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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Day 2 – February 5

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

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

My day wasn’t exactly starting off very well…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Day 3 – February 6

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

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

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

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

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

GA was my last Atlantic Coast state for Black Scoter.

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

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

7 VA Statebirds in the Second Half of a NC/VA Coastal Trip Including Bullock’s Oriole and Other Nice Rarities, February 16-17, 2022

The Carolina Bird Club (CBC) had originally scheduled its January 2022 meeting for the NC Outer Banks.  But the Omicron Covid variant had other ideas.  Unfortunately, Covid numbers started to peak just before the meeting, and the CBC not surprisingly cancelled the meeting.  I was really looking forward to the guided field trips, not only to bird the coast, but to also learn about how to bird the area in general.  But if the Covid numbers dropped quickly, maybe I could squeeze in a trip to the coast on my own, perhaps in late February. 

And just as I had hoped, the numbers did indeed improve into February.  So I started to plan a 4-day trip to the upper NC coast and southeastern VA.  Given the long travel times to get to the coast that would give me 2 full days of birding at the coast but just a couple hours on the travel days.  It turned out that I was free February 14 to 17, which lined up nicely with some dry but chilly weather.  This was starting to come together.

Then came the research into possible statebirds.  There were a few rarities being seen in both states, along with a number of regular species I still needed for my state lists.  After quite a bit of research, and with nearly last-minute updates to chase newly reported rarities, I came up with the following tentative itinerary –

·       2/14 – travel to the NC coast at Wrightsville Beach for stakeout Mountain Bluebird and Long-tailed Ducks, then late afternoon birding at the Alligator NWR for an elusive Ash-throated Flycatcher, along with Golden Eagle and Rough-legged Hawk that were occasionally reported

·       2/15 – birding on the OBX starting with a seawatch at Cape Point, then time searching for a recently reported Snowy Owl near the Oregon Inlet campground, then another seawatch at Jennette’s Pier

·       2/16 – an action-packed day in southeastern VA with stops for a number of stakeouts (Bullock’s Oriole, Brewer’s Blackbird, Iceland Gull, and Common Eider) along with a seawatch at Ruddee Inlet, searches for Vesper Sparrows in Northampton County, and ending the day for Woodcocks at the Eastern Shore of VA NWR

·       2/17 – a seawatch at dawn at Little Island Park before starting the drive home

And with that itinerary I hoped for perhaps 4 or 5 new statebirds in each state.

This blog post summarizes the VA portion of my trip.  The NC portion was summarized in the previous post.

February 16 – Stakeouts and Hotspots in Southeastern VA

The plan for the day was to make stops at 4 locations for stakeout rarities, plus general birding at 4 other locations.  All these spots were pretty close to each other, meaning driving time wasn’t too extensive.  So, with a little luck, I would have enough time to search for all my targets.   

The first stop was for a long-staying Bullock’s Oriole at a feeder in Chesapeake.  The immature male bird had been coming to a backyard feeding station, along with an immature Baltimore Oriole.  With a bit of research I found the contact information for the homeowner, Deb Shelton, and reached out to her for permission to look for her bird.  She was most gracious, and invited me into her backyard to look for the Orioles.  She said that they were very active at the feeders early in the morning, and since this was the rarest of my targets, I decided to make that my first stop of the day. 

I arrived just before 7:30 and met Deb outside her house.  She described how both Orioles often fed together, showed me their favorite perch tree, mentioned that they often came in first for a peanut, etc.  She really knew her birds.  Armed with lots of great information, I made my way to the back deck to start my vigil.  But it didn’t take long.  Within 5 minutes I spotted an Oriole fly in from the left – it was the Baltimore.  And then right on cue the Bullock’s Oriole flew in a few seconds later (statebird #1).  It perched in the backyard for a minute or two, then flew to the feeders to grab a peanut – just as Deb said he would.  I got this picture with my cellphone and no magnification.

A poor excuse for a photo I’m afraid, especially compared to this exceptional photo taken by Deb Shelton.

I can’t thank Deb enough for her hospitality and of course for setting up such a nice feeding station that attracted those Orioles!

