Southern Ohio Trip Nets 7 State Birds - August 23-25, 2024

Since moving to the southeast I’ve been looking for an excuse to get back to Kentucky to fill some gaps in my state list.  Then in late summer of 2023 I began to notice lots of good birds being reported at the Falls of the Ohio - a wetlands area in the Ohio River near Cincinnati.  I finally had my excuse to go birding in KY!   And although birding at the Falls could be my prime reason to return to KY, I could always try for other new state birds en route or nearby.  Plus, while I’m in the area I could cross over into Ohio and bird the southwest part of that state as well.  I last birded in OH in 2017 and that state total was at 228.  That meant I had lots of gaps in that state list too.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get my plans together early enough to make the trip in 2023, but there was always next year.

As Summer 2024 progressed I started to plan my KY and OH trip in earnest.  First of all, I scheduled my trip for the third week of August which historically was the week with the greatest number of targets for me at the Falls of the Ohio (based on eBird bar charts).  Then with the help of several local KY experts and lots of hours on eBird, I found 16 potential KY state birds in the region.  My eBird research revealed 7 reasonable targets on OH, 4 of which were late breeders, while the others were either waders or shorebirds.  But in order to pursue several of them I’d have to drive almost all the way north to Columbus, which was farther than my original plans. 

Planning the trip around the late summer peak times at the Falls of the Ohio meant that local breeders might be difficult to find so late in the breeding season.  But with recent reports for most of the breeders, I tried to stay optimistic. 

Given the timing of the trip for the breeders, I hoped for perhaps 9 new KY state birds plus 3 new birds in OH.  Though maybe I was being too optimistic.

This blog post summarizes the OH portion of my August 2024 trip, starting with Day 4 of the trip.  My previous post summarized the KY part of the trip.

Day 4 – August 23

I started the day birding in Louisville, KY, with my last stop being the Falls of the Ohio.  But since the Falls were quite slow, I didn’t stay there long and as a result, I finished the KY portion of my day earlier than expected.  So with extra time on my hands, I changed my strategy for that afternoon to bird a couple spots on tomorrow’s OH itinerary.  If I was able to find my targets, that would give me more time tomorrow for other stops.  And if I missed those target birds today, I could always come back for a second try tomorrow.

My first OH stop of the day was the GilmoreMetroPark in the northern Cincinnati suburbs where an adult and 2 juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Herons had been reported for some time.  Plus just the day before an Olive-sided Flycatcher was reported at the park, giving me a second target to pursue.  I arrived at the park mid-afternoon and after a short walk reached the overlook at the South Pond where the Herons were most often reported.  I had a Green Heron there on the far side of the pond, but no Night Herons.  I birded along nearly the entire edge of the pond finding 4 more Green Herons, but not my target.  I guess I’d have to come back the next day for a second try for this one.

Next I headed to nearby Cattail Marsh at the park to try for yesterday’s Olive-sided.  On my way I passed by an extensive brushy area that was bathed in the hot afternoon sun so I quickly made my way through the area.  That is until I heard a song that I instantly recognized as one I had played the previous day in KY – Bell’s Vireo.  That’s a really rare bird in OH, and one that had not popped up on any of my OH Needs Alerts.  The bird kept singing so I taped it for ID purposes using the Merlin app.  However, Merlin was calling it a Blue Grosbeak.  I know Blue Grosbeak songs well and this bird wasn’t a Blue Grosbeak.  Perhaps since Merlin knew my location it wasn’t even considering Bell’s Vireo as an option since it would be a rarity.  My tape of the bird in question is in my Bird checklist here –   ebird.org/checklist/S192514134    I was certain of my ID and very excited to have found a rarity.  Here’s a picture of the extensive brushy area where the Bell’s Vireo was calling from.

After hearing the Bell’s Vireo for several minutes I moved onto Cattail Marsh to look for the Olive-sided.  There were lots of tall dead trees and snags surrounding the marsh but unfortunately no perched Olive-sided.  I then turned my attention to the marsh which was nearly dry, exposing a broad mud flat that looked great for species like Baird’s and Buff-breasted Sandpipers.  I tallied 54 Killdeer, plus some Leasts and one Semi Sand, but nothing better.  Although I missed my 2 targets for the park, at least I found a Bell’s Vireo.

