South Florida and Southeastern US Trip, January 6-16, 2025, Part 2 of 3

In November 2024 I started planning a mid-winter trip to south FL trip focused on specialties, exotics, and rarities.  And speaking of rarities, there were 3 mega rarities being seen – Bananaquit, Yellow-headed Caracara and Large-billed Tern.  I mentioned the upcoming trip to my good birding friend Bill Hooker, and he expressed interest in coming along.  Soon we were thinking about a trip for 4 of us –including Bill and his wife Anita, plus Bill’s friend Bob Cowan.  Not only were all of us looking for lifebirds and statebirds, but Bill was also working on his county lists, and Bob was embarking on a 2025 big year.  Plus, Anita was great at photographing our target birds.  So there were lots of potential targets for all of us.  And speaking of state and county birds, we decided to drive to south FL instead of flying so we could work on our lists along the way.

After perhaps 200 hours of research, I mapped out a route that would take us down the coast of SC and GA, through inland northern and central FL, then onto south FL.  Then we would return along the Atlantic coast of FL and back through GA and SC.  We tentatively planned it as an 11-day trip including 5 days in south FL.  Though we included more than enough flexibility to pursue any newly reported target birds.  With this itinerary I hoped for 4 new statebirds in SC, 2 in GA, and 10 new statebirds in FL.  And perhaps 2 of those new FL birds would be lifebirds as well.  Though unfortunately one of the initial triggers for our trip, the Bananaquit, was no longer being seen.

See my previous blogpost for a summary of the first part of the trip on January 6-9. 

1/10 – South Florida

After 1,000 miles of driving and 4 days of birding, we finally made it to south FL!  We left our Homestead hotel pre-dawn and made our way to Lucky Hammock in the Frog Pond WMA just outside Everglades NP.  I chose this spot for sunrise birding since recent checklists featured numerous passerine species including one checklist with 8 species of warblers.  Our walk to the hammock was along a paved road through grassy and brushy habitat that was full of birds.  Early on our walk we encountered a group of 4 Spizella sparrows that only gave fleeting views initially.  My first looks made me think of Chipping, but later we got much better views of the birds giving classic head patterns of Clay-colored Sparrows (FL statebird #3).  Here is one of Anita’s shots of one of the birds.

Although Clay-colored is typically a central continent bird, it is prone to vagrancy to both coasts. Florida was my 12th state where I’ve seen this species as a rarity. 

We continued to bird the brush along the way, and eventually made our way to the hammock.  One of the first birds we saw there was a Phoebe flushed out of the woods by another flycatcher.  This latter bird perched briefly in the open, and we quickly knew it was a Myiarchus flycatcher, but which species?  The yellow belly was not as bright as a Great Crested.  And its bill and head were large with a strong crested look eliminating Ash-throated.  We had a rare Brown-crested Flycatcher!  (FL statebird #4)  Although I still need it in 2 states in its regular range in the southwest, FL was my 2nd state for it as a rarity.

On our way back we not only re-found the Clay-colored Sparrows, but also found a quite cooperative Lincoln’s Sparrow and a beautiful female Painted Bunting.  This certainly was a good choice to start the day.

Next we headed to the trail along the L31W Canal a short distance away.  Just after we pulled into the parking lot we spotted a pair of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers as they flew to the wires.  These birds were joined by 3 others, and all 5 birds foraged together for some time, at one point all perched together on a small bush like Christmas tree ornaments.  A Tropical Kingbird was nearby as well.

As we walked up the trail we noticed quite a bit of activity in the adjacent tree line.  We started to pick up several warblers including a male Yellow Warbler which would be of the “Golden” or “Caribbean” subspecies.  Maybe that one will be split from the “Northern” group some day.  Later I spotted a large bird with a long tail fly into the thicket.  The view was brief but it gave me a cuckoo vibe with a buffy wash below.  It could well have been a Mangrove Cuckoo, but the look was far too brief and we couldn’t re-find it.

Then our focus turned toward to the sky as a flock of Turkey Vultures passed overhead.  Mixed in the flock were some smaller hawks, including 2 Swainson’s Hawks and a dark phase Short-tailed Hawk.  And in the distance, we spotted a White-tailed Kite hovering over a field.  That was a nice sweep of the hoped-for raptors in the area.

Our next stop was Snake Bight trail in the Everglades NP.  This is a mile and a half trail through excellent mangrove habitat that can be good for any number of warblers and White-crowned Pigeons, with an outside chance for Mangrove Cuckoo.  And you can get lucky with waders from the boardwalk at the end.  The good news was that we had few if any mosquitoes.  The bad news was that the trail wasn’t particularly birdy, though we did have our only Black-throated Blue and Northern Waterthrushes of the trip, and a nice Blue-headed Vireo.  The bay at the end of the trail had numerous waders, but they were far out in the distance.  Though we were able to spot a Yellow-crowned Night Heron and a Lesser Black-backed Gull on the flats.  The bromeliads along the trail were also quite interesting, including this one in bloom.

A quick stop at Flamingo didn’t reveal very much, so we quickly headed off to our last stop in the Everglades - Mahogany Hammock.  Here we hoped for perhaps a perched Barred Owl or White-crowned Pigeon, and maybe some wintering warblers.  We ran into a small flock of warblers, including our first Black-throated Green.  And we briefly got excited about this perched bird.