My statebird map for Bullock’s Oriole is inserted below.  The states where I’ve seen this species in its regular range are shaded in blue.  And now NC is the 7th state where I’ve seen Bullock’s Oriole as a rarity (shaded in tan). 

I hated to “bird and run”, but I had lots of other targets to try for.  I bade farewell to Deb, and then headed off to my next stakeout for Brewer’s Blackbird in Virginia Beach.  The eBird hotspot I was heading to was called “Breeze Farms (Brewer’s Blackbird Spot)”.  With a name like that how could I go wrong?  The hotspot was a small farm with various types of farm animals in small pens.  This was classic Brewer’s habitat, and as a result this had become a regular spot for them from December to March since 2016. 

Along the way I passed by lots of ag fields which I scanned for my VA nemesis bird – Wild Turkey.  That was by far the most common bird I still needed for my VA state list.  But rarely are Turkeys in stakeout locations.  Instead, you typically just run into them.  And I kept my eyes peeled for them as I drove by every field, though luck never seemed to be on my side.

Now back to the Brewer’s - many of the recent sightings mentioned them being perched in trees, and as I pulled up I noticed one tall deciduous tree in the middle of the farm.  That must be the one.  There was a small flock of Starlings up there, but I didn’t notice any Blackbirds.  But then the Starlings flew off leaving one lone Blackbird behind.  It was either a female Cowbird or Brewer’s, but it flew off before I could get conclusive scope views.  This wasn’t looking good…  But then I noticed a small flock of birds near the ground in one of the pens.  The flock rose above the fencing and I could see it was a mixed Blackbird-Starling flock.  Most of the birds settled back in the pen out of view but 3 birds landed on the top railing.  With the scope I could pick out 2 male and 1 female Brewer’s Blackbirds (statebird #2).  I watched a bit longer and the entire flock flew up again – this time I could make out about 10 blackbirds though couldn’t be sure of the IDs before the entire group settled back in the pen out of sight.  I likely had 10 Brewer’s but could only be sure of 3.

VA is now the 4th state after NC, SC, and GA where I’ve seen Brewer’s Blackbirds since moving to the region.  And I still need it in a few other states where it’s regular (the cross-hatched states in my statebird map below).  Although I have VA coded as a state out of their regular range based on range maps in the field guides, they sure seem to be regular at least at this one spot in VA.

Next I was on to Ruddee Inlet where an Iceland Gull has been seen irregularly with the local Ring-bills.  Along the way I once again kept my eyes open for Turkeys – and once again came up empty.  When I arrived at Rudee Inlet there was a small flock of Ring-bills in the parking lot, but no Iceland.  I had brought a loaf of bread along with me as gull bait, and was able to double the size of the flock with a few offerings, but still no Iceland.  I checked a couple nearby gull flocks close to the inlet and up the beach but still couldn’t find my target.

So now my focus shifted to doing a seawatch from the inlet.  The water was quite smooth and visibility was great, so I was hopeful I might pick out something good.  But alas, there was very little activity – just a few Gannets, Cormorants, and Red-throated Loons.  But then a bit later I spotted an alcid flying low to the water.  It was pretty far out but I could tell I had a Razorbill.  And a bit later another Razorbill flew by much closer (statebird #4).  As I always say – it’s quality not quantity.  Razorbill is typically the most common alcid on the East Coast, and I’ve now seen it in 8 of 11 coastal states from NC northward.

Happy with my seawatch results I went back to searching for the Iceland Gull but again just found Ring-bills.  It turns out the Iceland was last seen the day before on the 15th.

The next stop was only a short distance away at Lynnhaven Inlet where a female Common Eider had spent most of the winter.  I got some good intelligence about where to look and where to bird from, and the inlet was reasonably small, so I was cautiously optimistic.  But after a lot of searching I came up empty.  I even tried an additional vantage spot with no luck.  That was 2 misses in a row.  At least I was on schedule for the rest of my stops.

