One Expected, and One Unexpected, Statebird, Carver’s Gap, Carter County TN, September 28, 2021

Red Crossbills are regular in eastern TN along the TN/NC stateline.  But as is always the case with Crossbills, their distribution and abundance is highly dependent on the quality of the local cone crop.  Back in August 2021 I made my first attempt to find them in TN in Unicoi County but couldn’t reach the location where they were being reported at the time due to poor road conditions.  Then in September I started seeing numerous reports from Carver’s Gap, some mentioning how great the local cone crop was.  It was sounding like I had another location with chaseable Red Crossbills worth a trip into the mountains.

But before I made my final plans I needed to see if I might have other targets nearby.  I need quite a number of regular passerine migrants for my TN list, and several were being seen at scattered locations in eastern TN.  There were a couple hotspots in the general area of Carver’s Gap with multiple reports of my migrant targets, but because the route through the mountains was on very slow twisty turny roads, driving times to bird both Carver’s Gap and migrant hotspots in the same day were excessive.  So the migrant spots would have to wait for a future trip.

The next issue I needed to tackle while planning my trip was to make sure I could tell which state the Crossbills would be in if I was lucky enough to find them.  It turns out that the Appalachian Trail, the key trail in the area, weaves back and forth from TN to NC.  And even the parking lot at Carver’s Gap was part in TN and part in NC.  I downloaded a couple maps that nicely overlayed the stateline, the AT, and the roads in the area which would be a good tool to tell me which state the birds might be in.  I was all set for my trip.

I left home early in the morning of the 28th to make the roughly 2-hour drive to Carver’s Gap.  As I climbed in elevation nearing the stateline it became increasingly windy.  And as I reached the clearing at Carver’s Gap the winds were howling. 

And just as I was beginning to worry if the strong winds would keep birds from flying around I spotted a Merlin flying low over the site.  That’s one I need in TN, so this was my first test to see if I could tell what state it was in.  I watched if for about 10 seconds, first to my west and then flying out of view to the east.  I happened to be parked almost right on the stateline at the time, so that put the bird first in TN and then in NC.  That was most unexpected!  And I hadn’t even gotten out of the car yet! 

Now it was time to focus on the Crossbills.  I got out of the car and walked toward the west end of the parking lot, putting me firmly into TN.  It was extremely windy in the open, so I took a small trail off the parking lot leading into the protected woods to get out of the wind a bit.  I found a couple migrant warblers though nothing new.  Then just a few minutes after leaving my car I heard the characteristic “kip kip” calls of a Red Crossbill overhead.  That was easy!  Within 10 minutes I had already added 2 new birds to my TN list. 

I joked with myself that maybe I should just quit right then and go home.  But there were a couple migrants moving through the trees so I decided to stay and see what might show up.  Unfortunately, most just passed low overhead without stopping, so I couldn’t come up with any migrants of interest. 

But the Red Crossbill show continued.  I had a flock of 4 birds fly in from NC and land nearby in TN, including one male that perched nicely in the top of a conifer.  Here are 2 shots I took holding my phone up to my binoculars.  What a cone crop!

And just when I thought the Crossbill show was over, a male landed near me on the road shoulder to do some gritting.

 Which allowed me to walk right up to it.

And then a female flew in to join him.

What an amazing Crossbill event!

After about an hour at Carver’s Gap I decided it could be worthwhile to go downhill out of the mountains to try to get out of the wind and look for some migrants.  The winds dropped soon after I left the Gap, and a few stops along the road in good woodland habitat yielded a few warblers but no additional target birds.  The passerine migrants would have to wait for future trips. 

With the addition of Merlin and Red Crossbill my TN statelist is now at 248.  My statebird maps for these two species are inserted below.  The blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen those species in their regular range, the cross-hatched states are those in the regular range where I still need them, and the tan states are those where I’ve seen them as a rarity.  After two years birding in the area I’ve now seen both species in all the nearby southeastern states.

 

Eastern Tennessee Trip Yields an Unexpected Consolation Prize, July 17, 2021, Cherokee National Forest

Although I set up a TN Needs Alert soon after arriving to western NC, I admit I haven’t checked the alerts religiously to see if there might be targets nearby to chase.  Though this past winter when I did check the Alerts regularly, they were most helpful in identifying several reliable rarities to try for.  And with 2 trips in February 2021 I netted 6 new TN statebirds plus one more just across the stateline into VA.  Pretty good results when I actually chose to focus on TN possibilities.

