Say’s Phoebe (or was it Western Kingbird?), Buncombe County, NC, September 8, 2025

At 4 PM on September 8th several photos of a flycatcher at the Biltmore Estate were posted on the local Blue Ridge Birders text group.  The bird was bright yellow below, and the initial posted ID was of a Great Crested Flycatcher.  But several group members (including me) thought it was a Western Kingbird.  That’s a great bird for the area, and it would be a new Buncombe County bird for me, but not a new NC statebird.  And since the bird was actually photographed in the morning, many hours earlier, the chances of it still being around were likely pretty low.  So I decided to not chase after it.  Though when the Kingbird was re-spotted at 5 PM I started to second guess my decision to stay home.

And then at 6 PM came a post with a photo of a Say’s Phoebe in the same area as the Kingbird sightings.  That’s an amazing pair of rarities to be in one area!  And the Say’s would be a new NC statebird for me.  So minutes later I was out of the house to head to Biltmore to give them both a try.  The chase was on.

As I was driving into town several texts were posted questioning the initial Western Kingbird ID.  Could there indeed be 2 rare western flycatchers in the same area, or were the initial photos showing a Say’s Phoebe after all?  The belly sure looked to be bright yellow in those photos.  Or could the yellow color be somehow associated with processing the original pictures?  Then while sitting at a red light I noticed that the original post had 3 pictures showing a bird with a yellow belly, but a fourth picture showed a bird with bit of a rusty color below.  Hmm…

I finally arrived at Biltmore at about 6:45, and went right to the field south of the Lagoon where the bird(s) was(were) being seen.  There were nearly a dozen other birders there who had seen the Say’s just minutes earlier.  And now with no new Kingbird sightings, the general thought was that the bird was a Say’s all along.  In the waning light I scanned the field and fencing where the Phoebe had been seen but only found an Eastern Phoebe.

I was told the target bird was generally working its way to the south so I focused on the field and fencing up ahead in that direction.  I scanned the area for at least 5 minutes with no sightings.  Was it now too late in the evening for this insect-eater to still be foraging for food?  Was I going to be the first person to not see the bird?  And then I heard a birder behind me say he had the target bird.  I turned around and there was the Say’s Phoebe perched on the fence just to the north.  The pressure was off…  We watched for several minutes at it fed from its perch on the fence, and then from corn stubble in the adjacent field where I got this phonescoped photo.

Needless to say it was never yellow below.  Who knows what went wrong in those initial photos.  And upon closer review, the structure of the bird was more like a Phoebe than a Kingbird.  In any case, I’ll take a Say’s Phoebe over a Western Kingbird any day.

That was my 4th try for Say’s Phoebe in NC.  I tried twice for a long-staying Say’s in the winter of 2021-22 in Guilford County.  And then I tried for one in September 2023 at nearby Jackson Park.  I guess the 4th time was the charm.

Say’s Phoebe was #329 for my NC state list.  In my state bird map below, the light blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen Say’s Phoebe in its regular range.  The 6 dark blue states are those where I’ve seen this species as a rarity.

Say’s Phoebe, Union County, South Carolina, March 17, 2024

My SC Needs Alert for March 13th included this post from Mirko Hall –

Say's Phoebe - Delta South WMA, Union County

The phoebe was sitting quietly on a tree branch nest to the big white shed  that is conspicuously located to the right of the Delta farmstead's entrance.  It's silhouette looked unusual to me and I took a quick series of photographs from afar.  I have never posted publicly to eBird, but the good folks on the ABA's What's this Bird? Facebook page confirmed my find and encouraged me to list it here. 

And the clincher was a nice closeup photo of a Say’s Phoebe included in the checklist!  Sounds like the observer was a beginning birder, and hat’s off to him for finding and reporting such a nice rarity. 

I wasn’t familiar with the site, or even the county for that matter, so I quickly went to GoogleMaps and was happy to find that the site was just a 90-minute ride away.  Now it just needed to stick around.  Luckily the bird was reported again on both the 15th and 16th, so the chase was on.  I contacted my birding buddy Bill Hooker and he was interested in going after itas well.  It turns out Say’s Phoebe would be a SC state bird for him as well, so he and his wife Anita agreed to meet me at the site the next morning.  Now I needed the bird to cooperate better than a Say’s Phoebe I chased in NC a few years back.  Although that bird was long-staying, I made 3 trips for it and missed it despite 5 hours of searching.

Sightings of the SC Say’s Phoebe mentioned that the bird was seen foraging from low perches in a recently burned field just below a big white shed.  Bill, Anita, and I arrived at the Delta South WMA early on the 17th and it only took us a few seconds to locate the bird’s prime foraging area.  But a quick scan from the road didn’t reveal the bird.  Our view of the burned field was a bit obscured by cedars along the road, so we repositioned ourselves, but still to no avail.  Flashbacks of my failed searches for the NC bird went through my head.

We decided we needed to get better views of the field, so we found a break in the fence and started to walk into the field.  Here’s shot of that recently burned field that our target bird preferred.

Within a few seconds we all spotted a perched Phoebe – but with a closer look it turned out to be an Eastern Phoebe.  A bit later we found yet another Eastern Phoebe.  Maybe we were in the right area.  Then just a couple minutes later Bill said that he had a possible candidate perched in the distance.  I put the bird in my scope and it was indeed our target Say’s Phoebe.  For the next couple minutes we watched it perched both near the ground, and higher on exposed perches.  I was able to get this less-than-satisfying silhouetted phonescoped shot of the bird. 

Soon thereafter the bird flew across the road and out of view.  Not the best views for us, but good enough for the ID.  And certainly much better than my experience with that NC bird.

Say’s Phoebe was #304 for me in SC.  My statebird map for this species is inserted below.  I’ve seen it throughout the blue-shaded central and western states where it is regular.  And now SC is the 5th brown-shaded state where I’ve seen it as a rarity. 

 

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Southern Idaho Portion of the Northwest Sagebrush Country Trip, May-June 2023

In January 2016 an armed group of protesters seized and occupied the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon.  By the time the occupation was over in February 2016, there was a considerable amount of destruction of the refuge facilities, resulting in closure of the headquarters facilities for months.  Unfortunately, I had planned a summer 2016 birding trip to the sagebrush country of eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and southern Idaho to include a lengthy stop at Malheur NWR.  But given the issues at Malheur I shelved those plans and headed to Alberta and British Columbia that summer instead. 