My remaining 3 stops were in Northampton County across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (CBBT).  You’re no longer allowed to stop on the islands of the CBBT, which can be pretty good birding.  So I just kept my eyes open as I crossed the mouth of the Chesapeake just in case something nice was flying by.  My first target when I got back onto land was Vesper Sparrow.  There had been 2 reports of as many as 45 Vespers in a couple fields along Arlington Road.  Though there were no details, and the reports were now 2-3 weeks old, so I was less optimistic about this one.  I pulled into the first spot and found an excellent set of fields with short-cut sparse vegetation - perfect for Vespers.  I parked on the shoulder and started walking along the edge of the field hoping to run into some sparrows.  But after a 20-minute walk I had just 1 Song.  As I headed back to the car a car pulled up and asked what I was doing.  He nicely said it was private land and suggested that I head out. 

With that experience I just birded from the road at the second spot, and found a couple Horned Larks, but still no sparrows.  Then I drove some nearby roads with good sparrow habitat though struck out there too.  And of course, I kept my eyes open for Turkeys though with similar results.

It was now late in the afternoon and I hoped I could reverse my latest streak and end my day on a high note.  My last target was American Woodcock at the Eastern Shore of VA NWR.  There was one recent Woodcock report from the refuge, with 13 birds displaying at dusk.  And although that report was now nearly 3 weeks old, I expected that they were nesting in the area and would still be active during my visit.  I arrived at the refuge at about 4:30 and did a little birding around the wetlands and woods while waiting for dusk. 

A general rule of thumb is that Woodcocks begin to call 20 minutes after sunset.  Sunset that day was 5:45 so I likely had to wait till just after 6 for some sightings.  As sunset neared I positioned myself along the south side of Hallett Circle in what looked like nice Woodcock habitat. 

A nice flight of Robins and Blackbirds heading to roost and a distant calling Clapper Rail kept me occupied while waiting for my target birds to wake up.  Then at 6:06, 21 minutes after sunset, I heard the twittering flight call of a Woodcock in the distance (statebird #4).  The rule of thumb is accurate once again.  As I drove out I passed through more good habitat along Fitchett’s Road and heard 2 birds “peenting”, and saw 3 others in the waning light.  As I left the refuge I got this shot of the moon rising over one of the Woodcock’s fields.

VA was my 29th eastern state with Woodcocks, but I still need them in a number of states mostly near the western edge of their range.

That gave me 4 of 7 targets on the day – not great, but I’ll take it.

February 17 – Seawatch and Drive Home

My only planned stop of the day was an extended seawatch at Little Island Park.  The key attraction here was a long fishing pier from which numerous reports had been posted on eBird.  Unlike some other fishing piers that open later in the morning (like Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head, NC that opens at 9), the pier at Little Island is not gated so you can access the pier at dawn.  It’s often the case that seabird movement is best in the early morning, and that was typically the situation at Little Island with best numbers often from seawatches starting at sunrise.  So my plan was to start at sunrise and stay at least a couple hours before making the long drive home.

I arrived at 6:45 to this spectacular sunrise.

And after pausing to take in the view, bird activity quickly started to pickup around me.  Soon the sky was full of Gannets flying south.  Many were right overhead and some were calling – I’ve never heard Gannets call except at a breeding colony in Newfoundland.  And although there were some diving birds, most were just heading south.  The flight continued until 7:05, and over those 20 minutes I estimated 10 birds were passing by every second for an astounding total of 12,000 Gannets!  Here’s a typical picture of that amazing flight.

The rest of the time during my seawatch there were hundreds if not thousands in view, but they seemed to be milling about rather than heading south.

But Gannets weren’t the only birds heading south.  There was a steady stream of other species heading south, dominated by Red-throated Loons, Red-breasted Mergansers, Cormorants, and Black Scoters.  At one point I spotted a pair of birds flying together – the lead bird was obviously a Red-throated Loon.  But the second bird was about a third smaller, and although roughly the same shape it had a more arched body, a faster fluttering wingbeat, and white patches in the secondaries – I had a Red-necked Grebe (statebird #5).  I was able to watch this pair for 10-15 seconds as they passed by to the south.  VA was the 5th state where I’ve seen this species as a rarity south of its normal wintering range.