Then as the 2021 summer doldrums of birding started to set in, and local birding opportunities waned, I once again spent more time looking through the daily Needs Alerts for TN.  Most often the nearby targets were records of Red Crossbill.  They were seen in numerous spots, and typically only seen occasionally.  So since they may not be reliable, I never chased after them.  Instead, I decided to go after Crossbills in conjunction with a trip to chase after a rarity.  And that opportunity arose in mid-July when an Anhinga was reported at Boone Lake in Washington County, starting on July 13.  It was an hour and 45 minutes away so definitely within my “chase radius”.  The bird was reported 3 out of 4 days, so presumably a reliable one to chase.

Now that I had a rarity to chase, I went back to research Crossbill sightings.  I quickly found several recent records along Unaka Mountain Road not far off my return route.  This road generally paralleled the TN-NC state line, but was mostly in TN so birds I might hear or see would be in TN rather than in NC.  Definitely a possible site to try after completing my search for the Anhinga.

And then as almost an afterthought I wondered if there might be nearby sites for Swainson’s Warblers – another “need” for TN.  I know it’s late in the year to find singing warblers, but I’ve had pretty good experience with Swainson’s singing well into the summer.  And sure enough with a bit of research I found a few reports of Swainson’s in the general area, though not too close to Unaka Mountain.  I wasn’t expecting to find Swainson’s on this trip, but I would still keep my eyes open for the right habitat while heading to and from Unaka Mountain, and then maybe find some birds still singing. 

So now I not only had a rarity to chase, but I also had 2 possible but longer-shot regular targets to look for as well.  My trip was set!

It was an early start for me on July 17, and I rolled into the area around Boone Lake at about 8:30.  Several of the Anhinga sightings came from Herb Hodge Road which skirted the edge of the northeast portion of the Boone Lake wetlands.  The site was actually a wide spot in the Watauga River far upstream of the dam that forms the lake.  But only a portion of this area and adjoining vegetation was visible from this road.  In fact, a couple eBird sightings came from kayakers and others from restricted access sites.  But since I had no other options, I would have to be lucky that the Anhinga was roosting or foraging near Herb Hodge Road when I was there.  Soon after I arrived I found a couple pulloffs with views of small portions of the vegetation – but there was no Anhinga in view.  Then I drove a bit farther and came upon an opening providing a view of hundreds of feet of lush vegetation and likely roosting spots along the river.  But despite numerous scans, I could not find the target Anhinga.  A flooded field nearby yielded 4 species of waders, but not my target.

About an hour into my Anhinga vigil another birder pulled up.  He was from the area and had seen the bird on previous days.  He confirmed I was at the correct spot, and also mentioned it was sometimes visible perched near a bridge downstream on Austin Springs Road.  After a short stay looking with me, he offered to check out areas both upstream along the river, and downstream at the bridge.  A few minutes later he called to say that he had not found the bird.  I felt a bit better that even a local birder couldn’t find the bird, but only a bit.  I waited a total of 2 ½ hours, scanning potential perches and overhead hoping it might soar by, but all in vain.  I even went to the Austin Springs Road for a scan.  I saw lots of Cormorants that morning – but no Anhinga.  [As a postscript – the Anhinga was spotted in the same area the next day – luck just wasn’t on my side that day.]

Next I was off to try for the Red Crossbills on Unaka Mountain Road.  After a short ride I started to gain elevation and headed up into the mountains.  The vegetation changed to more lush deciduous forests with a few conifers.  Then as I entered the Cherokee National Forest I started seeing a few rhododendrons and then some small rhododendron thickets.  There were no recent Swainson’s Warbler reports from this area, but maybe I had found an area for this secretive bird.  I pulled over and played some tape but got no replies.  I got back on the road and now started to see even better more extensive patches of rhododendrons.  I pulled into the parking lot for the Rock Creek Recreation Area which was surrounded by dense rhododendron thickets.  I played a bit of tape and almost instantly a Swainson’s Warbler replied in the distance.  Success!  I made 2 more stops within a mile down the road and had a Swainson’s singing spontaneously at each stop. 

Swainson’s Warbler was #244 for my TN state list.  As shown in my statebird map below, I’ve now seen this species in 9 southeastern states shaded in blue, plus as a rarity in MA shaded in brown.  I still need it in 7 states where it is regular (the cross-hatched states).

That was a nice unexpected consolation after missing my key target, but I still had the Crossbills to try for.

I got back on the road and soon reached Beauty Spot Gap Road which would in turn take me to Unaka Mountain Road.  This was a rough gravel road that was also the route for the Appalachian Trail.  I started uphill and picked up some of the local regulars like Blue-headed Vireos, Veerys, Chestnut-sideds, Hoodeds, and Black-throated Blues.  Then I started to see some conifers mixed in with the deciduous trees – I was getting into Red Crossbill habitat.  But soon afterwards I came upon a particularly rough area on the road where a washout had occurred.  I got out of the car and sized it up – unfortunately I didn’t think my little Prius would be able to navigate over or around it.  I had reached the end of the road.  At least the road was barely wide enough to turn around so I didn’t have to back down the mountain.  That was frustrating.  Maybe on a future trip I could take a different route to get to Unaka Mountain Road.  And of course, there are other spots to try for Red Crossbill in TN as well.