Next it was off to Ceasar Creek State Park in the southeast suburbs of Dayton where a Little Blue Heron had been reported for a couple weeks.  And to sweeten the pot, a Snowy Egret was found at the same spot the day before.  The birds were being seen from 2 different sides of Ceasar Creek - from Young Road which ends at a boat ramp to the west, and Mound Road to the east.  They seemed to be more easily seen from Young Road so I decided to go there first.

As I pulled up to the Young Road boat ramp I saw a couple birders with their scope trained on the wetlands to the north.  I scurried on over to them hoping that they had my targets but no such luck – they too were looking for those white waders unsuccessfully so far.  But then one birder mentioned that the eBird hotspot was not at the boat ramp but a short distance to the south.  Maybe we needed to search from there.  I found a trail through the woods and took a short walk to the south where the trail ended at the waters edge.  And due east, about a quarter mile across the river, was a small marsh and mudflat that appeared to be the Mound Road hotspot. 

I started to scan the area and quickly spotted a medium-sized white wader.  Even at that distance I could see the all dark bill, dark legs, and yellow feet of a Snowy Egret (OH state bird #1).  It’s barely visible on the left of the above picture.  And with a bit more scanning I noticed another white wader, a bit slighter than the Snowy.  And with a dark-tipped pale bill and green legs I confirmed it as a Little Blue Heron (OH statebird #2).

My state bird maps for Snowy Egret and Little Blue Heron are inserted below.  The blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen these species in their regular range.  The cross-hatched states are those in their regular ranges where I’ve yet to see them.  The purple-shaded states are those where I’ve seen these species as a rarity.

 

Just before leaving the site we found a Philadelphia Vireo foraging in the brush.  A nice bird but not a new one for OH.

That evening I checked on eBird and found to my surprise that my sighting and ID of the Bell’s Vireo had been quickly accepted - based solely on the song.  (Boy was Merlin wrong!)  Not only that, but it was reported from the same spot earlier in the day.  And with a bit more research I found that 1 or 2 Bell’s Vireos had actually been at this same location since May.  Although I wasn’t the first person to find it, at least it would be an unexpected new bird for my OH list.  But then I started to wonder why it hadn’t popped up on any of my OH Needs Alerts.  A couple clicks later I found out that I actually already had Bell’s Vireo on my OH list from a sighting back in June 2011.  It was still exciting to almost discover it that day.

Day 5 – August 24, 2024

My first stop of the day was at the Huffman Prairie Flying Field at the edge of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base northeast of Dayton.  This field was used by the Wright brothers in the early 1900’s to perfect their flying machine.  A portion of this field is now managed as a natural prairie, and was home for 2 of my targets – Sedge Wren and Henslow’s Sparrow.  I reached out to local birder Steve Bell who had recently posted observations of both breeding species on eBird to get some advice for finding my targets.  Steve provided great tips on birding the site and excellent maps where he had seen them recently.  So although it was getting late in the year, now with Steve’s help, I was optimistic I’d be able to find my targets. 

Here’s a shot of the prairie when I arrived with the sun rising over the foggy fields.  The one-mile loop trail I would take through the prairie is barely visible in this shot beyond the information kiosk. 

Soon thereafter the fog lifted revealing this lush prairie vegetation.

A short distance down the trail I reached one of the locations Steve had recommended for Sedge Wren.  I stopped and listened for these typically vocal birds, and soon heard a set of chattering calls I didn’t quite recognize.  Merlin identified it as Sedge Wren.  Never one to rely on Merlin, especially given the Blue Grosbeak/Bell’s Vireo issue the day before, I waited a bit longer and one bird eventually came in close to me.  Finally, I had visuals of a Sedge Wren (OH state bird #3). 

I continued around the loop now especially listening for Henslow’s Sparrow.  Along the way I had single Sedge Wrens at two other spots in the prairie, again giving those chatter calls that I don’t think I’ve ever heard from Sedge Wrens.  A couple times I spished up single Savannah Sparrows that briefly got me excited, but they were just Savannahs.  Then finally I heard several “songs” of a Henslow’s not too far from one of the spots Steve had had them (OH state bird #4).  Although I’m happy to now have Henslow’s in 14 states, I still have a long way to go to find this elusive and declining species throughout its regular range.

