville County Lakes

The goal of this trip was to check out a number of the lakes in northern Greenville County that can have some nice waterfowl during winter.  We had no key waterfowl targets – it was just a scouting effort.  But then oh by the way, Michael suggested we might get lucky with Rusty Blackbirds at Lake Cunningham.  He’s had them there off and on this time of year.  As I pulled in to Lake Cunningham David and Michael were already at the lake doing a bit of birding.  And within just a couple minutes a few blackbirds flew into a nearby tree.  After a quick view we realized we had our first Rusty Blackbirds.  Within the next few minutes more Rusty’s flew in – I counted 160 birds in total.  But just as quickly as they arrived, virtually the entire flock had flown away.  A nice start of the day!  I just need this species in 5 midwest states as a migrant or wintering bird.  Though it’s nice to have seen this species as a rarity in CA as well.

We made stops at 6 other ponds and lakes that morning, finding a few waterfowl here and there, the best being 5 Horned Grebes at Lake Robinson.  We also made a quick stop at Jordan Pond where Common Goldeneyes have wintered the last couple years – something to keep in mind for a future trip.  And my last stop was at the Stamey Valley Road lake where I had a flyover flock of 20 Rusty Blackbirds.  A nice way to end the morning.

I ended November with 6 new statebirds for my SC list which now stands at a nice round number of 250.  That’s 18 new SC species since I moved to the area just over 2 months ago.  Although there have been a couple rarities, most have been pretty regular species.  And with a dwindling list of relatively easy target birds, I’m sure I won’t be able to keep up this pace for too much longer.