So I not only missed the Anhinga as my key target, but also couldn’t get to the area where I might find Red Crossbills.  Good thing I was able to run into the right habitat for Swainson’s Warbler along the way.  That gave me only 1 of my 3 targets, but that was still 1 more than I had the day before. 

 

First Summer Trip to Northeast Georgia, June 23, 2021

When I moved to western NC I put together a list of potential new statebirds that could be feasible in the northeast corner of GA – generally within a 2 ½ hour drive of home.  Although my GA list was already pretty good at 233, there were still 39 possible targets that were regular in that part of the state.  Lots of potential – now I just needed to make it a priority to get there.

My first two trips to northeast GA since moving south were in winter, but both were brief and as a result netted just one new statebird - Red-breasted Nuthatch - despite having many possible targets.  I kept watching my Needs Alerts in spring but never found hotspots that seemed to be reliable for many of my target migrants.  Though again I didn’t look too hard – there were too many good birds in western NC to look for.

As the 2021 summer/breeding season approached I did some research from previous years’ reports and found 10 potential targets to hope for.  Three seemed to be rather reliable albeit local – Swainson’s and Canada Warblers, and Willow Flycatcher.  Three others were regular though not too reliable – Broad-winged Hawk, Raven, and Cerulean Warbler.  And three more that were seen only occasionally but were still possible – Ruffed Grouse, Brown Creeper, and Red Crossbill.  Finally, there was Whip-poor-that was reported occasionally as a nocturnal target.  I had hoped to get to GA in late May or early June at the latest but my plans never came together.  So finally, when a cold front was predicted to pass through on June 22 to cool things down a bit, I decided that this would be my opportunity.  With some last-minute planning I decided to head there on the 23rd. 

The majority of the reports of my targets were coming from Brasstown Bald.  Canada Warbler seemed regular there though details were a bit sketchy as to which trail(s) to take to look for them.  Broad-winged Hawk and Raven were reported on some lists.  And one person was lucky enough to run into a couple Grouse.  Willow Flycatcher was reported several times at Dillard Reservoir which is its regular nesting location.  But no one had seen them there since early June.  And there were just a couple reports of Swainson’s Warbler at Hale Ridge Road, though this hotspot is very underbirded and I assumed they would be regular there.  After spending some time mapping out possible routes I decided to start the morning at Brasstown Bald, then work my way east first stopping at Dillard Reservoir, and then on to Hale Ridge Rd.  I know that meant not getting to the Swainson’s spot till later in the day, but they are strong singers and I was still hopeful to hear them there that time of day.  I hoped to find maybe 2 of my targets (most likely the Canada and Swainson’s Warblers).  And if I missed some of my targets because they weren’t singing this late in the year, the trip would still give me a good introduction to the area.

I left the house bright and early at 6 AM, which had me rolling into the Brasstown Bald parking lot at 8:45.  Temps were in the 50s, with a thick fog and cool wind.  I had hoped to get there even earlier, but the morning birds should still be singing in these conditions.  And I was just about the only car in the parking lot, meaning I might be the first to walk some of the trails enhancing my chances for happening on a Grouse.  I decided to head to Jack’s Knob Trail first since this appeared to be the best spot for Canadas – one was reported near the picnic tables and one in the first stretch of the trail.  I first headed to the picnic tables but could only find a couple Juncos.  Then I started slowly walking the trail but had almost no song at all.  Was I too late in the year?  Though I was striking out on the Canada, I still hoped I’d run into a Grouse.  So I continued to walk about a mile of the trail before I turned around.  Right away my thoughts went to what other trails I could walk to try for my targets.  But then as I neared the car I heard the familiar chattering song of the Canada Warbler.  It eventually came quite close to me giving some good views.  I wonder where this bird was when I first walked that stretch of the trail.

My statebird map for Canada Warbler is inserted below.  I’ve now seen this species in most of its regular states in the east and Midwest (the blue-shaded states) but still need it in a number of states in the central US where it is a regular migrant (the cross-hatched states).  Years ago I also found a Canada Warbler as a rarity in Wyoming (the tan state).

Now that I had my most likely new statebird from this site under my belt, it was time to start focusing on the rarer ones.  Recent eBird checklists from the area sometimes included sightings of Broad-winged Hawk and Raven, though no specific trails have been mentioned.  I found a trail map at a kiosk and decided to try Wagon Train Trail that headed into a wilderness area.  This rustic sign seemed fitting. 