But it turned out to be a Red-shouldered Hawk.

Just after leaving the Everglades we spotted a flock of White Ibis feeding in a small town park and decided to pull in.  Here we added our first of many Muscovy Ducks for the trip.  Anita captured them in this picture as they waddled by.

And a short distance down the road I spotted a pair of Common Mynas sitting on the pavement at a gas station.  We pulled in allowing Anita to get this shot of one of the tame birds.

Nice to end the day with 2 of our south FL targets, even though they are introduced species.

1/11 – South Florida

Our first stop of the day was at Larry Manfredi’s house in Homestead where his feeding station is well-known for its Shiny Cowbirds.  Although we had them 2 days earlier at the rice mill, we weren’t allowed to take any photos there, so we hoped for more opportunities at the feeders.  We also would be on the lookout for a Bell’s Vireo that frequently comes to the yard.  Soon after our arrival the Shiny Cowbirds started coming in, nicely captured in these photos by Anita.

Several male and female Painted Buntings provided nice eye candy as well.  But alas, we couldn’t locate the Vireo.

When the feeder activity slowed we started to share our birding plans for the next few days with Larry.  After leaving his yard, we planned to spend the day on the Keys for targets like Junglefowl, Frigatebird, Great White Heron and White-crowned Pigeon.  Then the next 2 days, the 12th and 13th, would be in and around Miami for parrots and parakeets and other landbirds.  Larry is an accomplished guide and we started to entertain whether we should hire him to help with our Miami searches.  Unfortunately, he wasn’t available on the 12th and 13th, but was available for the rest of the day on the 11th.  So we decided to change our itinerary, and hired Larry to show us around in south Miami that day.  Unfortunately, we ended up not getting to the Keys – countable Red Junglefowl will have to wait until a later trip. 

Our first stop was Coral Reef Park where quite a number of Psittacids had been reported.  The park was full of people watching soccer games, so not exactly a quiet environment.  But soon after we pulled in we heard and saw a small group of Blue-and-yellow Macaws, captured by Anita in these shots.  (Lifebird #1, FL statebird #5) 

Soon thereafter Larry put us on a Limpkin, which would surprisingly be our only one of the trip.  And there were several Egyptian Geese in the park, including this one on a nest in a planter right along one of the paths.

With no other parrots or parakeets to be heard (or at least loud enough to be heard over the soccer games), we moved on to Pine Woods Park.  My research had shown that this was the best spot for Scaly-breasted Munias, but despite lots of time combing through the tall grasses we were unsuccessful.  But all was not lost, as we found a pair of beautiful Spot-breasted Orioles, which posed most cooperatively for us.

Next we were on to the Biltmore Hotel (no, not related to Asheville’s Biltmore Estate) for its resident flock of Red-masked Parakeets.  Just as we arrived at the hotel a flock of about 25 parakeets flew by us.  (FL statebird #6)  A couple minutes later we found out what had spooked them – a Peregrine Falcon flew by and landed on the hotel.

With the Peregrine seemingly content on its perch, and the parakeets not likely to return anytime soon, we decided to head off to our next spot which was the parking lot for the Publix in Dadeland.  As soon as we pulled in we could hear a large group of parakeets calling nearby.  With a bit of searching we found a flock of maybe 30 Mitred Parakeets some 20 stories up in an apartment/condo building to the northeast.  (FL statebird #7)  Apparently, the noisy parakeets were being fed there, perhaps to the chagrin of those living nearby.

 Next we were onto King’s Creek Village in Kendall where Larry was especially hoping for Red-whiskered Bulbuls.  We wandered through the neighborhood a bit, finding some nice passerines like Yellow-throated Vireo and Yellow-throated and Prairie Warblers, but no Bulbuls.  We headed back toward the cars and played some tape and instantly got a response with up to 3 calling birds.  One bird was quite close and I eventually got brief but good views before it took off.

Then we were off to the Miami Executive Airport where we quickly found our key target – Burrowing Owl, with at least 4 right along the entrance road. 

Plus an unexpected flock of Monk Parakeets feeding on weed seeds right along the road as shown in this picture taken by Anita.

Our last planned stop of the day was at dusk just outside Everglades NP for Lesser Nighthawks.  But since we had some time to kill we headed back to Larry’s yard for a second chance at the Bell’s Vireo, but again struck out.  A consolation was watching small groups of Western Kingbirds flying by, totaling 11 birds.

As sunset neared we headed to the C111 canal and drove north a short distance on the dirt road along the canal to a location that give good views of the fields to the west to look for he Nighthawks.  While we waited we watched quite a nice White-tailed Kite show, with 5 in view at one time.  At sunset (5:50 PM that day) we started to watch in earnest for the Nighthawks.  And at 6 PM we saw the first Nighthawks flying low over the vegetation far in the distance.  On one scan of the horizon I counted 27 birds visible at one time – likely the total number of birds was well above that.  Eventually a few came reasonably close to us, giving much better views.  Then at 6:15 PM, when it was almost totally dark, Bill picked out a Barn Owl flying by low over the nearby fields.  Luckily, they look nearly white or otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to see it in the dim light.

What a great day we had with Larry!  We certainly wouldn’t have been nearly as successful finding so many of our targets without him.