But my interests in birding eastern OR, eastern WA, and southern ID continued as this was the last large section of the Lower 48 that I had not yet birded.  And a new part of the country for me would equate to considerable statebirding potential.  So after further delays first due to moving, and then due to Covid, I finally got around to scheduling the OR/WA/ID sagebrush country trip for the summer of 2023.  Plus I added a short side- trip to the South Hills of ID for Cassia Crossbill.  I reached out to birding friend David Donsker who often joins me on these trips, and he agreed to come along. 

After considerable research on-line especially on eBird, and with invaluable advice from a number of local birders, I set up an 11-day itinerary from May 24th to June 3rd, starting in Boise and southern ID, then into eastern OR, next into southeastern WA, then back to ID for flights back home.  With a pretty good statelist in ID (224) my potential for new statebirds there wasn’t too great, but I still hoped to add perhaps 8 new birds in ID.

This blog post presents a summary of the ID portion of the trip.  My previous post briefly summarized the entire trip.  The next 2 posts summarize the OR and WA portions of the trip.

Day 1 – May 24 – Boise and East

With on-time flights into Boise, David and I left the airport at about 2 PM.  We needed to eventually make our way to our hotel in Twin Falls to the east for the next day’s visit to the South Hills.  So I considered several targets that could be found east of Boise, finally selecting 2 key targets that were not only roughly on our way but also not too likely near the South Hills – Black-throated and Sagebrush Sparrows.  Black-throated Sparrow was only reliable at one hotspot – the Oolite Trail in Owyhee County.  And since Sagebrush Sparrows were seen on most lists submitted from this spot as well, I had the potential for 2 statebirds at one stop.  Now we just needed the birds to cooperate.

After about an hour’s drive we arrived at the small parking area for the Oolite Trail.  Actually there were two trails leading from the parking lot, and we chose the southern one to start.  The habitat was dry scattered sagebrush seemingly no different from the habitat seen throughout the area.

We walked a short distance finding a couple Lark Sparrows in the sagebrush, but little else.  A couple recent checklists mentioned the Black-throated would respond to taped calls, so with so much habitat to search we thought we’d give it a try.  And sure enough after playing just a couple songs a sparrow flew in.  Eventually it perched and with excellent views we had a striking Black-throated Sparrow (ID statebird #1).  What a handsome bird!  My statebird map for this species is inserted below.  Blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen this southwestern species; the cross-hatched states are those in its regular range where I’ve yet to see it.

Next our attention turned to Sagebrush Sparrow.  We played a little tape of this species principally just to get acquainted with its song.  We listened for a while and thought we could hear one singing in the distance to the north.  So we retraced our tracks and headed back to the parking area to pick up the northern trail.  We were now closer to our singing bird and were pretty sure of the ID, but we kept walking on the trail to get closer and confirm it.  Eventually with of bit of scanning we spotted the singer – it was indeed a Sagebrush Sparrow perched on a sagebrush (ID statebird #2). 

Couldn’t have asked for a better start to our trip!

As a postscript – this location is named after a rather unique sedimentary rock called oolite, also known as egg stone.  It consists of small spheres that look like eggs formed when grains of sand are coated with calcium carbonate in marine environments.  Here’s a close-up picture of the egg-like structures that make up the oolite.

Day 2 – May 25 – South Hills Area

Our plan for the 25th was to meet up with local birder Pat Weber to bird in and around the South Hills.  Most birders go to the South Hills to look for the Cassia Crossbill.  David and I first traveled there in May 2010 looking for the endemic Crossbill but to no avail.  Subsequently I made a trip there in September 2012 and successfully found several small Cassia Crossbill flocks.  Pat knew them by call, and could separate them from the Type 2 and 5 forms of Red Crossbill that could be migrating through the area at the time.  So her help would be invaluable.

But first we had a couple pre-dawn targets in the South Hills – Common Poorwill and Flammulated Owl.  In past years both were routinely reported in and around the Magic Mountain ski area which was also among the best spots for the Crossbills.  So we hoped to pick up a couple pre-dawn species and then be in the right location for the Crossbills as they started their day.  At least that was the plan…

We played tape for the Flammulated Owl at several locations but had no responses.  It was a chilly 36 degrees at the time which would make it pretty difficult for insect-eating nocturnal birds.  So we theorized that they hadn’t yet migrated into the area, or perhaps were at lower and warmer locations while it was so cold.  But at least we were successful with the Poorwill, hearing 2 birds calling from the upper parts of the ski area (ID statebird #3).  ID was my 13th state to find Common Poorwill, and would be one of my targets in OR later in the trip.

Now it was time to switch our focus to the Cassia Crossbill.  Pat mentioned that the Cassia’s were nesting at the time, which could make it more difficult to find them.  And certainly they were not likely to be forming small noisy flocks foraging through the conifers as Crossbills often do.  Undeterred, we birded several likely spots including the Magic Mountain ski area, Diamondfield Jack campground, and Petit campground, but came up empty.  Then we headed to Porcupine Springs campground and walked in past the remaining snow banks.  There we finally heard 2 individual calling Cassia Crossbills but never get a look at them.  We gave it the old college try, but might need to come back after nesting season to increase our chances of finding them.  Notably, our other unsuccessful try for them was also on May 25 in 2010 – exactly 13 years earlier.  At least we had a number of other nice species during this year’s visit, like Cassin’s Finch, Green-tailed Towhee, MacGillivray’s and Wilson’s Warblers, and Lincoln’s Sparrow.

Our next target was Grasshopper Sparrow in the foothills below the mountains.  One had recently been reported on Cherry Spring Rd., the same spot where one was reported last summer.  Pat strategically parked the car in good habitat and played tape.  We all listened for a response but came up empty.  Then Pat noticed a small bird perched on top of a bush in the distance.  With quick binocular views we could see that it was a Grasshopper Sparrow (ID statebird #4).  That was a bird that David and I looked for unsuccessfully in the ID panhandle in 2022, so it was nice to finally find one.  Grasshopper Sparrow would also be a target for us in OR and WA later in the trip.