I had barely walked a hundred yards down the trail when I heard familiar “jip jip” calls of a flyover Red Crossbill – that was most unexpected.  I always feel incredibly lucky when I find Crossbills in the Appalachians.  Although they are certainly possible in these high elevation areas, you can go many trips without finding one.  GA is now my 4th southeastern state with Red Crossbill as a rarity.

I continued down the trail and soon heard a Canada Warbler singing in the distance.  Then a bit farther I heard some chipping and spotted a female Canada carrying food.  Then a little later came upon a fledgling being fed by one of its parents.  And then another family group.  All in all I had 7 Canadas on this section of the trail.  I guess I should have come to this trail first.

I decided to turn around after about a mile’s walk, very happy with my results.  But it wasn’t over yet.  As I headed back toward the parking lot I heard the high-pitched “pee-teee” call of a Broad-winged Hawk passing overhead.  Nice to be able to shade-in GA in my statebird map – that leaves just 5 more states to go where Broad-wings are regular.

My last key target for the area was Common Raven, so when I got back to the parking lot I decided to eat my lunch standing in the parking lot allowing me to scan the skies and nearby ridges hoping to see one passing by.  But no luck.  I assumed this one would have to wait for a later trip, though I kept my eyes open as I drove down the mountain.  I then noticed this nice overlook and pulled over to grab this picture.

Not quite ready to throw in the towel I scanned the distant ridges and noticed a couple soaring raptors.  Then I spotted a distant all dark soaring bird.  It was pretty far away but I could pick out the Corvid shape, eliminating a vulture.  And it was too large for a crow, and was mostly soaring.  I had myself a distant Raven!  That leaves just NJ as the last eastern state where I still need this species in its regular range.

Wow – 4 new statebirds at my first stop - two more than I hoped for in the entire day.  And 2 more stops still to go.

The next stop was the Dillard Reservoir area for Willow Flycatcher, which has bred in this area for a few years.  Though I wasn’t too optimistic since they hadn’t been seen there for a few weeks.  Not to mention that it was now early afternoon on this summer day.  I checked out the spots where they had been seen earlier but came up empty.  At least I’m now familiar with this site for my next trip.

My last stop was along Hale Ridge Road.  Posts from this hotspot over the last several years have included significant numbers of several local breeding warblers, including numerous Swainson’s and an occasional Cerulean.  It was now mid-afternoon so I knew that bird song would be limited, but I was still hopeful that I’d run into Swainson’s as they will sing well into the summer.  It took me a little while, but eventually found the perfect habitat for Swainson’s - large areas of thick rhododendron thickets on hillsides.  I drove through at least 2 miles of this habitat making frequent stops but unfortunately couldn’t come up with my target.  And even though few birds were singing, I did get an Ovenbird, Worm-eating, 7 Hoodeds, 2 Parulas, and a Black-throated Green in this 2 mile stretch.  Plus another calling Broad-winged Hawk.  Pretty birdy after all.  Just not my targets.

Although I missed my last couple targets, I’m still very happy to have added 4 birds to my GA statelist – 2 more than I expected.  That brings my list up to 238.  Next year I’ll have to schedule a trip to the area earlier in the breeding season.  Though not too early since Willow Flycatcher is typically late to arrive on its breeding grounds.  And now that I have the lay of the land, I’ll start in the morning at Hale Ridge Road and head right to the rhododendron area, followed by a drive to Dillard Reservoir.  Can’t wait…

Exciting Second Trip to Tennessee in a Week – Not to Mention a Short Side Trip into Virginia, February 20, 2021

On February 17th I made my first birding trip to eastern TN since moving to western NC, breaking the ice so to speak.  That was a most successful trip to an area northwest of home, netting three new birds for my TN list.  While doing research for that trip I found several other targets I needed near the northeast corner of TN in an area north of home, but that would have been too much ground to cover for one day.  So while driving back from my most successful initial TN trip I was already starting to plan my next TN trip, this one to northeast TN.

There were 3 key targets being seen north of me near I-26.  The first 2 were seen at South Holston Lake, specifically from the boat launch along Route 421.  First there was a White-winged Scoter reported along with a Long-tailed Duck (since I got a Long-tailed on my previous TN trip that one was no longer a target).  Then there was a Red-throated Loon seen along with several Common Loons.  The Scoter was reported multiple times, though the Loon was only reported once.  So I was hopeful for the Scoter but realistic that my chances were low on the Red-throated.  Though I’m always up for a long-distance Loon search – it’s almost like my beloved seawatches.  The third target was perhaps even a longer-shot – a pair of Common Mergansers reported just once on the Watauga River in Johnson City, and that was nearly a week earlier.  But that spot would only require a short side-trip on my route home, so certainly worth a try.