1/12 – South Florida

One of the targets we missed when we were in the Everglades was White-crowned Pigeon.  And with no planned stops in the Keys, their isolated locations in the Miami area were our last chance for this south FL specialty.  Larry suggested that we drive through the neighborhood just west of AD Barnes Park at dawn to look for them.  Taking Larry’s suggestion, we arrived in the neighborhood at 7 and started to drive slowly through the neighborhood.  There were several canals lined with tall trees in the area, so we initially focused on roads along the canals thinking they might be perched in the trees.  Then we just started randomly driving the suburban streets.  At one point we found 3 Red Junglefowl, though eBird declared that these birds are non-countable “Escapees”.  After about 30 minutes my optimism was waning, but just then we spotted a group of large dark pigeons perched on an overhead wire.  With a quick binocular view we knew we had our target  – 5 birds cooperatively perched on utility wires.

Next we were onto nearby Brewer Park, aka the “Miller Drive Roost”.  The general guidance was to get there as early as possible to look for birds coming out of nearby roosts.  We arrived at 7:40 and quickly heard a group of 4 Blue-and-yellow Macaws, but no other Psittacids.  We took a short walk around the neighborhood, hearing our only Indian Peafowl of the trip, and finding some nice warblers including our only Cape May of the trip.

By the time we returned to the park it had warmed up and the sun had come out, and we wondered if that might result in more activity.  Sure enough, just minutes later we had small groups of Orange-winged Amazons totaling 8 birds fly overhead.  (Lifebird #2, FL statebird #8)  Then a group of 4 Red-masked Parakeets flew by.  Followed by 30 Monk Parakeets in 3 flocks.  Interestingly all birds were flying due north.

Next we were onto one of the least attractive eBird hotspots I’ve been to - Cortadito Cowbirds.  This was simply a shopping center parking lot, where Bronzed Cowbirds are often seen.  We wandered the lot for maybe 30 minutes, finding 2 Common Mynas, and a small flock of Monk Parakeets, but no Bronzed Cowbirds.  At one point I did have 2 cowbirds fly overhead but they disappeared behind the stores without IDs.  One consolation was seeing a flock of 6 Yellow-chevroned Parakeets fly by with their classic whirr of yellow and green wings.  (FL statebird #9)

We also made stops at AD Barnes Park and Matheson Hammock, but birding was slow as we approached mid-day.  However, we did have another Red Junglefowl at AD Barnes, but once again eBird declared it to be non-countable.

Our next stop was a return to Pine Woods Park for a second try for the Munias.  Unfortunately, we came up empty.  However, we did have one good bird there.  As we walked along on the trail through this dry grassy area we noticed a large white wading bird up ahead.  All of us initially thought it was a Great Egret, but upon closer review the bird had yellowish legs – it was a “Great White” Heron.  This bird should be down in the Keys feeding in saltwater mangrove swamps, not in a dry grassy field in south Miami.  As we watched it walking through the tall grasses the bird captured a large lizard and eventually was able to swallow it.  Yum…

The last stop was at the Oleta River SP for a long-shot try for a Yellow-headed Caracara.  This South American species has been seen in the area sporadically since 2022.  Although the bird has been seen by many, there have been many more unsuccessful attempts.  While doing my research I noticed reports by birders who took more than 10 tries to find it.  Those that have found it recently have often spotted it feeding either at dumpsters or trash cans.  And the bird is more likely in the evening at Oleta River SP, and in the morning across the river at Haulover Park.  So we thought we’d give this bird up to 2 tries – at Oleta River the evening of the 12th, and if we’re unsuccessful, again the morning of the 13th at Haulover Park.

We arrived at Oleta River SP late afternoon and started to get our bearings.  We quickly found the row of dumpsters where the bird was often seen, but all were covered, so there would be no meals there for the Caracara that day.  We then started walking around the pavilions and found open trash cans at most of them.  But the park was full of picnickers on that nice Sunday afternoon and there was a party going on at most every pavilion.  Not exactly likely to be attractive to our bird.  We ended our stay at the Panther Pavillion where the bird was often sighted, and began to see Turkey Vultures feeding at the charcoal grills as the partiers departed, but still no Caracara.  We gave up at 6 when the park closed, and crossed our fingers that our results tomorrow morning would be better.

1/13 – South Florida

We arrived at the southern end of Haulover Park at 6:50 just as it was starting to get light.  There was room for some optimism here since the Caracara had been seen 3 times over the last week in the morning around this southern end of the park.  We started at the bait shop, one of the places it was often seen at dawn, and continued to search the area until about 8.  Then we walked a short distance around the inlet checking the bridge overhead where it had been seen a few days earlier.  Finally, we walked to the picnic area where the bird had been spotted as well, and found a large group of Turkey Vultures and Crows picking at the charcoal grills.  Would the Caracara be mixed in with them?  Alas, it wasn’t to be.  We called it quits at 9, having given it the old college try. 

Now a postscript to the Caracara saga:  the bird was spotted a couple days later at the Panther Pavillion at Oleta River SP near sunset, but only after the birder baited the bird with a rotisserie chicken!  It was hi 11th try for the bird!