Our last stop of the morning was the riparian area along North Cottonwood Rd where rare Blue Grosbeaks had been seen each of the last 2 years.  Although there were no reports yet this year, I hoped that it was just because no one had looked, or perhaps it was just too early.  We spent nearly an hour there looking and listening, finding birds like Chats, Bullock’s Orioles, and a Willow Flycatcher in the riparian area, and Lark Sparrows and a calling Long-billed Curlew in the surrounding sagebrush, but no Blue Grosbeaks.  As of mid-June there were still no Grosbeak reports there, so perhaps they won’t be back this year.

It was now a bit past Noon, and it was time for us to begin our 5-hour drive west to Burns, OR.  We thanked Pat for all her help and hoped to see her again, perhaps birding in the east.

But we had one more stop yet in ID.  One of my other ID contacts, Cheryl Huizinga, had given me great tips on my Boise area targets, including telling me about a Peregrine Falcon nest box in Nampa, just a short distance west of Boise.  The nest box was on top of a silo at a sugar factory less than a mile off the highway, making it a perfect side-trip in route to OR.  As we neared the Northside Boulevard interchange on I-84 we could see the 6 silos a short distance to the north and quickly picked out the net box.  With a bit of effort we were able to pull off the road even with the silos with the correct angle to look into the box.  Unfortunately, it was empty.  I started checking the tops of the other silos and buildings nearby hoping to find a perched falcon.  Again with no luck.  Then I noticed a pair of raptors flying above the silos – it was a pair of Peregrines toying with each other in the sky (ID statebird #5).  That was lucky.  ID was my 41st state for Peregrines, though I still need this species in 8 states scattered across the country.

Day 10 – June 2 – Boise Area

Our plan was to return to the Boise area late on June 2nd after 7 days birding in OR and WA.  But we finished up earlier than expected in WA, so we left Walla Walla at dawn and got back into Boise by late morning on the 2nd.  With more time in ID than expected, that gave us the opportunity to pursue several additional targets.  Thanks to a tip from Cheryl we first headed to Deer Flat NWR where a Western Screech-Owl was being spotted in a Wood Duck box on the East Dike Trail.  We checked out about a dozen boxes mounted on large mostly cottonwood trees along the trail but couldn’t come up with an owl.  With all the natural cavities in the cottonwoods I guess it was spending its day resting in the trees somewhere instead.

Next we were on to the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area, another spot not on our original itinerary.  But since this area is well known for our target Prairie Falcons, we were happy to now have the time to bird this spot.  We met up with local birder Kent Kleman who agreed to show us around the area, mentioning that that area was also good for another of our targets – Say’s Phoebe.  As we headed south toward the Snake River cliffs we spotted several Swainson’s and Red-tailed Hawks, but no target birds.  At Dedication Point we walked over to the cliff to hopefully find some falcons below us on the cliffs.  Along our walk through the sagebrush Kent spotted a Say’s Phoebe, which eventually gave us good views (ID statebird #6).  That’s another species we looked for extensively the previous year in the ID panhandle, so it was nice to finally see it in ID.  I’ve now seen this species in all states in its regular range, along with 3 eastern states where it is a rarity (the brown-shaded states).

By the time we reached the top of the cliff the wind was howling, making it difficult to peer down into the canyon.  We had Canyon and Cliff Wrens singing below, but still no falcons.

Next we drove to Swan Falls Park and decided to drive down into the canyon to try to get out of the wind a bit.  We made a stop about halfway down the canyon and looked and listened for the falcons.  Within just a few seconds we could hear Prairie Falcons above us and eventually got good looks of as many as 4 birds flying by and perched on the rocks above us (ID statebird #7).  Here’s a shot of the cliff above us.

Many thanks to Kent for his help in finding our 2 targets in this habitat!

Our next planned spot was a bluebird trail just west of the town Prairie.  It was a long 2-hour drive to the east, but I hoped it would be fruitful for our Western Bluebird target.  We started heading that way but soon realized that the last 24 miles would be on a very rural dirt road.  As we slowly drove east we could see a large thunderstorm forming also to the east.  And as we continued our dusty drive the thunderstorm just kept getting larger and was now directly east of us.  We had made it perhaps two-thirds the way along the dirt road when we decided not to take a risk on encountering the storm and having to drive on what may turn out to be a slippery and muddy road.  So we turned around and wished we had dedicated all that time to pursuing other targets instead.

Our last stop also wasn’t on our original itinerary.  The previous evening when making final arrangements for the day I pulled up an eBird Needs Alert for ID and was surprised that Bewick’s Wren and Anna’s Hummingbird were on the alert.  Distribution maps in the field guides indicate that both species are only found in ID as a rarity.  But numerous recent reports on the Needs Alert would suggest otherwise.  Unfortunately, with so much wasted time trying unsuccessfully to get to the Bluebird trail we only had time to bird one last spot that day, and decided on Hulls Gulch Reserve.  This suburban park had recent reports of both species, plus we got suggestions from Kent as to which trails to take, so we liked our chances. 

When we arrived at Hulls Gulch we were greeted by numerous mountain bikers on the trails.  Tough to bird when you’re avoiding bikes on the narrow trails.  We completed almost the entire loop without seeing a single hummingbird or wren, though we did have quite a number of Lesser Goldfinches.  At the very end of the walk I heard what may have been a hummingbird fly overhead.  As we stopped to look for a possible hummer I started to hear a short call that I wasn’t familiar with.  I recorded it on Merlin which called it a Bewick’s Wren.  Now I know that Merlin isn’t always correct, and should only be used as a tool and not be treated as “gospel”.  But here was my quandry - I was hearing a call I didn’t recognize, didn’t know Bewick’s Wrens calls well at all, their calls are “extremely varied” per the Sibley guide, and Merlin repeatedly ID’d this call as a Bewick’s.  Unfortunately, it was a heard-only bird, so I wasn’t sure what to do.  After returning home I checked numerous Bewick’s Wren calls on xeno-canto.org and found a nearly perfect match for a call recorded not too far away in WA.  So I finally decided to count it as a Bewick’s Wren (ID statebird #8).  In my statebird map below I decided to consider this species as a rarity in ID in keeping with my convention of using the Sibley range maps as the guide for my statebirding maps, even though Bewick’s are certainly not a rarity at least in the Boise area.