And then there’s another twist – the South Holston Lake boat ramp is less than 10 minutes from the TN/VA state line.  My VA statelist was a respectable 249, but I still had many gaps.  I set up an eBird Needs Alert for VA and found only one recently reported target near the state line – Wild Turkey, and they’re almost never reliable.  With a bit more research I found very few hotspots nearby, and few recent checklists submitted in the area.  With no reliable targets to chase after my thoughts turned to doing a bit of speculative birding in the area.  One of my possible VA statebirds was the Pine Siskin.  This has been a great winter for Siskins, with many moving through earlier in the season.  So ordinarily I would think that this would be the year for me to add that species to my VA list.  But lately the reports from southwestern VA had been pretty limited, with none being reliable.  (Actually, the closest recent Siskin report was from the Holston Lake boat ramp in TN – but I didn’t need Siskin for my TN list.)  Maybe I could get lucky and just run into a flock.  One of the closest hotspots was Washington County Park on South Holston Lake.  It had a nice wooded area which looked like it could be birdy.  So I decided to make a short side-trip to the park and hope to get lucky birding the woodlands and brushy edges.

The night before my trip I checked eBird one last time for updates.  Unfortunately, there was a report from the boat ramp with no Scoter or Oldsquaw, and still no Red-throated Loon.  And no new Common Merganser sightings.  Had they all moved on?  I was realistically thinking that I might not get any new statebirds on this trip.  But even if that were the case, it would give me a chance to visit a new area. 

The morning of the 20th was a cold one – 24 degrees when I left the house.  And when I crested the mountains near the TN/NC line the temp had dropped to 18 degrees.  The clouds near the top looked a bit ominous, and were spitting a few snow flurries, but I wasn’t too concerned about road conditions.  Shortly after I crossed into TN I spotted an immature Bald Eagle flying overhead – not new for my list but perhaps an omen of good things to come.

I arrived at the Holston Lake boat launch area around 8:45 and started to get my bearings.  First there were long views like this one out on the lake in several directions where searches for Loons might be fruitful.

But the photos of the Scoter and Long-tailed Duck looked to be in more protected waters and from a closer distance.  The area between the boat ramp and the marina toward the west was quite protected, so I started my search there.  Unfortunately, the only waterfowl there were 2 Canada Geese.  I started to wonder if it might be worthwhile to try to access the marina and look for the ducks among the boat slips.  There was also a somewhat protected area to the southeast, but that area came up empty for waterfowl.  The only birds were a small flock of Ring-billed Gulls with a couple Bonaparte’s mixed in. 

Then I turned my focus to a search for Loons farther out on the lake.  It was rather breezy, which put a bit of a chop on the reservoir.  My first scan came up empty.  Then on the next scan I found a Loon which was obviously a Common.  And then on a later scan I found 2 others together but again they were just Commons – though they were a considerable distance out making the IDs challenging. 

I was coming up empty on both of my targets, but I didn’t feel good that I had found the right spot for the Scoter.  I started to wonder if there was another cove with protected waters nearby that I hadn’t found yet.  I walked a short distance north toward the main road, and looking off to the northeast found a small protected cove.  Could this be the right spot? 

 As I set up my scope a Red-breasted Nuthatch called from the pines overhead.  One of the checklists with the Scoter also had a Red Nut – maybe I was finally in the right spot.  On the first scan I saw only a Bufflehead.  Then with binocs I spotted a dark duck on the water a short distance away.  I put it in my scope and I had the female White-winged Scoter.  And with another scan I spotted the Long-tailed Duck.  A bit later all 3 divers where swimming together providing this phonescoped moment.

It’s amazing how looking in the right spot can increase your chances of finding your target birds.  While I was there a local birder arrived also looking for the Scoter and Long-tailed and I was able to point her toward this protected cove.  Looks like I wasn’t the only one who didn’t know where to look.  I made sure when completing my eBird checklist for this spot to add some specific directions to this cove.

My statebird map for White-winged Scoter is inserted below.  The blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen this species in its regular range – principally on the Pacific coast, northern Atlantic coast, and along the Great Lakes.  The cross-hatched states are those where it is regular but I haven’t yet seen it.  And now TN was the 7th state where I’ve seen this species as an inland or southern rarity. 

So with one target under my belt I returned to my original spot to spend more time looking for Loons.  My first couple scans came up empty – no Loons at all, just a flyby Bufflehead.  But the water was pretty rough, and there was a bit of heat shimmer so distant viewing wasn’t exactly easy.  Then I picked up one Common Loon in the distance, and a short distance away spotted a second Loon, both diving frequently.  My initial take on this second bird was that it was noticeably smaller than the Common.  Did I have the Red-throated?  The overall appearance seemed to be that it was a browner bird, a bit lighter than the nearby Common.  Then I focused on the head - the bill was smaller than the Common and the head was more rounded.  I did not notice that its head and bill were more upturned typical of a Red-throated, but given the considerable distance (likely over a half mile) and its limited time above water, I felt like that wasn’t a deal breaker.  After 30 minutes of studying this bird I concluded I had found the Red-throated Loon.  Unfortunately, it was way too far away for photos. 