Then there was the alcid show.  Although most of the seabirds were flying southbound, I started to notice singles or pairs of birds heading north.  These northbound birds invariably turned out to be Razorbills, some flying quite close to shore.  And then while watching one Razorbill heading north, a much smaller alcid passed through my scope field heading south.  I had a Dovekie, looking like a football with no extended head and neck, and a whirr of wings (statebird #6).  Soon thereafter a second Dovekie passed by – luckily these birds were rather close providing good extended scope views.  I had 2 other likely Dovekies that flew by farther out.  Although the range maps show Dovekie wintering as far south as North Carolina, they aren’t often seen from shore.

After about 2 hours the activity had slowed and I still needed to make the long drive home.  So I decided to call it quits with these very rough estimates –

Black Scoter – 100

Red-breasted Merganser – 135

Red-necked Grebe - 1

Dovekie – 2

Razorbill – 31 (exact count)

Red-throated Loon – 175

Gannet – 12,000

Double-crested Cormorant – 110

Truly a spectacular seawatch!

But the trip wasn’t over quite yet.  My route home included a couple hours of driving time through agricultural fields in southeastern VA – more Turkey habitat.  But I wasn’t too hopeful given my track record.  And as I neared the NC line I had pretty much given up.  But this time the “birding gods” were looking out for me.  Just 20 minutes before crossing back into NC, while driving on US 58 in Brodnax, I spotted a group of 8 Turkeys in an adjacent field.  And 10 minutes later I spotted another small flock (statebird #7).  Until then my daily VA Needs Alerts would include a dozen or more Turkey sightings scattered across the state – probably the most common species I still needed in VA.  Thankfully my Needs Alerts will no longer be dominated by Turkey sightings.  I only need Turkey in 6 more states plus DC.

A perfect ending to an excellent trip!  With 7 new birds that brings my VA list to 267.  The link to the eBird Trip report for this VA portion of my coastal trip is inserted below –

https://ebird.org/tripreport/39066

Can’t wait to go back to the VA coast again, likely next winter.  Or earlier if there are some nice rarities to chase.

Bullock’s Oriole - After a Bit of Prodding, Mecklenburg County, NC, February 12, 2021

This winter there have been no less than 3 Bullock’s Orioles in NC.  Each has been a long-staying feeder bird which eventually became quite reliable.  But the closest was nearly a 2-hour drive away near Charlotte.  Couldn’t quite justify the long ride and standing out in the cold staring at a feeder.  I’ve had a lot of experience looking for rarities at feeders and have decided it’s typically my least favorite type of birding.  Often you have to spend an extended amount of time staring at a boring feeder looking at chickadees and titmice.  And even if the target does show up, it’s not like the bird is unexpected.  Not to mention your emotions if the bird doesn’t show up.  For example, twice I’ve spent an entire day unsuccessfully looking for a Bullock’s Oriole at a feeder (in NH and ME.)  It’s a no-win kind of situation. 

But then again, as hockey great Wayne Gretzky once said – “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”.  Or if Wayne Gretzky was a birder he might have said – “You miss 100% of the birds you don’t chase after”.  Despite the Great One's advice, I decided I’d just wait for one to show up somewhere closer.

But then on February 11 Simon Thompson posted an excellent picture of a Bullock’s Oriole in Mecklenburg County saying “this fellow is super reliable”.  If I were to chase after it I’d have to figure out how to look for the bird.  With some quick eBird research I found that the bird was at an eBird hotspot very nicely titled – “stakeout Bullock's Oriole, Huntersville (2020-2021) Call or text 704-578-4671 for Permission”.  I texted the homeowner to get permission, and found out that the feeders were visible from outside – no need to enter their house during these Covid times.  And I noticed that my birding friend Bill Hooker had just seen the bird as well.  Bill had been trying to talk me into go after an earlier Bullock's, and said this bird was truly quite reliable.  I finally had exceeded the “activation energy” needed to chase after the bird. 