Day 11 – June 3 – Boise Area

My flight out of Boise was at about 2:30 that afternoon so I had all morning to bird in the greater Boise area.  That gave me plenty of time to pursue at least 4 of my targets.  The first was another attempt for Western Bluebirds in an area in the Boise National Forest along Grimes Creek Rd.  They had been reported there a couple times recently, and were also reported in 2022 “near the burn site”.  The Sibley guide says Western Bluebirds prefer “any open wooded habitat with areas of open or grassy ground”, so a recent burn would be ideal.  In fact, we saw a pair of Western Bluebirds a week earlier in a recent burn in OR (though I didn’t need it for my OR list). 

As I turned onto Grimes Creek Rd. and started my climb up the canyon I could see that the recent burn on the right side of the road.  That’s the good news.  The bad news is that it stretched at least a half mile.  I drove along slowly and stopped frequently but to no avail.  Then a bit farther along I came upon an area of pines where the undergrowth was managed to promote growth of a grassy meadow.  An even better spot perhaps?  I drove through this area even slower, stopping and walking along several spots, but still no Bluebirds.  The area was otherwise quite birdy, featuring Hammond’s Flycatcher, Cassin’s Vireo, Townsend’s Solitaire, Catbird, Veery (the spot to find them in the area), and Cassin’s Finch.  After 2 hours I finally threw in the towel.

Next I was off to Idaho City and the Alban’s feeding station which was the most reliable spot for White-headed Woodpecker in the area.  I had previously connected with the homeowner, Jennifer Alban, and got her permission to visit her yard to try for the Woodpeckers.  The first thing I noticed when I arrived were the large numbers of hummingbirds visiting multiple feeders.  I asked the homeowner whether she had any Anna’s but she said only rarely.  Otherwise, her hummers were Calliopes and Black-chins.  Can’t hurt to try I guess.  She pointed out the 3 trees with suet feeders, and I positioned myself on the porch where I could see all 3 trees at once.  While I waited for the woodpeckers to visit, the hummingbirds gave me great close looks, as did the numerous Cassin’s Finches on the seed feeders.  Not to mention I had this great view while I waited.

After about a 30-minute wait I heard the White-headed’s Hairy-like call that I had learned a week earlier in OR.  And seconds later a White-headed Woodpecker dropped into one of the suet feeders just 20 ft away (ID statebird #9).  What a gorgeous bird!   

My next stop was a longshot for White-breasted Nuthatch at the nearby Pioneer Cemetery.  The Nuthatch had only been reported a few times there so I wasn’t too optimistic.  But since the Woodpecker arrived so quickly, I decided to make a quick stop at the cemetery anyway.  The cemetery was certainly unique with graves and monuments tucked in amongst large pine trees and grassy undergrowth, with many of the graves dating back to the 1800’s.

I only had a few minutes so I walked into the cemetery and began to play some tape.  It was no more than 2 minutes later that a bird flew in over my head and landed on a tree trunk a short distance away – it was a White Breasted Nuthatch (ID statebird #10).  That makes up for some of my other ID searches that were either unsuccessful or took longer than expected.  I’ve now seen White-breasted Nuthatch in each state in its regular range.

The final birding stop of the day was along Bogus Basin Rd. north of Boise to try for Chukar.  This road rises out of the suburbs and goes uphill first through grasslands and then into areas with exposed volcanic rock – ideal for Chukars.  I made multiple stops in the right habitat playing tape along the way, but to no avail.  At least I was able to add Chukars to my OR and WA lists earlier in the week.  As Meat Loaf said, “two out of three ain’t bad”.

Conclusion

I ended the trip with 112 species in ID, which was a pretty good tally given that most of our time was spent chasing specific species rather than birding hotspots in general.  And of course that included 10 new statebirds, certainly a better result than the 8 I expected.  That brings my statelist to 234.  Here is a link to my eBird Trip Report for the ID portion of our trip –

ID Portion of ID-WA-OR 2023 Trip - eBird Trip Report

Many thanks to local birders Cheryl Huizinga, Pat Weber, and Kent Kleman for all their help on our searches!  And thanks to Jennifer Alban for allowing me to visit her tremendous feeding station!

8 Georgia Statebirds Following a Trip to the Florida Panhandle, January 7-8, 2023

Late in December 2022 I noticed a post from a local birder where he mentioned he had just seen a White Wagtail in FL.  That would be a lifebird, one I missed back in 2016 practically in my backyard in NH because I was out of town.  Although I’ve had the eBird ABA Rarities alert turned on for years, I haven’t been checking it lately since I’m not doing much traveling during Covid.  So a Wagtail in FL wasn’t exactly on my radar.  But with some quick eBird searches I found out that the White Wagtail was being seen nearly daily in Tallahassee.  That seemed pretty far away, but with a drive time of “only” 7 1/2 hours, it was actually about the same amount of time it takes to drive to the NC Outer Banks.  The hunt was on!

In theory I could drive down to Tallahassee in one day, hopefully see the bird, and drive back the next day.  But why not add a couple days to the trip and look for some statebirds in the FL panhandle and in southern and central GA on the drive back.  So I started planning for a 4-day trip to try for the Wagtail as a lifebird and a number of statebirds in both states.

I first focused on potential statebirds in FL within a couple hours of Tallahassee.  All told I found a possible 14 targets in FL (including the Wagtail), which was a surprisingly high number given that my FL list was already at 320.  I realistically hoped to find perhaps 8 of them.

Then it was time to research targets in GA.  My statelist was only 258, so there would be lots of possible statebirds.  My route to and from Tallahassee would go through much of GA, way too much to bird effectively on this short trip.  Plus all my GA stops would have to be just on the way back home since I wanted to make a beeline for Tallahassee on the first day of the trip in search of my key target, the Wagtail.  So I needed to focus on potential targets that might be closer to my direct route home, thus minimizing drive times for side-trips.  That meant I wouldn’t be able to get to the coast, which was unfortunate since there were a number of my targets there.  And north of Atlanta would be out of bounds as well.  Despite all those constraints, I was still able to map out a route back taking me through the center of the state then heading northeast to Augusta that would give me 12 possible statebird targets.  I figured if I could find 6 of them that would make for a successful GA portion of the trip.