I had several other possible stops for Sedge Wren nearby, but since I was successful with them at Huffman Prairie I could skip those other stops.  And that gave me extra time to head to the hotspot named “Battelle Darby Creek – Wet Prairie Restoration” close to Columbus.  Although there were no likely new state birds for me there now, the spot formerly had several that would have been new for me, like Common Gallinule, American Bittern, and Buff-breasted Sandpiper.  Maybe I’d get lucky with one of these or find something else.  Again, I reached out to Steve Bell for advice on this new spot, and once again his advice was most detailed and proved to be very helpful.

After a 40-minute drive I reached the parking lot for this hotspot and took the short walk to the wetlands.  It was a nice mudflat surrounded by cattails, and it was full of shorebirds.  There was a nice mix of the regular species there, but no rarities.  I had just found one in the distance that I was trying to make into a Baird’s when all the shorebirds took off.  I looked up and there was a Peregrine passing by.  I waited a while for the shorebirds to return but after 10 minutes the mudflats were still bare.  It was time to move on.  It was a nice stop, but as expected, nothing new.

Next I turned to searches for Eurasian Collared-Doves.  I had 2 possible stops for this species, and even though the reports at both sites weren’t very recent, I was still optimistic.  In my experience with ECDs, once they are discovered at a given location they often stick around for quite a while.  My first stop was in South Charleston where they were reported at grain elevators at the south end of town.  I’ve often found ECDs at grain elevators, so I liked my chances at this spot.

I drove up to the area of the most recent report and found several sets of grain elevators.  Where to start?  

I pulled into the parking lot between two sets of silos and immediately flushed a Collared-Dove from the lot (OH state bird #5).  That was easy.  I’ve seen this species throughout its regular range, and now OH is the 8th Midwest and northeast state where I’ve seen it as a rarity.

My look at the bird as it flushed was pretty brief, so I was hoping to get some better views.  I parked along Woodward Street which ran along the north side of the industrial complex and had numerous shade trees that looked like good perches for the Doves.  Within a few minutes another ECD flew up from the parking lot and landed in one of the tall trees.  But it disappeared in the leaves.  Just then I heard a Dove singing, and eventually located it perched on top of a nearby telephone pole.  Here's a couple digi-binned shots of this cooperative bird.

My last stop of the day was back at Gilmore MetroPark for a second try at the Yellow-crowned Night Herons.  After my failed attempt the previous afternoon (in the heat), I did some more research on eBird and noticed that most of the recent reports were either in the early morning or late evening.  So I checked into my hotel early that afternoon and delayed my try for the Herons till after dinner. 

I had a nice picnic dinner at a shaded picnic table at the park, then started my walk to South Pond at 6:15.  As I got to the overlook I noticed a wader perched on the far side.  Did I have my bird, or was it another Green Heron?  Then with a quick binocular view it was easy to see I had the adult YCNH.  Delaying my search until late in the day must have done the trick.  Check out the Wood Ducks photo-bombing this shot of the Heron.

Day 6 – August 25, 2024

I had just one target for the last day of the trip – Broad-winged Hawk.  There were reports of nesting Broad-wings at numerous sites around greater Cincinnati earlier in the summer, though in most locations there were just one or two sightings.  The exception seemed to be an area in the southwest corner of OH called Shawnee Overlook, where there were numerous reports going back to the spring at a couple trails.  I chose to hike the Little Turtle Trail since it had the most July and and August reports this year.  Though with just 3 reports the last 2 months you couldn’t exactly say that Broad-wings were common there.  Ironically, during my working days, I had a project site just a couple miles from Shawnee Overlook which I visited many times though didn’t bird at the Overlook.

The Little Turtle Trail made a 2-mile loop through nice mature deciduous woodlands.  About a mile along the trail I very fittingly found this little (box) turtle crossing the path. 

Another half mile along I started to hear a number of species typical of dense deciduous forests including Pileated Woodpecker, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and multiple Acadian Flycatchers.  I said to myself that the only species I was missing was the Broad-wing.  And just a couple minutes later I heard the first of several high-pitched calls of a Broad-winged Hawk (OH state bird #7).  I just need this species in 4 more states in its regular range.

It’s always great to end your trip by finding your last target!

That gave me 7 new OH state birds – an excellent result given that I expected just 3.  And that brings my OH total to 235.   