I was out of the house early on the 12th and pulled into the stakeout spot by 8 AM.  I drove around back and was greeted by a large flock of least 75 Pine Siskins at the feeders.  Pretty impressive!  The Oriole was being seen feeding on an orange attached to one of the feeder poles, and sometimes seen perched in trees nearby.  It was raining a bit so luckily I could see the feeders right from the driver’s seat in the dry and warm car.  I positioned my car to see the orange feeder as well as all the rest of the feeding station to begin my vigil.  With no Oriole at the feeder, I scanned the trees, but with no luck.  Then I looked back at the orange and there was the male Bullock’s Oriole chowing down.  I only had to wait 5 minutes before the bird arrived.  It stayed there for several minutes before it flew off around the corner of the house.  Talk about being reliable…

Bullock’s Oriole was #311 for my NC statelist.  In my statebird map below the blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen this species in its regular range.  And NC is now my 6th eastern state where I’ve seen it as a rarity (the tan states).

 After spending more time watching the Siskins, including finding a Purple Finch mixed in, I contacted Bill Hooker and met up with him for some quick birding in Rutherford County on the way home.  We are both working on our county lists there, and picked up 2 rare Eurasian Collared-Doves in “downtown” Ellenboro, and Coot and Ruddy Duck at the lake at Isothermal Community College.  A nice ending to a very nice morning.

Carolina Bird Club Winter Meeting, Litchfield Beach, SC and In Route to the Coast, January 2020

The winter meeting of the Carolina Bird Club (CBC) was scheduled for the upper SC coast, based in Litchfield Beach, on January 17-18, 2020.  I’ve always loved coastal birding, and really miss not being able to bird the coast regularly now that I’ve moved to the mountains of NC.  So it was a no-brainer to sign up to attend the winter meeting.  And the trips I chose especially focused on birding at or near the coast.  I had many potential new statebirds to hope for during the CBC event, 5 of which had been reported recently.  Plus of course I’d have the opportunity to bird while heading to the coast, and on my way back home, especially if I came back using a route through NC.  With a lot of research, I developed an itinerary giving me the opportunity for 4 recently reported targets in SC on my way to the coast, and 9 potential birds in NC on my way back.  Of course I wouldn’t find everything, so I realistically hoped for perhaps 5 new birds for my SC list, and 5 others for my NC list over the long weekend.

And regardless of the number of new birds I might add to my lists, I was really looking forward to an extended birding trip on the coast.

This blog post covers the SC portion of the trip; the next post summarizes the NC portion.

In Route to the Meeting, SC, January 16

My first stop on the way to the coast was the Santee NWR Bluff Unit.  For some time, numerous Sandhill Cranes had been detected in the fields at the north end of this area.  Though their numbers had dropped recently, and perhaps they were mostly being seen in the late afternoon using the spot as an evening roost.  A Short-eared Owl was also regular there for a while, but had not been reported in the last few days before my trip.  Plus there were a couple reports of Red-breasted Nuthatch at the site, though this has been a very slow winter for this species.  All things considered, I just hoped to add the Cranes at this stop.

I arrived at the Bluff Unit right on time, and after a short walk through the woods I reached the observation platform to look out over the fields.  And just then there was an explosion of birds flying over the fields – an Eagle had flown low over the area scattering all the ducks.  I tried to scan through all the birds in the air hoping to find Cranes as well, but to no avail.  But then with a quick binocular scan of the distant fields I spotted too gray dots, confirmed with a scope view as 2 Sandhill Cranes foraging in the fields (SC statebird #1).  Just 2 birds though – not the dozens reported a couple weeks earlier.  Good thing that I found them quickly because that would give me more time for future stops.

My statebird map for Sandhill Crane 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 still need Sandhills in a few more of their regular states, but have seen in in quite a number of eastern states where it is a rarity.  Or perhaps where this expanding species used to be a rarity.

Just after I came down from the platform I ran into SC birder Paul Serridge who was also heading out to try for the Cranes.  He was able re-find that same pair of Cranes, though they flew off just a couple minutes later.  We were both very lucky.  It turned out that Paul’s later targets were the same as mine, so we agreed to stay in touch during those next stops and hoped we would run into each other again later in the day.

My next stop was in Hanahan to try for a pair of Limpkins that had been seen in a wetlands there since last summer.  They are seen either on three small islands close to shore, or foraging on the back lawns of nearby homes.  However, despite their long stay, and the fact that most observations are at a close distance, they are often very difficult to see, and many birders have missed them.  Within minutes of my arrival I did a quick scan of the islands and lawns, but found no Limpkins.  The vegetation on the islands was very thick, so it would be easy for them to hide if they were more than just a couple feet from the island edges.  Now I can see why so many birders have missed them.