This post covers the GA portion of my trip, on Days 3 and 4 of the trek.  The previous blog post summarized the FL half of the trip.

Day 3 - January 7

The first stop of the day was the last one in FL – agricultural fields in the panhandle close to where AL, GA, and FL come together.  Luckily it didn’t take long to find my target Horned Lark there since I had a full day of GA birding (and driving!) planned.  In fact, I probably had more stops planned than I could bird successfully.  So soon after seeing the Larks I was back on the road heading northeast through southern GA. 

My first GA stop was an eBird hotspot called Standard Elevator Rd. in Sumter County.  The key target here was Say’s Phoebe that had been reported there twice in late December, though the most recent report was now 10 days old.  And complicating the issue was that no details on the location of the bird were provided.  This was a 3-mile-long road, and the hotspot was apparently the entire road.  Certainly lots of territory a single flycatcher could hide in.  The only clues were that the one checklist included photos of the bird on the ground on a dirt road, on a telephone wire, and on a telephone pole.  Recent reports from the hotspot also included a Pectoral Sandpiper, though ID details were limited on this species that would typically be in South America this time of year.  Plus there were occasional reports of 3 of my other targets, Sandhill Crane, and White-crowned and Vesper Sparrows, which were also seen at a number of other sites in this part of the state.  Lots of opportunity, though with limited time and directions, I wasn’t too overly optimistic.

As I pulled into the eastern end of the road I noticed a small roadside farm pond with mudflats.  I broke out the scope and picked up 15 Least Sandpipers, both Yellowlegs, and a Snipe, but no Pectoral.  That is assuming that this was the pond where the Pectoral had been spotted in the first place. 

Then I turned my attention to my key target, the Say’s Phoebe.  My first strategy was to try to find the area where the photos had been taken.  But the road was paved instead of dirt, and it was lined with 3 miles of telephone wires and poles.  This would be next to impossible.  I drove along a short distance and briefly got excited when I found a couple Phoebes but they turned out to be Eastern.  I had basically given up on the Phoebe and turned my attention to my Sparrow targets.  There was some nice brush along the roadside and I played some White-crowned tape to see if I could get lucky.  Amazingly an immature White-crowned almost instantly popped up – it was the first sparrow I saw along the road (GA statebird #1). 

My statebird map for White-crowned Sparrow is inserted below.  The blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen this species in its regular range, which is basically the entire US.  The one cross-hatched location, Washington, D.C., is the last jurisdiction where I have not yet seen this species.

A short distance farther ahead I left the brushy area behind and came upon a dirt agricultural field.  I noticed some movement at the muddy edge and it was a Vesper Sparrow.  And then I realized there were actually 3 Vesper Sparrows foraging together (GA statebird #2).  Remarkably the first 4 sparrows that I saw along the road were a White-crowned and 3 Vespers.  Can’t ask for anything better than that.  Well I guess unless I saw the Say’s Phoebe too. 

Like White-crowned, Vesper is seen across the Lower 48 states, though I still need this one in 5 states plus DC.  (There aren’t too many good sparrow spots in DC I guess.)

I drove along a bit farther down the road and spotted a Phoebe flying nearby.  I quickly got out but it was just another Eastern.  But before I could return to the car I heard the bugling of a Sandhill Crane.  I looked up and there was a flock of 8 birds flying low overhead (GA statebird #3).  In my statebird map for this species that tan-shaded states are those eastern states where I’ve seen this species as a rarity.

The 2 Sparrows and the Crane had been reported at a number of my planned stops, so seeing them all so quickly meant I could spend less time looking for them on upcoming stops.  Plus 1 upcoming stop solely for Cranes could be eliminated altogether.  This gave me more time for my other targets.

And speaking of other targets, my thoughts came back to the Say’s Phoebe.  The place where I had parked was close to where farmer’s equipment had driven from the fields to the paved road, covering the road with large amounts of dirt.  Could this be what I thought was a dirt road in one of the pictures?  Then I started thinking about Say’s Phoebe’s preferred microhabitat – they especially like to forage and perch around farm buildings.  I could see a group of farm buildings up ahead near the western end of Standard Elevator Rd. – maybe I could re-find the bird after all.  I spent some time wandering around the buildings, seeing a number of perched birds like Mourning Doves and a Mockingbird, but not my target.

Then I remembered there were old farm buildings at the other end of the road as well.  I drove back there and just as I was getting out of the car noticed a telephone pole covered in poison ivy vines.  That reminded me that in the photo showing the Phoebe perched on a telephone pole the pole was also covered in vines.  Had I found the correct spot? 

Just when I started walking around the area near the pole a small flycatcher flew by and perched most cooperatively in a low tree – I had my Say’s Phoebe. 

GA was my 3rd eastern state finding this species as a rarity.

It’s most satisfying when my research and detective work lead to a successful chase!  And with 4 targets at my first stop I couldn’t have asked for a better start to my day.

Next I was off to the Dooly County Road Farm Pond hotspot where 2 Canvasbacks had been reported intermittently.  When I pulled up and did my first scan I didn’t see a single duck.  That wasn’t looking good.  But part of the pond was obscured by a small hill so I adjusted my viewing angle and noticed a group of 5 Hooded Mergansers actively diving.  And then 4 Cormorants swam into view.  But still no Canvasbacks though I picked out 2 rare continuing Long-billed Dowitchers.  I was now convinced that I could see the entire pond, and the Canvasbacks just weren’t there no matter how hard I tried.  But I had another spot for Canvasback on the next day so I wasn’t throwing in the towel on this species just yet. 

My next target was a Ross’s Goose reported twice in a small runoff retention pond in a suburban subdivision in Warner Robins.  Photos and a GoogleEarth view of this spot suggested the habitat was marginal, so I wasn’t too optimistic on this one.  But it was just a few miles off my route so worth the try.  When I arrived I realized that the pond was inside a gated community.  I tried driving around the outside of the community but fencing blocked my views.  I was tempted to just give up, but decided to try to talk my way into the neighborhood.  Luckily there was someone manning the gate, and they let me in to survey the waterfowl at the pond.  Just as I pulled in I spotted a couple Canadas - this was looking good.  But when I got a better view of the pond a small flock of Canadas were the only geese there.  In hindsight, with limited time available and more spots to bird yet that day, it would have been better to skip this spot altogether.