In my statebird map below I’ve seen Red-throated Loon in all its regular coastal states, but still need it in several states in the Great Lakes region.  And TN was my second state (after VT) where I’ve seen it as a rarity. 

Now it was off to VA and my speculative search for Pine Siskins.  Just a couple minutes after crossing the stateline I arrived at the gate to Washington County Park, only to find out that it was closed.  Mind you, it was not just a pole across the road to keep cars out but you could still walk in.  No, it was a gate in a chain-link fence blocking all access to the park.  That was disappointing.  At least there was also a boat ramp down to South Holston Lake that I could explore.  I set up my scope and only found a couple Ring-billed Gulls flying about.  There was a little passerine activity along the shoreline but not much else.  I was just about to call it quits on the VA part of my trip when I noticed a medium-sized red passerine fly past me along the shoreline.  I put my binoculars on it and was shocked to realize it was a male Red Crossbill!  I followed it to a grove of pine trees a short distance away and realized there was a whole flock of Crossbills up there.  I guessed perhaps 8 or 10 birds flitting about, complete with their “kip kip” call notes.  Just then the whole flock dropped down to the water’s edge to drink – I counted 14 Crossbills, more than half red adult males.  I snapped this phonescoped photo unfortunately a second after most of the flock took of – at least 2 birds remained for the shot.

Red Crossbill was #250 for my VA list – my 24th state with at least 250 species.  And VA was my third state where I’ve added this species to my state list since moving to the area (along with NC and SC).  I’m still hoping to see Crossbills in TN most likely in the highest mountains along the Blue Ridge, where they are typically much more common than in VA.

A bit later I had a calling Brown-headed Nuthatch in those same pines.  And a Palm Warbler foraging on the lawn below.  A very nice stop.  On my way back to TN I drove some of the back roads still hoping to find a Siskin flock but to no avail.  Though I’m certainly not disappointed - I’ll take Red Crossbill over Pine Siskin any time!  Maybe I can get back to the area in early spring and get Siskins as they are heading back north.  

My next planned stops on my way south were a couple areas along South Holston Lake hoping to find other waterfowl or gulls.  A couple stops along the river below the dam yielded an amazing 152 Bufflehead, along with 20 Wigeon.  It was a fast-flowing river that looked good for Common Mergansers, but not today.  And a stop at the dam overlook offered this nice scenic view, though I didn’t have a single bird on the water.

Next I was off to the Johnson City area to try for the Common Mergansers.  The birds had been seen on the Watauga River, which meanders through the area for quite a number of miles.  The eBird report mentioned “Seen multiple times flying up/downstream.  Landed in water in front of us”.  There was only limited access to the river, providing a view of only one small portion of river habitat likely suitable for Mergansers.  And along with the fact that the sighting was now 6 days old, this would be a long-shot to say the least. 

I arrived at the pinned eBird location to find a small park and fishing pier with a nice view of the river.  Certainly seemed suitable for Mergansers.  But the problem was I saw no waterfowl at all.  I scanned upstream and down, and waited at least 10 minutes, but still no waterfowl.  Then on one scan I noticed a Great Blue Heron standing on a grassy bank a short distance downstream.  On closer look I thought I could see the dark head of a duck, likely a Mallard, sitting in the grass nearby.  I put them in the scope – it wasn’t a Mallard, it was a male Common Merganser! 

I was able to drive down closer to the roosting Merganser now barely visible over a small rise, and realized a female was by his side.

Later when I looked back at my photo of the Heron in the distance I realized you could see the reddish head of the female Merganser right behind the legs of the Great Blue.  Not sure I would have spotted my targets if the Great Blue hadn’t been perched there.  And if the birds had been resting along the shoreline just a short distance farther downstream they would have been around the bend and out of view.  Certainly an element of luck involved with birding.

I’ve seen Common Merganser throughout most of its range, though I still need it in 3 northern states, as well as 5 southeastern states where this species might be better called the “Not So Common Merganser”.

That brings my TN list up to 243 – a nice addition of 6 birds over 2 trips in the same week.  An excellent way to start my birding in eastern TN.  I’ve come up with a list of another 34 possible targets along the eastern edge of TN to hope for in the future.  Plus, another 32 additional targets in southwestern VA.  Can’t wait for more trips to explore these new regions.