I decided to pass on additional possible stops for Psittacids given that we were now past the best early morning time to see them fly from their roosts.  Instead, we headed to a nearby runoff retention pond in Davie where a Neotropic Cormorant had been reported recently.  When we arrived our attention went right to the floating buoy where it liked to perch, and found 2 resting Cormorants, but both were Double-crested.  We found another Double-crested a short distance away but came up empty on the Neotropic.  Though 4 species of shorebirds was a small consolation.

See my next blogpost for a summary of the last third of the trip on January 13-16.

Two New Statebirds and a Third One Clarified, South Carolina Coast, October 17-21, 2022

My wife had been talking about going on a family vacation to the coast of SC for some time.  Ever since I moved from New England I’ve really missed birding the coast, so I was looking forward to spending some time with those coastal birds.  After a bit of research, she settled on a trip to Kiawah Island on the mid-coast in October 2022.  When I heard Kiawah Island I quickly remembered that was the location where a Bar-tailed Godwit overwintered last winter for the first SC state record.  A nice one to look forward to, but would it return this winter?  And even if it did, the bird wasn’t found last winter until October 25, so the bird would have to arrive a bit earlier than last winter.  A long shot but certainly one to hope for.

But my research of possible new statebirds didn’t stop there.  The second key target for the area was Clay-colored Sparrow, which is routinely found in the fall at Fort Moultrie just an hour’s drive from Kiawah.  This one too I remembered from last year.  On my way to a birding trip on the GA coast in September 2021 I had initially planned a stop at Fort Moultrie for the Clay-coloreds.  But they weren’t reported the week of my trip so I passed on them last year.  Once again, I needed my target species to return this year.

My last potential target was a bit complicated.  I’ve birded the southeast Atlantic coast for many years; in fact many decades.  Much of my coastal birding time predates the split of the Sharp-tailed Sparrow into Saltmarsh and Nelson’s Sparrows.  So when the split occurred I simply had Sharp-tailed Sparrow on my statelist for each of the coastal states.  Unfortunately, back then I did not look close enough at the sparrows to note the differences, so I have no idea if I saw either one or both species.  And both are present in SC at the same time of the year, so the timing of my past trips doesn’t help me to determine which species I may have seen.  So for now, I arbitrarily put Saltmarsh on my SC state list.  And when I got back to Spartina marshes on the SC coast, if I saw a Nelson’s that one would replace Saltmarsh on my list.  And I would still have to see both species in order to have a net addition to my SC statelist.  Make sense?

As the trip neared it was time to fine-tune my research.  First the good news about the Bar-tailed Godwit – it was re-found on September 18 more than a month before it appeared last year.  Once again it was near the east end of Kiawah Island near the Ocean Course (or “OC” as the locals call it) golf course property.  This was private property, as was the entire island.  But once you’re on the island successfully you can access the golf course.  Now the bad news – it was not being seen reliably, and in fact was not reported after September 22.  But not to worry – it was spotted again on October 13 “near the spit”.  Suddenly I was quite about more optimistic.  I reached out to one of my local birding friends, Nate Watkins, who was working at the banding stations on Kiawah.  Nate agreed to go with me to try for the Godwit so I was good to go.

There was similar good news for the Clay-colored Sparrows.  Right on schedule they showed up again at Fort Moultrie starting on September 13 with regular reports of up to 3 birds continuing through October 15.  I had contacted local birder Craig Watson last fall for advice on finding the birds, and did the same again this year.  Craig offered to meet me there and look for the sparrows together.  Another helpful connection!

Then onto the Nelson’s and Saltmarsh sparrows.  Although it was still early in the year for them, several of both had recently been reported in marshes nearby.  Nate also suggested looking for them at the bridge onto Kiawah Island at high tide. 

Everything was falling into place.  With some help from my local birding friends I was hopeful that I would be able to add 3 new birds to my SC statelist.

First up was my try for the Bar-tailed Godwit.  Nate suggested the bird might be easiest to find at high tide.  There was an afternoon high tide the entire week of our trip so that worked out well.  And our schedules meshed on Tuesday the 18th so I picked up Nate at 2 and made the short drive to the OC golf course.  We walked out to the lagoon at the edge of the driving range, but found few shorebirds.  The water level in the lagoon was quite high, likely the result of Hurricane Ian’s passage a couple weeks early.  I tried to remain hopeful.

We continued to walk east toward the spit, the site of the most recent report.  Soon we could see a small mudflat up ahead with a fair number of shorebirds.  We set up our scopes, quickly picking out good numbers of Black-bellied and Semipalmated Plovers and Short-billed Dowitchers.  Then I spotted a sleeping bird, standing on one leg, that was much bigger.  It was so much bigger than the Plovers and Dowitchers that it had to be a Godwit.  It was facing us, mostly white below, showing faint streaking on the chest, and a bit of streaking on the flanks.  We had our target bird!  Here’s a phonescoped picture of the sleeping bird dwarfing the nearby Dowitchers.

Then it briefly woke up showing its long, slightly upturned, two-toned bill.

SC is now the 4th state where I’ve seen this species.  As shown in my statebird map below, I’ve also seen it in WA and MA as a rarity (the brown-shaded states), as well as AK in its regular breeding range (a blue-shaded state).

Before we left we spotted this Whimbrel at the edge of the flock – a nice addition to the day list.