An hour had passed and I had many fruitless scans of the vegetation - I was thinking that this would turn out to be an unsuccessful search.  But then an Osprey flew low overhead scattering some waders nearby.  And then I heard a single muffled call that I thought was a Limpkin.  A minute later I heard another call and this time I knew I was hearing a Limpkin.  I peered into the area where I thought the call had come from, and there were 2 Limpkins walking in the thick vegetation of the closest island (SC statebird #2).  I bet during my entire first hour there the birds were perched in a thick tree at the end of the island, seen hear in my iPhone picture, just a few feet away but completely invisible.

I called Paul and alerted him to the sighting, and stayed with the birds until he arrived 20 minutes later.  During that time the birds stayed in the open and were quite tame.  I took this shot of one bird by holding my phone up to my binocs.

Next Paul and I were both off to the Santee Coastal Reserve to try for a Cinnamon Teal that had been seen off and on there for a couple months.  Though once again this target was not easily seen, and had not been reported for about a week.  On the way to the impoundments at the Big Well Trail we made a short stop in the pines and quickly spotted a pair of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers.  Not new for my list but it’s always nice to see this endangered species.  I wish we were as lucky with the Teal.  Although I spent 3 hours at the impoundments, the Cinnamon Teal was a no-show.  The bird wasn’t seen the next day on the CBC trip to the spot as well, so maybe it had moved on.

Two new statebirds on day 1 – a great start on the trip.

Upper SC Coast, CBC Meeting, January 17

For the first day of the CBC meeting I had chosen an all-day trip to the upper end of the SC coast, especially focused on seawatches from fishing piers.  Our first coastal stop was at the Cherry Grove Fishing Pier in North Myrtle Beach.  Soon after we arrived one of our birders said he had a Swan swimming on the ocean of all places.  I admit I was skeptical, and initial views of what the birder was looking at made me think it was more likely a white float of some type.  But soon it turned and in profile I could see it was indeed a Swan.  Now what type?  The bird was really far away, and the heat shimmer was difficult, but at one point I saw a hint of orange on the bill making it a Mute Swan (SC statebird #3).  An amazing bird to find on a seawatch.  I’ve now seen this species in quite a number of Midwest and eastern states as it continues to expand from what was formerly a rather restricted range in the northeast.

Other notable birds were a few Black Scoters, and several Red-throated Loons.  But all in all this was a pretty slow stop.

Luckily birding really picked up at the 2^nd Street Pier in Myrtle Beach.  Again there were more Black Scoters – perhaps 200 of them.  With 1 nearby White-winged as well.  Though no Surf’s – my only SC Scoter target.  At one point as I scanned one of the distant Scoter flocks I spotted a distant Jaeger flying right to left.  I was able to get many of the birders on it, and we concluded it was slim enough to be a Parasitic Jaeger (SC statebird #4).  Later I found 1 or perhaps 2 others chasing distant gulls in classic Jaeger fashion.  I love seawatches!  I’ve seen this species in a number of states bordering the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific, but still need it in a number of other coastal states.

We ended the day with about 80 species even though we did minimal landbirding.  All in all an excellent day.

Huntington Beach State Park, SC, CBC Meeting, January 18

Huntington Beach State Park (HBSP) is certainly the premier birding location on the upper SC coast, with a diverse set of habitats resulting in a long list of birds to search for.  I had signed up for the all-day trip to HBSP, which would include considerable time at the beach and looking over the ocean where several potential statebirds had either been seen recently, or could otherwise be possible.

For that reason I was happy to hear that our day would start on the beach.  Our plan was to make the 1.3 mile-long walk to the jetty, birding along the way of course.  And then we would spend time at the jetty where often the best birds are found.  Though the downside was the walk to the jetty that day would be facing into about a 20 knot sustained wind.  At least the temps were in the 40s so it wasn’t too cold. 