After a quick break to gas up, I was back on the road heading north to the Piedmont NWR to look for Red-cockaded Woodpeckers.  This one had not been on my radar screen until the night before when a report came through on my Needs Alert.  Then with some additional historical research I found out that Red-cockaded was actually regular on the refuge, presumably with active management for this endangered species.  If it hadn’t been for the previous day’s report I would have driven right past this spot.  But “shoe-horning” this additional spot in an otherwise already full schedule meant I had maybe just 90 minutes of birding time there.

After arriving at the refuge I went right to the location of yesterday’s report at the Wildlife Drive hoping the birds were still in the vicinity.  Foraging birds are often quite vocal, so I listened and watched intently.  I walked and drove along that section of the road, finding excellent managed habitat for Red-cockaded, but didn’t find my target bird.  Though I did see several marked trees the Red-cockaded was using for feeding or nesting.

I then went to nearby Cut-through Road where they had also been reported recently.  As before, I walked along the road through excellent habitat.  Several times I heard tapping but it turned out to be Red-bellies and Sapsuckers.  Then I heard more tapping and finally heard the characteristic “seep” calls of a Red-cockaded Woodpecker in the distance (GA statebird #5).  I briefly tried to track it down but realized the bird was pretty far away and my time was limited.  Not the most satisfying observation I’m afraid. 

After I got home, I realized that I could also have searched for Bachman’s Sparrow in this same habitat.  Although they are easier to find in spring and summer while singing on territory, they are still present in the winter months.  If I go back for the sparrow hopefully I’ll get some nice views of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers as well.

My last stop of the day was the Augusta regional airport where there had been recent sightings of both LeConte’s and Henslow’s Sparrows.  But those birds would have to wait till the next morning.  Today I wasn’t arriving at the airport until sunset when my targets would be Woodcock and Short-eared Owl.  Both species were only reported there once, and it was more than 2 weeks ago, but I was hopeful that the Woodcocks were local breeders and would be calling each evening.  I was a bit less optimistic for the Owl, but still worth the try.

I arrived at the end of General Perry Smith Parkway at the edge of the airport property at 5:34, one minute before sunset.  Skies were clear and there was no wind - excellent conditions to see or hear both species.  From my vantage point I could see most of the airport property as I hoped to see a Short-ear either sitting on a low perch, or flying low over the ground.  My initial scans came up empty, though a flyover late Bald Eagle was interesting.  As it got darker, I scanned even more intently but couldn’t come up with an Owl.  There’s a rule of thumb that Woodcocks start calling 20 minutes after sunset, so at 5:55 I crossed my fingers that the “timberdoodles” would soon start their courtship.  But at 6:00 there were still no calling Woodcocks and it was almost too dark to see a Short-ear even if it was there.  My hopes were waning.  Then finally at 6:02 I heard the first of 2 Woodcocks calling a short distance away (GA statebird #6).  It’s nice to shade in GA in my statebird map, but I still need this species in a number of states especially in the western portion of its range.

At 6:10 it was now too dark to try to see a Short-eared Owl, so I gave up on my nocturnal search and called it a day. 

Day 4 - January 8

At sunrise on the 8th I was back at the airport to try for the LeConte’s and Henslow’s Sparrows.  Both species had been found in a very small grassy area with some standing water and clumps of broomsedge a short distance from the spot where I had the Woodcocks the prior evening.  Although I had excellent directions to the wet area where the sparrows were found, I wasn’t too overly optimistic since the LeConte’s was last seen nearly 2 weeks ago, and the Henslow’s was last seen 5 days earlier.  I spent a fair amount of time trudging through the area but only found Songs and Fields.  I spotted similar habitat across the road at a retention pond and gave that a try too but only found Songs and Savannahs there.  It looks like I was too late for these little skulking targets.

My next stop was the Brickyard Ponds hotspot a short distance away where Canvasback was quite reliable and Black Duck was seen occasionally.  And there was even a recent report of Neotropic Cormorant there.  I traded e-mails with local birders who shared advice how to bird this spot, and they suggested that Canvasback was most likely to be seen in the Garden Pond.  After paying the small entrance fee at the bait shop I began the drive into the large complex of lakes of various sizes and shapes.  The first couple lakes had few waterfowl, but quite a number of Double-crested Cormorants.  I checked each one but couldn’t come up with the smaller Neotropic.  There were also multiple Anhingas nicely perched around the perimeter of each of the lakes. 

Then I reached the Garden Pond and it was absolutely covered in waterbirds.  Closest to the road were large numbers of Coots, perhaps 400 of them.  Then I looked farther out on the lake and the water was covered in diving ducks – certainly critical mass to find a Canvasback.  The flock was dominated by at least 500 Ring-necked Ducks.  Some of the closest Ring-necks flew off when I drove up; I just hoped the Canvasbacks weren’t with them.  Now it was time for a closer look to see what other species might be mixed in.  With a more methodical scan I was able to pick out 15 Redheads, 10 Buffleheads, and 15 Ruddy Ducks in with the Ring-necks.  I was starting to get worried until I finally found a pair of female Canvasbacks swimming far in the distance among the other ducks (GA statebird #7).  I just need Canvasback in 1 more state in the continental US.

With the Canvasback behind me, it was time to get back to looking for Black Duck and Neotropic Cormorant.  I birded the remaining lakes but unfortunately couldn’t come up with either of those long-shot targets.  Although I only got 1 of my targets, the Brickyard Ponds hotspot sure looked like a great birding site. 

My last stop of the trip was Lake Olmstead on the northern side of Augusta where a pair of Long-tailed Ducks were first spotted 2 weeks ago and were being seen almost daily.  It’s a small lake so I was cautiously optimistic.  The reports often mentioned that they were being seen off the boat ramp, though they were diving frequently.  I pulled into the parking lot at the boat ramp and instantly noticed movement out on the lake – it was the pair of Long-tailed Ducks!  (GA statebird #8)  That was easy.  They were indeed diving frequently, but I was able to get this passable phone-scoped photo.