Later we did some landbirding nearby and picked up a number of migrant passerines in some nice habitat.  An excellent ending to the day.

My next statebird search was for the Clay-colored Sparrows at Fort Moultrie on October 20.  During my hour drive to the site I recounted notes from the recent reports that they were often seen perched in their “favorite tree” near the row of cannons, and along the fencing near the SPAWAR building.  But they were also reported in various other places in the grasses and fields at the fort.  So it almost sounded like they were foraging throughout the entire site.  I arrived at 7:45, quickly met up with Craig, and we started our walk towards that favorite tree.  It turned out to be a small tree partially broken down by the recent hurricane.  And there were a couple birds perched in it – but just Savannah Sparrows and a Palm Warbler.  We would have 20 or more Savannahs in the general area, but we couldn’t turn any of them into our target.  We continued our walk around that park of the park, adding Song and Field Sparrows, but no Clay-colored.

Next we turned our attention to the SPAWAR building – that’s the one up on the hill with all the antennas in this picture.  The Battery Jasper is straight ahead.  Sure is lots of great sparrow habitat to search!

We flushed a few Savannah and Song sparrows here and there, but still no target.  As we started to walk clockwise around the fence surrounding the SPAWAR building Craig pointed out a tree on the hill near the building known locally as the “giving” tree since many rarities have been found perched there.  Just a couple minutes later we noticed some birds perched near the top.  Three were Bluebirds but the fourth was much smaller.  The bird was a bit distant but we could tell it was a sparrow – and it had no streaking below.  We eventually got a quick but good look at the head and it had the characteristic supercilium and moustache streak of the Clay-colored Sparrow.  Success!

In my statebird map below I’ve seen this species in most of its regular range in the central portion of the US (the blue-shaded states), but still need it in several other states where it’s regular (the cross-hatched states).  And SC is my 11th state seeing Clay-colored as a rarity (the brown-shaded states).  The bird is certainly prone to vagrancy on both coasts.

As we headed back to the cars we flushed another small Spizella sparrow – but this one was just a Chipping, though it provided a nice comparison to the Clay-colored. 

My search for the marsh sparrows came later on the 20th.  The local high tide was just after 5 o’clock, which made it ideal to coordinate a trek through the marshes with a drive to a restaurant for dinner take-out.  Per Nate’s suggestion I headed to the Spartina marshes near the bridge onto the island arriving right at high tide – it looked ideal for all the marsh sparrows.

With my “wellies” on I started walking through the vegetation at the edge of water.  Just a minute in I flushed a dark brown sparrow that flew out farther into the marsh – likely a Seaside Sparrow.  Soon thereafter I flushed a smaller and lighter brown sparrow that flew a short distance then perched nicely in view.  I could see indistinct, blurry striping on the flanks and chest, with buffy color on the chest.  I had a Nelson’s of the Atlantic race.  Now I needed to find a Saltmarsh to be able to add a statebird.  I continued to walk slowly through the marsh and flushed another Seaside that perched nearby most cooperatively.  If only I could get a Saltmarsh to do the same.  Over the next 30 minutes I flushed no less than 5 other smaller, lighter colored sparrows, but all flew deep into the marsh and dropped in without perching.  Undoubtedly all were Saltmarsh or Nelson’s, but none cooperated enough for a definitive ID.  Although I couldn’t add a statebird, at least that clarifies the marsh sparrows for me in SC – I added Nelson’s and took off Saltmarsh.

My Nelson’s Sparrow statebird map is inserted below.  All my sightings have been in coastal states and in WV and VT as a rarity.  I still need this species throughout its breeding and migration range in the central part of the country.  And I still need to clarify this species on the GA coast as well.

With 2 new statebirds that brings my SC state list to 294.  I ended up with 104 species for the 5-day trip.  All in all, a most pleasant trip giving me my coastal birding “fix”, at least for now.

Georgia Ornithological Society South Coast Trip Yields 15 New Statebirds, Plus 1 in SC, October 7-11, 2021

On October 8-10, 2021 I attended my first Georgia Ornithological Society (GOS) meeting, based on Jekyll Island on the southern GA coast.  The meeting featured numerous trips over that 3-day weekend.  Plus I would have time to search for possible targets on the 7th and 11th in route to and from Jekyll Island, making it a nice 5-day birding weekend.  And with an agenda like that it was easy to talk Bill and Anita Hooker into going to the meeting as well.

I went into the trip with 238 on my GA statelist.  I’ve birded the GA coast a number of times before, but it had been several decades (yikes!) since my last trip there.  Since that time at least 3 new species have expanded into the region - Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Mottled Duck, and Roseate Spoonbill.  Plus, Sharp-tailed Sparrow has been split since my last trips to the coast, so I still need Nelson’s Sparrow.  Not to mention “Western” Willet as a new subspecies to consider, which someday could be defined as a separate species.  So along with many other gaps in my GA statelist, I came up with a long list of 29 possible new statebird targets for the weekend.  Realistically I hoped for 11 additions, though getting 12 would allow me to reach the nice round number of 250. 