As we started our walk up the beach we could see a major movement of birds heading northeast roughly parallel to the beach flying right to left as we looked out over the ocean.  Every stop included many Gannets, gulls, and terns, and a few Loons, almost all heading in that same direction.  It was for that reason that, at one of our stops, 1 specific bird flying caught my attention – it was flying southwest (left to right) and reasonably close to shore.  And more importantly, it was flying with a classic Shearwater flight – flying in almost a “sine curve” approach first low then higher, then low again, etc.  And almost never flapping.  I had a Shearwater, but what kind?  In my roughly 20 seconds of viewing time I could see that it was a uniform dark brown/gray above, and pale below.  That would make it a Manx Shearwater (SC statebird #5).  I didn’t realize till later that Manx is the only realistic Atlantic Shearwater to be seen as a wintering bird off the southern Atlantic coast, certainly consistent with my ID.  That was a surprise not at all on my radar screen.

After nearly an hour fighting the wind, we finally reached the jetty.  And just as we were starting to set up our scopes a birder already there came over and said he had just found a Black Guillemot!  We started to set up our scopes to start to search out over the inlet but the birder said there was no need to - the bird was right below us at the edge of the jetty.  Sure enough, no more than a couple feet off the rocks, and just 20 ft down the jetty, was a winter plumaged Black Guillemot (SC statebird #6).  An extreme rarity for SC, though a bird I’ve seen many times in New England.

Next we turned our focus to the inlet and the jetty on the other side.  Soon we spotted a pair of Scoters – 1 was a female Black, and eventually we were able to tell that the other was a female Surf Scoter (SC statebird #7).  I’ve seen this species in nearly every state where it’s regular and a number of inland states where it is a rarity (in fact it can be seen in every inland state as a rarity).  And SC is now my 20th state where I’ve swept the 3 Scoter species.  

Unfortunately, the Common Eider and Harlequin Duck seen here earlier in the winter had moved on.  And only 1 person noted a fly-by Long-tailed Duck.  I’ll have to wait for future trips to try to add those 3 to my SC list.

We made it back to the cars, and pulled out our sandwiches for a quick lunch break.  We strategized about the afternoon’s activities, and I mentioned that White Pelican was one of my targets, 1 of which was routinely being seen in wetlands at the park.  Not 10 minutes later I heard a young birder in our group call out my name – he had spotted a White Pelican flying overhead.  I got a brief view as it soared overhead, and then it was soon out of sight (SC statebird #8).  Sure enough when we birded the wetlands the Pelican was no longer there – that was most likely the bird we saw overhead at lunchtime.  Boy were we lucky.

Afternoon walks through woodlands yielded a number of species but nothing of note.  That is until I spotted a perched Buteo at a distance.  It was warm chocolate brown below, with just a bit of white streaking in the upper chest, and a dark tail.  We initially thought it was a first year Bald Eagle, but it was way too small.  And upon closer look the tail was somewhat lighter than the chest, with darker bands, and a white terminal tail band.  I took these pretty miserable phonescoped photos.

We decided that it was an immature “Western” Red-tailed Hawk.  Certainly not a new species but an extreme rarity for SC.

We finished our trip with an amazing 86 species – what a day!

In Route From the Meeting in SC, January 19

My birding plan heading back from the CBC meeting was to focus on NC targets – with a first day on the coast and the next day at inland sites.  So I developed an extensive NC itinerary to either chase after recently reported rarities, or to bird good birding locations with the potential for other targets. 

But all that was pending any rarities that might be spotted at the CBC or nearby in SC that could be chaseable.  The only CBC rarity to chase was the Guillemot which I already saw.  So what about others in nearby SC?  It turned out that earlier in the week news got out that a Bullock’s Oriole was being seen at a feeder in Pineville (actually not too far from the Limpkins – if only it had been spotted earlier).  And then there was a somewhat cryptic report of an Ash-throated Flycatcher near Charleston.  With no follow-up reports of the Flycatcher, and few details, I decided to pass on that one.  But the Oriole continued, and a quick call to the homeowners revealed that it was quite regular.  So I decided to try for the Bullock’s Oriole as my first stop before embarking on the NC part of the trip.  It would mean a fair amount of back-tracking, meaning I wouldn’t get to NC till late morning, but I didn’t want to pass up on a chance at the extremely rare Bullock’s.