Long-tailed duck 2 pic

Two days earlier I also added Long-tailed Duck to my FL list – nice to get this rarity back-to-back in these 2 southeastern states.

What a great way to end the trip!  My 8 new GA statebirds were 2 more than I hoped for, and it brings my statelist to 265.  And along with 10 new statebirds in FL (including a Lifer!), it was a great start to the 2023 birding year.

Coastal VA and NC Trip Nets 11 New Statebirds, December 9-13, 2021, Part 2 of 2

I attended a Carolina Bird Club trip to the Outer Banks of NC in mid-December 2021.  And along with extensions into coastal VA, plus 2 travel days, I made it into a 5-day weekend.  It had been more than 20 years since I birded southeastern VA, and I had quite a number of possible new statebirds.  First, several target species like Lesser Black-backed Gull and White Ibis are more numerous there now.  Plus my VA statelist was only at 250 so there were a number of gaps in general I could fill.  On the downside, my last trip was before 9/11 when I was still able to bird on the islands of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (CBBT) – locations which are no longer accessible due to possible terrorist concerns.  As for NC, even though it had been nearly 3 decades (ouch) since I birded the Outer Banks, my potential targets in NC were pretty limited.  Most importantly I was banking on a couple long-staying rarities, Eurasian Wigeon and Hudsonian Godwit, which were rather reliable.  All told I hoped for 5 or 6 new statebirds in VA and 3 in NC.  And I was looking forward to reacquainting myself with some of the top hotspots on the NC and VA coasts.

This is my summary of the second half of the trip; see my prior post for the first half of the trip.

December 12 – 6 for 6 in Eastern VA

The CBC trip continued on the Outer Banks through the morning of the 12th, but it sounded like the plan was to cover some of the same area we birded on the 11th, plus some other spots that would likely not yield any new statebirds for me.  Plus I had 6 feasible targets in eastern VA, especially given that I missed the Heermann’s Gull and didn’t pursue the Red-cockaded Woodpeckers and Western Kingbird earlier in my trip.  Though the targets would have to be cooperative if I was to have enough time to try for all 6.  So I decided to change my plans and bird eastern VA instead of NC.  I hoped I wouldn’t regret my decision.

The first stop was to try for the continuing Western Kingbird in Virginia Beach at a hotspot called the Harris Teeter Retention Pond.  The bird was most often seen perching in trees surrounding a large field to the south of the shopping center.  Though the last report had the bird at an adjacent school.  Once I parked at the shopping center it only took me a few minutes to get to the back of the buildings and the small pond which looked nice for a migrant shorebird or two in season.  But shorebirds weren’t my target here.  I decided to target the trees around the field as I walked right by the school.  Though I did stop long enough to see a few White-crowns feeding along the trail.

I was now walking along the western edge of the field looking for any movement of larger birds in flight or perched in the trees.  I had a few Blue Jays and woodpeckers here and there but no insectivores.  It was a cold, gray, breezy morning so I started to worry that the insects weren’t moving yet -not the best conditions for a flycatcher.  As I neared the southwest corner of the field I spotted a larger bird fly into the bare deciduous trees.  And with a quick binocular view I had my target Western Kingbird (statebird #5).  I got these distant digibin shots of the bird.

 VA was my 5th eastern state to see Western Kingbird as a rarity. 

I had given myself 90 minutes at this first stop of the day, but only needed 30.  It’s great especially to have the first target to be so cooperative.  Now a whole hour ahead of schedule, I was well-positioned to be able to pursue all my targets for the day. 

Next I was off to the Princess Anne WMA, where White Ibis were being seen in two adjacent tracts – Beasley and Whitehurst.  They were reported a bit more frequently at Beasley, so that’s where I would start.  The WMA was only open for birding on Sundays since hunting was allowed every other day of the week.  Hence I targeted this spot on Sunday the 12th instead of the 10th on my first trip through the area. 

The Beasley Tract features numerous small impoundments flooded to attract waterfowl.  So my plan was to scan each one to look for my target White Ibis feeding in the shallow water.  After a short walk through pine woodlands I arrived at the impoundments that were on both sides of my trail.  Although some were obscured by vegetation, I hoped that I would quickly find my target.  But after searching the first half dozen impoundments I had no waders at all.  And the only waterfowl was a Pied-billed Grebe – had the hunters scared away all the birds?  But then I noticed a tight flock of larger birds overhead – I had 8 White Ibis flying to the north (statebird #6).  I searched the rest of the impoundments but still never found any foraging waders.  Though I had 2 more small flocks of White Ibis flying low to the north.  Wonder where they were coming from and going to?

It was nice to fill in VA in my statebird map as the northernmost Atlantic state where it is regular.  I’ve also seen White Ibis as a rarity in 7 northeast states and DC.

I had one more longer shot target at this spot – Blue-headed Vireo.  This is one of several quite common passerine migrants and nesters that I still need for my VA list.  There were occasional recent records of Blue-headed at the Beasley tract which is near the northernmost extent of its wintering range.  The parking lot was surrounded by nice pine habitat which should be quite good for roaming bands of wintering passerines.  So when I got back to the car I played some Screech-owl tape and quickly attracted a number of Yellow-rumps.  At one point I thought I heard a couple Blue-headed call notes but they were faint and didn’t continue so I couldn’t be sure.  A few minutes later I felt like I had found everything that was in the area so stopped the tape and was about to get in the car.  Just then I heard the characteristic scolding calls of a Blue-headed Vireo (statebird #7) – I guess I could have counted it based on those first call notes afterall.  I now just need this species in MS and DC in its regular range.

The next stop was at the Piney Grove Preserve in Sussex County for the resident Red-cockaded Woodpeckers.  I was actually lucky to have noticed one recent report for this species – otherwise I would have passed right by this area without knowing that this was a regular spot for these woodpeckers.  When I arrived in the area along Chinquapin Road it was obvious where to look for these endangered woodpeckers – there were extensive patches of tall longleaf pines actively managed to reduce the undergrowth. 