Now a bit of a postscript regarding the significance and context of my OH total –

Early in my birding career I set a goal to see at least half of the birds on the official state lists of each state in the Lower 48 and DC.  The genesis of this goal comes from the American Birding Association (ABA).  Back in the day, the ABA would publish your state totals but only if you had observed at least half of the total ever recorded in that state.  The ABA last published birders’ totals in this way in 2011.  Later they went to a digital format where all your totals would be published without any threshold.  And of course, eBird has taken that approach as well.  But my goal remained – to be able to meet the ABA reportable threshold in each state.  And in 2023, with a birding trip to Oregon, I reached my lifelong goal of being reportable in each of the Lower 48 states plus DC. 

As of 2011 the ABA reporting threshold for OH was 211, meaning the total state list was twice that total or 422.  I had 228 on my OH list at the time so I was safe at 17 over the threshold.  Or was I?  You see as new birds are added to a state list, the threshold increases as well.  As of December 2023 (the most recent update on the internet), the official OH state list had increased by a whopping 28 birds in just 12 years, bringing the total now to 450 (http://ohiobirds.org/resources/official-ohio-ornithological-society-bird-checklist/).  Though it’s not clear if that total includes hypothetical species that are typically excluded from these calculations.  That means the threshold has increased by 14 to 225.  And before this year’s trip I had dropped to being just 3 over the new threshold.  At least my new OH total of 235 is now 10 over that latest threshold.  Though if OH continues to add new birds at their recent pace that may not keep me above threshold for long. 

NC Route Back from the Carolina Bird Club Winter Meeting, January 2020

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

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

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

But all that was pending any rarities that might be spotted at the CBC or nearby in SC that could be chaseable.  It turned out that earlier in the week news got out that a Bullock’s Oriole was being seen at a feeder in Pineville, SC.  Not wanting to pass up on a chance at the extremely rare Bullock’s, I decided to try for the Oriole in SC as my first stop before embarking on the NC part of the trip.  Even though it would mean a fair amount of backtracking, and I wouldn’t get to NC till late morning.  So I revised my itinerary to spend only half of the day on the 19^th on the NC coast along with a few hours in the morning of the 20^th, followed by only a partial day birding inland on the 20^th.  It was unfortunate that the weather on the 20^th was supposed to be quite a bit colder and windier, which would likely hamper my birding efforts especially on the coast.

Luckily I did find the Bullock’s Oriole in SC – hopefully the impact of the reduced time available to bird NC later that day would not be too significant. 

This blog post covers the NC portion of the trip on my trip back from the meeting; the previous post summarized the SC portion.

January 19, 2020 – Coastal NC

My first NC target was Wood Stork which is found in very low numbers in winter along or near the southern NC coast.  One or 2 had been reported recently from several spots in that region, initially sporadically from several nearby locations in Sunset Beach.  Plus there were occasional White Pelican sightings from the area.  Then more recently Storks were apparently more reliable from 2 locations in and around Wilmington.  But I would pass by Sunset Beach on my way to Wilmington, so I decided to stop at Sunset Beach first.  I made multiple stops around the Oyster Bay golf course, and the Twin Lakes, but with no luck.  Given that I had less time to bird NC, I was hoping to find a Stork on this first stop, but now I still had to give it a try at least at one of the Wilmington spots. 

Next I was off to Holden Beach where 4 of my targets had been reported recently – Clay-colored Sparrow, Sedge Wren, and Iceland Gull and Parasitic Jaeger from seawatches.  Though I was realistic that none of these were particularly likely.  The downside for the CCSP was that it was only reported once, 23 days earlier.  On the positive side location details were excellent, and my past experience with wintering CCSP rarities is that they will often stick around for quite a while.  The Wren location was sketchy, though there seemed to be a lot of suitable habitat on the island.  And of course you can never guarantee any species on a seawatch. 