I was out of the hotel pre-dawn, and at 8 AM pulled into the driveway of the homeowners hosting the Oriole.  Actually, they not only had the Bullock’s but 4 Baltimore Orioles as well.  The homeowners couldn’t have been friendlier – hosting me on their back porch to watch the small jelly feeder hanging from the roof.  The Bullock’s was there just 10 minutes before I arrived so I was optimistic.  But 40 minutes later we still had no Orioles of any type.  Finally, a couple Baltimore’s stopped in to feed.  And then I spotted the Bullock’s just a couple feet from the feeder – an adult male in beautiful plumage (SC statebird #9).  It fed on the jelly for a minute or so, and then was off again.  SC was my fifth state where I’ve seen this species as a rarity, along with all its regular states out west.

What a great way to end the SC portion of the trip – 9 new statebirds among 136 total species.  That gives me 262 species for my SC list.

See my next blog post for the NC portion of the January 2020 trip. 

Bullock’s Oriole, Hampton, NH, December 2015

Back in January 2002 a Bullock’s Oriole was reported at a feeder in Dover, NH.  Although it had been coming to the feeder for some time, it took a while for the news to get out.  A couple of birders who were able to try for it the first day it was reported got good views of the bird.  Unfortunately they were the last birders to see it - I was among a group of many birders trying for it the next day unsuccessfully. 

Fast forward 13+ years later - a report came across the NH listserve of a young male Bullock’s at a feeder in Hampton.  And similar to the Dover sighting, it had been coming to a feeder for about 3 weeks, though it was very irregular.  I couldn’t get there for a couple of days, but when multiple positive sightings were posted over the next 2 days, and birders were seeing it with only minimal wait times, I was optimistic that I would find it on the 3rd day.  Then again, I still vividly remembered my failed NH Bullock’s Oriole attempt in 2002.  I contacted the homeowner the night before to give me access to his backyard, and I was ready to go.

I arrived at 9 AM and was immediately greeted by the most friendly homeowner.  Although he welcomed me to try for the bird he mentioned he had not seen it yet that morning.  I started to get my bearings.  The last couple days the Oriole had been seen in the backyard where the feeders were (though it was not actually seen at the feeders), in trees behind the backyard, in trees in the front yard, and in brush south of the yard.  In other words it could be almost anywhere.  It turned out that the backyard was surrounded by a high wooden fence, which meant you could only see in the yard by passing through the garage and then actually standing in the yard.  And the front and side yards weren’t visible from the backyard, though the trees behind the backyard were visible from there.  With no other birders there at the time with whom to share information, that meant I might need to move from spot to spot to keep an eye on all its possible perches.  I decided to start in the backyard and take it from there.

In the first several minutes there was a fair amount of activity with a number of Chickadees and Titmice coming to the feeder, and several Blue Jays in trees just outside the yard.  But no sign of the target bird.  I then walked to the front yard and spent a few minutes scanning the trees and nearby brush, but again no Oriole.  So it was back to the backyard to wait some more.  I had now been there about 30 minutes, and was wondering if this would be a case of “déjà vu all over again” - remembering the missed Bullock's in NH in 2002, as well as the one in CT that required 3 different tries before I finally saw it.  Then I noticed some movement of a larger bird in the trees behind the yard.  I quickly put my binocs on the bird and there it was – the Bullock’s Oriole!  It eventually made its way to the backyard and flew into an apple tree there.  It hopped over to one of the two apples still hanging on the tree, and ate on it for several minutes, giving nice views.  After a couple minutes it flew around to the side yard out of view.  A bit later it reappeared, and flew to the ground in the backyard eating on some apples that had fallen from the tree.  A few seconds later it flew up into the trees behind the yard, then flew farther back into the woods, and then out of site.

Bullock’s Oriole was #358 for me in NH, and a remarkable 4th new statebird for NH in 2015.  With a total statelist of only 400 in NH, I’ve now seen nearly 90% of the total list – by far my best list of any state.  NH was my 4th state where I’ve seen this species as a rarity (along with MA, CT and PA), as well as 17 more expected states out west (see my statebird map below).