I drove slowly through the area stopping at several locations, listening intently for their characteristic calls, but with no luck.  I also looked for the nesting trees that have white rings painted on their trunks, but never found any.  I was starting to get a little worried.  Then finally on my next stop I heard a few woodpecker taps, then got a quick view of a medium-sized woodpecker.  A bit later I heard the calls and got good views of a Red-cockaded Woodpecker (statebird #8).  And as is typical of this species, it was one of 4 birds foraging together in the pines.  Here’s a digibin shot of one of the shier birds.

I also got nice views of a second Blue-headed Vireo here – rarer at this inland location than the one I had earlier closer to the coast.

With the woodpecker under my belt I was off for a second try at the Heermann’s Gull.  My luck with this very reliable bird had to be better than on my first stop – right?  As I pulled into the Hopewell Marina I saw a group of birders around the boat ramp which is the gull’s preferred roosting and feeding spot.  I quickly drove over to them hoping (indeed expecting) that they had my target bird.  But they had been unable to find the Heermann’s despite quite a bit of searching.  Had I struck out again?  Just then another birder walked over saying she just heard that it was perched under the bridge.  That was one of the spots I searched on my earlier try so I knew exactly where to look.

We all drove over to the bridge and sure enough there was a significant flock of gulls perched on the nearby wooden piers under the bridge.  But with a quick binocular scan none of us picked out the gull.  It should be obvious given its unique charcoal gray plumage, so now we wondered about the accuracy of that third-hand report.  I set up my scope to do a more detailed scan, even though I was pretty sure binocular views were good enough.  And then I spotted the Heermann’s – it was sleeping in the shadows of the bridge and it was nearly the same color of the wood (statebird #9). 

VA is now the 4th state where I’ve seen this species as a rarity on the Atlantic or Gulf Coasts.  Wonder what’s causing the vagrancy of this Pacific Ocean gull.

I was thinking of staying to wait for the bird to wake up and give better views, but I had one more target to chase after – Ross’s Goose.  A pair of these diminutive geese were reported in a large flock of Snow Geese two days earlier at Turkey Island Road in nearby Henrico County.  Photos showed the geese foraging in harvested corn fields so it seemed like it could be relatively easy to find them.  That is if the flock was still around.  Afterall there had been no reports in the last 2 days. 

After a quick 20-minute drive I arrived at Turkey Island Road, driving through very nice ag lands with cornfields on both sides of the road.  Excellent wintering goose habitat.  The only problem was I couldn’t find any geese of any species.  I got to the end of the road and turned around for another try.  Then I noticed a car parked on the side of the road ahead of me.  Not too surprisingly, they were birders also looking for the Ross’s.  [On a side note they had recently moved from NH and new of me from my New England days – small world.]  They had just come from a nearby small lake, likely finding the right flock of Snow Geese but not finding the Ross’s.  I was glad I ran into these birders because I didn’t know about the lake.  And always up for a challenge, I was willing to try to find the Ross’s in with the Snows. 

After a short drive and a walk through the fields I came upon the lake with all the geese.  It was located behind a hill and out of view from Turkey Island Road – I would have never found the lake on my own.  The lake was full of geese – I estimated 750 Canadas and 500 Snows – but all quite far away.

Surprisingly most of the Snows were blue-phase birds.  And most of the few white-phase Snows were noticeably small than the “Blues”.  So the good news was that there weren’t many white geese to look through.  The bad news was that the Ross’s wouldn’t be too much smaller than the white Snows.  I started to scan the flock slowly but couldn’t come up with the Ross’s.  But then I noticed a group of 4 white geese together with what appeared to be small bills.  It took a while to get clear views but I finally could see the short stubby bills, steep forehead, and rounded head of Ross’s Geese (statebird #10).  Here’s a very distant phonescoped pic of the birds in the background.

I texted both the NH birders and the ones with me at the Hopewell Marina to tell them that I had found the Ross’s.  A few minutes later they all got to see the birds.  Interestingly the best way to find them in the flock was to look for 4 white geese swimming together.

VA is now my 32nd state for this expanding species.  It wasn't too long ago that Ross's Goose was quite a rarity anywhere across the country.

What a day – I found all 6 of my target birds.  A nice improvement from the beginning of my trip.  Though as an aside, it turns out that the CBC group re-found the Hudsonian Godwit on the Outer Banks that day.  I guess I can’t be everywhere.

December 13 – Another Slow Travel Day

The 13th was my day for the long ride back home from the coast.  And along the way I would make another try for the Say’s Phoebe in Guilford County, NC.  But first on the VA part of my drive I kept an eye open for Turkeys – a bird I still needed for my statelist.  But the best I could do was to spot a dead bird on the side of the highway.  Alas, not countable unless it was still breathing.

I rolled into the Guilford County Farm mid-morning and started my slow walk through the area.  As before I slowly walked around the complex checking out every conceivable Phoebe perch.  After 90 minutes I was not very optimistic.  And then I got a text from the Blue Ridge Audubon group saying that there was a Varied Thrush coming to a feeder in Hickory.  A quick look at GoogleMaps showed that Hickory was right on my home.  The text included the fact that the homeowner was willing to have visitors, his address, and where to stand to look for the Thrush.  Hmm…  Would the Thrush be more likely than the Phoebe?  After searching for the Say’s Phoebe now for 4 hours over 2 trips, I decided to throw in the towel and give the Varied Thrush a try. 

Just after getting back on the road I called my birding friend Bill Hooker and alerted him to the Thrush report.  Bill was very interested, though I mentioned the only thing missing from the report was whether there were certain times of the day when the Thrush was being seen.  Bill decided to try for it as well, and his ETA was actually a few minutes earlier than mine.  An hour later I was just a few minutes away from the feeding station when Bill called.  He was on-site and talked to the homeowner – the Thrush was only being seen once a day pretty early in the morning.  Ugh…  We gave it about an hour, seeing a good number of birds at the feeding station.  But given its history, not surprisingly we had no Varied Thrush. 

That was a tough way to end the trip – missing both of my last targets.  But it was still a most successful weekend, with 10 additions to my VA list, bringing my statelist up to 260.  And my NC list is now at 312 with the addition of 1 new bird.  Certainly better than the 8 or 9 new statebirds I hoped for for the entire weekend.  Plus I reacquainted myself with many of the key hotspots in the upper portion of the Outer Banks and coastal VA. 

Can’t wait to go back!