Thursday, October 7 – Travel to Jekyll Island with Two Important Side-Trips

The drive to Jekyll Island would give me the opportunity to bird almost anywhere in SC as well as the coast of GA.  I started watching my SC and GA Needs Alerts a couple weeks before the trip to see what might be around.  By far the most common species I still needed in SC was Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, and they were reported off and on at numerous locations not too far from my route.  But then even better was a pair of Clay-colored Sparrows reported for several days at Fort Moultrie along the coast.  Unfortunately, they were last reported on the 2nd, so I was back to aiming for BBWD.  That is until the 5th when a Heermann’s Gull was reported from Tybee Island, GA.  And since it was seen again on the 6^th, the priority was the Heermann’s.  The regular BBWDs in SC would have to wait, perhaps for the trip back home.

I drove right to North Beach on Tybee Island, arriving at 2 PM, meeting up with Bill and Anita.  We took the short walk to the northern tip of the island where the Heermann’s had been seen mixed in with Laughing Gulls.  We found 2 large mixed flocks of gulls and terns, complete with good numbers of Lesser Black-backs of all ages.  But we could not find our target bird.  While we were there we were joined by another birder who was not only also heading to the GOS meeting but would be our trip leader for our Sunday trip.  It’s a small (birding) world…

As we headed back to the cars I checked the route to my hotel and found that I-95 was really backed up, adding more than an hour to my trip.  Could I do some more birding nearby while I waited for the traffic to clear?  Since I was right on the SC/GA stateline my thoughts went back to BBWDs in SC and remembered that one spot where they seemed to be reliable was just across the line at the Savannah NWR Kingfisher Pond site.  It would mean just a little back-tracking, so it seemed like a good plan. 

Kingfisher Pond is a good-sized body of water, surrounded by a woodland trail.  As I pulled into the parking lot I readied myself for walking the mosquito-infested loop.  But right at the parking lot was a boat ramp and small observation deck.  Might as well give it a try first.  However much of the pond was not visible due to thick vegetation, so I could only scan a couple small areas.  Luckily on my first binocular scan I spotted a group of 5 Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks foraging in the wet brush.  Glad I found them from the observation deck – undoubtedly saved me a lot of mosquito bites.  # 291 for SC statelist. 

Friday, October 8 – Andrews Island Causeway and Disposal Site

The Andrews Island Disposal Site is managed by GA DOT for the disposal of dredge spoils removed from waterways in the area.  It’s well-known as a great spot for shorebirds and wading birds, but is not typically accessible to the public.  So this site was a key priority for me – and likely my best shot for new GA statebirds.  One concern though on the 8th was that there were big thunderstorms predicted to come through during the day, so we needed to be sure to bird all the best spots before the weather closed in.

We started birding along the causeway to the disposal site, and soon had distant views of several Seaside Sparrows in these lush saltmarsh grasses (GA statebird #1). 

GA was the last eastern coastal state where I still needed Seaside Sparrow as a statebird.  This is shown in my statebird map below - states where I’ve seen this species in its regular range are shaded in blue; tan states are those where I’ve seen it as a rarity.

And then numerous Roseate Spoonbills flew by (#2) along with many White Ibis and other waders. 

Next it was on to the disposal site where we first headed to the southeast where recent earth-moving activity created shallow ponds which was good habitat for waders.  It also turned out to be good habitat for Mottled Duck – there was a pair in the first pond we came to (#3).  Then we doubled back to the north end of the impoundment where we hoped for most of our shorebirds.  Our first stop had more waders including the first Black-crowned Night-Herons of the day.  And in the far distance we could see a large flock of shorebirds and waterbirds in the shallow water.  At that distance only American White Pelican was identifiable, but still good for statebird #4.

Our next stop was in the northeast corner of the impoundment with a number of shorebirds, along with Blue-winged Teal and Shovelers.  With scans of nearby shorebirds I picked out a small group of what I thought were Dunlin.  A nearby birder said he thought they were Stilt Sandpipers instead.  And with closer looks I could see astrong white supercilium and some barring on the sides - Stilt Sandpipers indeed (#5).

Our leader had to pull us away from this spot so that we could get closer to the main flock of shorebirds in the northwest portion of the site.  Here’s a picture of the main part of the impoundment loaded with waterbirds in the distance.

The first thing I spotted as we pulled up were hundreds of American Avocets (#6).  Then a scan of the closer shorebirds revealed a couple dozen nearby Dowitchers, some obvious Short-bills but others were their larger Long-billed cousin looking like they had swallowed a football (#7).  I thought I had seen everything there was to see at this spot, when someone mentioned they had Black-necked Stilts.  With a quick scan I found a couple pairs of Stilts not too far out (#8).

Avocets and Stilts are two more species that have expanded their range in GA and elsewhere in the southeast coasts.  Formerly thought of as western species, Avocets and to a lesser extent Stilts are now regular residents on the southeastern coasts, and are rarities to look for in the northeast.  My statebird maps pretty well reflect their current ranges as both regular species and rarities.

Our last couple stops were on the western side of the impoundment providing more good views of the impressive shorebird flocks.  I scanned a bit farther out and found a pair of Wilson’s Phalaropes feeding on the surface (#9) – not one I had expected on the trip.  A bit farther along I found a very distant Godwit which unfortunately was just too far for an ID (Marbled is the expected one here, but Hudsonian has been here in previous years).  Just as we hoped to try to get closer to the Godwit the ominous skies opened and it poured down rain on us.  Luckily the dirt roads around the impoundment were still passable as we made our way out of the site in the torrential rain. 