Red Crossbill - a Most Unexpected Consolation Prize, Ceasars Head State Park, SC, June 30, 2020

One of the biggest gaps that still exists in my SC statelist is the Peregrine Falcon.  Although it’s certainly not a rarity, often you have to be lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time to run into one.  That is unless there is a known nesting site, or a preferred roost, where you can just hang out and wait for a Peregrine to pass by.  For instance I can remember getting my first Peregrine in CT by camping out at a preferred roosting site in downtown Hartford, seeing my first one in RI at a stakeout roost on a bridge, and seeing a nesting pair in downtown Atlanta as my first for my GA list. 

"The” place for Peregrine in upstate SC is Ceasars Head State Park where there are year-round (likely nesting) birds.  I’ve been told that you just go to the overlook at the park, and scan both above and below you and you might be lucky enough to have a bird fly by.  Although certainly not a guarantee, it’s the most likely spot to find one nearby.  My NC birding friend Dave Minnich took me there in Fall 2019 only to find out that the mountain was socked in fog when we got there – we couldn’t see more than 50 ft.  Needless to say we didn’t see one that day, though it was good to scout out the site.

Then in late June 2020 a couple eBird Needs Alerts popped up with Peregrine sightings at the Park.  With summer nesting season winding down, and the summer doldrums of birding around the corner, it seemed like this could be a good time to give it another try.  After a bit of planning, SC birding friends Gary Harbour and Michael Robertson were on board for the trip, and we now had 3 great pairs of eyes to watch for Peregrines.  We set June 30th as the date when I would hopefully be able to add Peregrine to my SC statelist.

Our first stop on the 30th was a nice wooded neighborhood near where Gary lives to look for an interesting silent flycatcher seen recently.  Unfortunately, we struck out on the flycatcher, but hoped for better success with the Peregrine.  A short while later our caravan arrived at Ceasars Head State Park and we were soon at the overlook anxiously awaiting a fly-by of a Peregrine. 

But after an hour’s wait we were still looking for our target bird.  Not only was there no Peregrine, there were few raptors of any kind, with only a couple Vultures passing by.  But the scenery was nice, as shown in this panoramic view.

As my interest started to wane I reminded myself to stay on the alert even if birding was slow.  And just then I heard sharp “kip kip kip” calls coming from down below us and to the left.  I quickly picked up the birds flying left to right – it was a group of 3 mid-sized chunky finches, perhaps Waxwing-sized.  I could see dull yellowish plumage on 2 of the birds; I didn’t notice the color of the third bird.  Michael was able to get on the birds as well, and we were both able to see and hear them for maybe 10 seconds before they disappeared in the woods to the right.  (Unfortunately, Gary didn’t get on them.)  Just after they passed out of view I turned to Michael and said – “I think we just had a flock of Red Crossbills!”  We quickly compared notes and our observations were the same – we did indeed have 3 Red Crossbills, with at least 2 of them being females or immatures.

What an amazing surprise!  Although Red Crossbills are certainly possible in the upstate of SC, they are exceedingly rare.  With a bit of research on eBird I found only about 11 prior records in SC, including what may have been 2 minor local irruptions –

    8/20/89 – 1 at Burrells Ford Road

    6/99 to 1/00 – 4 sightings in a reasonably small area in Oconee County -

        6/15/99 – 1 at Oconee SP

        9/15-10/11/99 – up to 3 at Burrells Ford

        10/11/99 – 9 at Walhalla Fish Hatchery

    1/8/00 – 35 at Burrells Ford

    7/24-8/24/07 – 1 at Reedy Fork Rd S of Greenville (south of the mountains)

    12/31/12 to 2/3/13 - a flock of up to 18 birds at Devils Fork SP (multiple posts             during the period)

    9/21/14 – 4 at Walhalla Fish Hatchery

    5/12/16 – 2 at Ceasars Head SP

    7/4/18 – 3 at Sassafras Mountain

    7/4/18 – 4 at F Van Clayton Memorial Hwy

Despite staying at the overlook for another hour, we ended up missing our actual target bird - the Peregrine Falcon.  But the Red Crossbill was a much rarer and most unexpected consolation prize - #268 for my SC statelist.  In my statebird map below, I’ve seen this species in the 17 blue-shaded states where it is regular, though there are 12 other states in its regular range where I still need this species (the cross-hatched states).  And now I’ve seen Red Crossbill as a rarity in MD and SC (the tan-shaded states).

Just think, if I had seen the Peregrine on my first trip to Ceasars Head I likely wouldn’t have gone back to the park, and of course wouldn’t have found the much rarer Red Crossbills.  Sometimes it’s OK to miss your target bird.