We ended the trip with 16 species of shorebirds and 9 species of waders.  And most importantly a whopping 9 new statebirds even though the thunderstorm shortened the outing. 

The rain eventually stopped late in the afternoon, so I teamed up with Bill and Anita to head to the south end of Jekyll Island to look for some passerines.  We were just about to give up for the day when we drove by a group of birders with scopes in a small residential neighborhood.  As I always say – “Bird the birders”, so we turned around, parked the car, and walked over to the group to see what they had.  Turns out a birder had earlier found an immature Vermillion Flycatcher, and the news was just getting out.  Unfortunately, the bird was not currently in view, though we had apparently walked right past it before we knew what was up.  Luckily it reappeared a few minutes later and I got this phonescoped photo of this cooperative bird (#10).

Vermillion Flycatcher has really expanded in the southeast in the last couple decades.  And GA is my second state after TN where I've seen it as a rarity.  Not to mention LA, AL, and FL where they were once rarities. 

It’s been quite a while since I had a 10-statebird day.  Nice start to the weekend…

Saturday, October 9 – Altamaha WMA

Saturday’s walk was at the Altamaha WMA which is a large former rice farm managed for waders and shorebirds.  At least it used to be.  When we met up with our leader we found out that recent hurricanes had severely damaged levees and water control systems.  As a result, many of the impoundments had fallen into disrepair, largely covered with thick emergent vegetation.  Not much habitat for shorebirds and waders I’m afraid.  But we were successful seeing the key target for this spot, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, and in good numbers (#11).  Here’s my statebird map for BBWD – I’ve been able to color in NC, SC, and now GA since moving to the region.

We also had close views of another Stilt Sandpiper, earasing any question in my mind about the birds I had seen the day before.  Though it was one of the very few shorebirds we saw.

The Altamaha trip was over by early afternoon giving me time to do some chasing after some local targets.  The first one to try for was Reddish Egret, reported each of the last 2 days and that morning at Gould’s Inlet at the north end of Saint Simons Island.  When I arrived the tide was quite high not providing much habitat for waders.  So I waited a couple hours for the tide to drop but still no Egret.  (The bird was reported again later that day – ugh.)  As a nice consolation, as I was driving through the town heading off the island I spotted this Gray Kingbird perched on overhead wires.  Not a statebird but still a nice rarity.

The last stop of the day was at a saltwater marsh back on Jekyll Island where Virginia Rails had been reported the previous couple of days.  I was a bit surprised that I still needed this species for my GA list, but this is mostly a wintering species in GA which is a season I haven’t birded much locally.  There were no details on the Virginias provided on the checklists, but when I got this first view of the marsh I knew it would be a good spot for rails.

I played some Virginia Rail tape at this first viewpoint and got one to call back almost instantly (#12).  I continued my walk around the marsh and had at least 9 calling Clapper Rails, and perhaps another Virginia Rail.  A good rail spot indeed.

Sunday, October 10 – Sapelo Island

Sunday’s trip was to head to Sapelo Island, a small coastal island accessed by a short passenger ferry ride.  The big attraction on Sapelo Island is an introduced (and countable) population of Chachalaca.  Past reports have also included a few migrant passerines, but by far Chachalaca is the key target on a trip to Sapelo Island.

While making my final preparations for the trip pre-dawn that morning I checked my most recent GA Needs Alert and noticed a report of multiple Gray-cheeked Thrushes right nearby on Jekyll Island.  That is one of my passerine targets though not one I really expected.  I opened the checklist and realized it was a nocturnal count from a birder’s yard.  So I figured rather than sit in my hotel room waiting to head out for the Sapelo trip, why not head outside to see if I could hear anything migrating overhead.  I went out to the parking lot but there was too much air conditioner noise.  So I walked to the road where it was much quieter, and instantly started to hear Swainson’s Thrushes.  And then a couple minutes later heard the distinctive call of a Gray-cheeked (#13).  I ended up with 9 Swainson’s, 1 Gray-cheeked, and 3 unknown passerines in just 20 minutes.  A great start to the day. 

A couple hours later I was at the ferry dock joined by 13 other birders anxiously awaiting our trip to Sapelo Island and our Chachalaca search.  After the short boat ride we piled into the back of a pick-up fitted with metal seats just large enough to fit our group.  As we made our way into the interior of the island we got classic views of stately old live oaks draped with Spanish moss.

We were headed to the dump which is the area where Chachalaca were most likely.  We were optimistic since the field trips on the previous 2 days were successful in finding this elusive bird.  After a short stop looking at a few migrant warblers, our trip leader took us to the best area for Chachalaca.  We quietly lined up on the path and listened while our leader played tape.  After a couple minutes waiting with no response, we moved a bit farther down the trail and played more tape.  But again no response.  We doubled back and took a side trail and once again had no replies.  At that point our leader amazingly gave up - after just 15 minutes of trying at 3 stops!  Despite several of us stressing how important it was to us to find this key target bird.  Apparently, his goal was to show us more of the island and maximize our daily list.  We could have even gone back to the dump area at the end of the day when we finished with some free time before the ferry departed.  But instead we walked around an old plantation house.

Luckily we did have one good bird during the trip.  At one point we headed to a lighthouse, which provided this nice Kodak moment.

And while birding the brush in the area we were lucky enough to find a rare Clay-colored Sparrow (#14), which gave us some nice views.  This species is well-known for vagrancy - GA was my 10th state where I’ve seen it as a rarity, though I still need it in several of its regular states (cross-hatched in my statebird map below).

On the way back to Jekyll Island I once again tried for the Reddish Egret at Gould’s Inlet.  The tide was much lower this time providing lots of habitat.  But despite many scans I couldn’t find the bird.  While I was there a local birder came by and mentioned the Egret is always there.  Oh well, that one will have to wait for a future GA trip.

Monday, October 11 - Travel Home with a Side-Trip Revisited

I had signed up for a walk at Harris Neck NWR on the 11th, but there were few realistic statebird targets for me on that walk.  So my plan all along was to be flexible and instead consider pursuing any nearby rarities that had been reported.  On our way back to the mainland from Sapelo Island on the 10th I checked my GA Needs Alerts – the Heermann’s Gull was re-found at Tybee Island!  So I changed my plans for the 11th and decided to give the Heermann’s a second try. 

The Heermann’s Gull was reported on the 10th just after sunrise at Tybee Island’s South Beach, and then later in the day was reported at the other end of the island at North Beach.  I wondered if it had a routine of roosting overnight at South Beach, but then spending the day feeding in the North Beach area.  Or had it just moved up to North Beach?  I decided to head to North Beach which was the last place it was seen on the 10th.  Besides I couldn’t make it to Tybee Island by sunrise anyway.  And if I didn’t see it at North Beach I could always then give it a try at South Beach. 

I pulled into the North Beach Parking lot and checked my Needs Alert – the Heermann’s had once again been seen at sunrise that morning at South Beach.  I was just getting out of the car when 2 birders came back from North Beach.  They had also just seen the report of the bird at South Beach and had not seen the target gull at North Beach.  So we all decided to head to South Beach and hope it was still there.

Minutes later we arrived at South Beach and were scanning through 2 flocks of gulls on the beach.  But with no luck.  Then farther off to the south we spotted a mixed flock of gulls, terns, and pelicans on a distant sandbar.  And sure enough there was the Heermann’s Gull mixed in, the all gray bird really standing out among the others (#15).  Here’s a distant phonescoped shot of the bird.

Just a few minutes later the entire flock took off from the sandbar, and luckily we were able to re-find the bird nearby roosting on the beach with numerous gulls, terns, and skimmers.  

GA is my third state for this Pacific Ocean species as a rarity in the east.

Quite the ending for the GOS trip, giving me 15 new statebirds in GA and 1 more in SC.  That brings my GA state list to 253, my 25th state with 250 or above.  And I’m already looking forward to the next GOS trip and filling more gaps in my GA state list.

Mourning Warbler, Mills River, NC, October 12, 2020

My birding plan for October 12th was to spend the morning at Jackson Park in search of some late fall migrants.  I pulled in at dawn, and soon found a nice migrant flock right at the edge of the parking lot, including my third Golden-winged Warbler of the fall.  I made my way south through the BMX park and by the time I entered the dog park I had a nice tally of 9 warbler species.  It was a great start to the morning.

Just then a text from Kevin Burke came across the Blue Ridge Birders text group– “Mourning warbler at the clay-colored spot”.  The day before, Bob Butler had found a Clay-colored Sparrow along Hooper Lane in a brushy area along the northern edge of Mills River Park.  I was lucky enough to see the Sparrow on the 11th – a new bird for my Henderson County list, but not new for NC.  And now the next day, with a bit of a “Patagonia picnic table effect”, Kevin had found a rare Mourning Warbler in that same patch of brush.  I instantly turned around, sprinted back to my car, and was on my way to Hooper Lane. 

It took me just 15 minutes to get to Hooper Lane, but there were already multiple birders on-site when I arrived.  The bird was last seen just a couple minutes earlier so I was hopeful.  Then just a minute later someone said they had the bird.  Unfortunately I couldn’t get on it before this skulking bird had retreated to the depths of the brush.  A bit later it was spotted again, but I missed it yet again – though at least I saw some movement this time.  The next time it appeared I was able to see its tail, but nothing more.  This was getting frustrating.  Luckily it kept reappearing, and the next time I got great views – finally!  I stayed in the area for the next several hours and saw the bird multiple times.  Including a couple times when it surprisingly stayed in the open for an extended period of time. 

Not a bad trade-off - a little less birding time at Jackson Park for a new statebird.  It’s good to be flexible. 

Mourning Warbler was #306 for my NC statelist.  NC was the 18th state where I’ve seen this species - the blue-shaded states in my statebird map below.  The cross-hatched states are those where the species is regular but I’ve yet to catch up with it.  This skulking bird is not an easy one to find, especially as a migrant.

And now a postscript –

When I moved to NC in August 2019 I came up with a list of 36 possible new NC statebirds that I might see in western NC.  Mourning Warbler was the 35th of these targets that I’ve now checked off.  The last target on that list is Long-tailed Duck, which is actually quite a rarity locally.  Along the way I’ve also added 11 other NC statebirds in western NC that weren’t even on my target list.  Not too many realistic statebird possibilities remain.