Last of Three High Elevation Target Birds, Blue Ridge Parkway, May 23, 2020

When I moved to western NC I had 3 possible state bird targets that were most likely to be found in the higher elevations of the mountains – Ruffed Grouse, Saw-whet Owl, and Red Crossbill.  I was lucky enough to find a pair of Ruffed Grouse back in March 2020 at the Pisgah Campground along the Blue Ridge Parkway.  And in April 2020 I was able to hear a stakeout Saw-whet Owl amazingly at lower elevations in eastern Henderson County.  That left Red Crossbill as my last high elevation target bird. 

Inserted below is a screen shot of the eBird distribution map for Red Crossbill in the NC mountains over just the last 3 years.

At first blush it would look like Red Crossbill is a common bird that can be seen throughout the mountains.  In reality, they are generally only found in spruce/fir forests, though admittedly that habitat is located in many places in the higher mountains.  And they are quite rare even in the proper habitat.  The following description of their range in the NC mountains comes from “Birds of North Carolina: their Distribution and Abundance” -

Summer resident at higher elevations, and winter visitor to all of the region. In summer, rare to locally uncommon at higher elevations, mainly at spruce-fir forests, generally above 4,500 feet; very rare to rare and erratic in summer down to about 3,000 feet. Breeding populations seem to be stable. At other seasons, rare and erratic at lower and middle elevations, with numbers declining in recent years.

And even when you are lucky enough to find them, they are often heard-only birds, or at best birds seen in flight as they are passing by.  Perhaps the day you see them perched might be a good day to play the lottery. 

My first try for Red Crossbills in NC was the day that I had the Grouse at the Pisgah Campground.  There are several conifer patches in and around the campground, and there were some Crossbill records from the area in previous years, so I was definitely on the alert.  But I had none the day I was there, nor on a subsequent trip to the campground, despite what looked to be an excellent cone crop.

The bottom line is you need to be very observant whenever you’re in appropriate spruce/fir forest.  And of course knowing their call notes is a big help.  Not to mention being lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time is always beneficial.

On May 23rd, local birding friend Dave Minnich, Sidney Snyder – a new birder to the area, and I were participating in the annual Black Mountains bird count.  Our assigned territory was along the Blue Ridge Parkway on the Mountains to Sea trail from NC 128 (the road to Mount Mitchell) to the Walker Knob Overlook.  This was about 5-6 miles long and included the ridgeline going up to Potato Knob.  Normally we would leave a car at one end of the trail, carpool to the other end, and hike the entire trail in one direction.  But it’s tough to carpool while social distancing, so we decided to park all our cars at the Overlook, bird a portion of the trail, then double back to the cars.  Certainly not the best approach to census the area, but the right strategy to use all things considered.

Our entire territory would be in the higher elevation forests.  The lowest point was at the parking area at Walker Knob Overlook at 5,300 feet.  The highest point would be along the ridgeline at Blackstock Knob at 6,200 feet.  This should be great for those high elevation breeders.  Including of course, the Red Crossbill.

I was the first to arrive at the parking area and decided to bird around the car while I waited for Dave and Sidney.  The habitat right at the parking area was very nice with mature conifers in nearly every direction.  The trees were full of singing Golden-crowned Kinglets and Black-throated Green Warblers.  A pair of Sharp-shinned Hawks flew overhead, toying with each other as if in courtship.  And a single Pine Siskin passed almost directly overhead, giving its classic call.  It was like I was back in the boreal forests of northern New England that I visited many times while living there the last couple decades.

And then just a short distance I away I heard the sharp “kip-kip-kip” calls of the Red Crossbill.  I followed the call notes as multiple birds flew from one side of the road to the other, though unfortunately I never saw them.  I hoped that they might have landed in one of the trees nearby, but despite lots of scanning I could not relocate them.  They must have been nearby flyovers that just kept going.  Good enough to add to my NC list as #298, but I sure wish I could have seen them, even if just as flyovers.

A few minutes later Dave and Sidney arrived, and we started our walk up the Mountain to Sea trail.  Although we only had 24 species during the 3-hour walk, there were some really nice ones, likely all breeding.  Key birds on the trip – Blue-headed Vireos, many Golden-crowned Kinglets, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Creepers, Winter Wrens, Veery, Hermit Thrushes, Juncos, and Blackburnian and Black-throated Green Warblers.  One of the highlights was a bonded pair of Canada Warblers that were so tame that at times they came within 5 feet of us.  And up near the ridge we had another flyover calling Red Crossbill.  Alas, again heard only.

My statebird map for Red Crossbill is inserted below.  Solid shaded states are those where I’ve seen or heard this species; cross-hatched states are those where this species is regular though I’ve yet to catch up with them.  I still need this species in a lot of states.  Though a note on Idaho is in order – although I still need Red Crossbill in that state I’ve seen the endemic Cassia Crossbill there.