Undaunted, my first stop was where the Clay-colored Sparrow had been reported. The eBird post from 12/27 not only included a specific location, but also that the bird was in a flock of Song Sparrows.  I quickly found the location mentioned in the checklist and started to spish – almost immediately Song Sparrows started to pop up.  But after a few minutes of searching, and more than a dozen Songs coming in to investigate, I couldn’t find the Clay-colored.  The bird certainly must have moved on I thought, so I gave up and walked a short distance away to check out a Spartina marsh to try for Sedge Wrens, but again with no luck.  As I headed back to the car, I decided to give the Sparrow one more try.  And with just a couple more sphishes a smaller sparrow popped up – it was the Clay-colored! (NC statebird #1)  Yet another datapoint where a wintering CCSP sticks around for some time.  As shown in my statebird map below, NC is the 8th eastern state, not to mention CA, where I’ve now seen this wide-ranging wanderer as a wintering vagrant.  (Cross-hatched states are those where this species is regular but I have not yet seen it.)

Next I was off to Heron Landing Marsh which was a site of a recent Sedge Wren report.  This marsh looked like an excellent spot for the Wren, and I listened intently for this normally vocal bird, without luck.  Then I decided to take a walk out into the marsh to try more distant portions.  After a few minutes I flushed a small bird that disappeared into a stunted bush at the edge of the marsh.  I finally got a glimpse and noted orange on the head – it was one of the “sharp-tailed” sparrows.  Now I needed much better looks to get an ID.  Finally it moved a bit more in the open and I saw a bright orange chest with somewhat diffuse streaking – it was a Nelson’s Sparrow of the inland race (NC statebird #2).  I spent some more time with this skulking bird to get better looks and started to realize there were actually 2 birds there.  Finally, the second bird gave me a look and it was also a Nelson’s, but this one had very blurry streaks on the orange chest making it an Atlantic race bird – one I’m especially familiar with on their breeding grounds in NH and ME.  Amazing to get one of each race sitting next to each other!  Most of my birding on the southern Atlantic coast was before the Nelson’s/Saltmarsh split, and as a result I don’t have records of whether I had wintering Nelson’s in those states.  So with my move to the region I’m hoping to be able to fill these gaps in my statebird map.  And of course I need them in all the Midwest states where they breed or are a regular migrant.

On my way back to the car I went by a small flock of shorebirds in the salt panne in the middle of the marsh.  Nothing out of the ordinary, but it did include three “Western” Willets.  Some day this might be a split from the “Eastern” Willet, so good to keep it in the bank.

My next planned stop was a fishing pier at Holden Beach to do a seawatch.  Unfortunately the pier was closed so I set up my scope to scan the ocean from the beach at the base of the pier.  But there was nothing on the water and very little flying by.  Rather than continue here, I decided to call it quits pretty quickly, giving me more time for hopefully more fruitful stops in the future.

Now I was on to Wilmington and two more stops where Wood Stork had been reported recently.  The first stop on my route was Greenfield Park and Gardens, though my odds seemed more promising at the farther stop at Reunion Road.  I decided to cross my fingers and hope to find my target at the closer location, saving a bit of time.  Though realistically I figured it could take me the rest of the day to find a Stork at either of these stops. 

Greenfield Park included a lake lined with mature bald cypress trees draped with Spanish moss – a very nice classic southern swamp.  The recent sightings noted that the local Stork would perch in those cypresses.  And the latest report mentioned the bird was on the north side of the lake, “roosting in a cypress tree a few hundred feet east of the viewing shelter with the short boardwalk to it, between the paddleboat dock and the long footbridge”.  That seemed pretty specific, assuming I could find all these landmarks.  When I arrived I was alarmed to see just how many trees there were –would this be a needle-in-a-haystack kind of search?  But I quickly found the paddleboat dock, and then headed east on the path along the shoreline.  Soon I found a wooden structure that could well be the viewing shelter mentioned in the post.  I walked out to the shelter on the short boardwalk and was just about to start looking out to the east when something caught my eye at the water’s edge just a few feet away – it was the Wood Stork! (NC statebird #3).  It stayed there for just about a minute before flying over to the other side of the lake, disappearing out of view behind the outer cypresses.  If I had gotten there just minutes later I would have missed it.  I only need Wood Stork in 1 more southeast state where it is regular.

And since it took me less than 5 minutes to find my target, I had time for at least one more stop yet that afternoon.  That could be especially worthwhile since my next target was a stakeout Black-headed Gull at Carolina Beach Lake.  On the positive side this bird had been reported every day for at least a couple weeks, and was in with a small flock of Ring-bills on a rather small pond.  On the negative side this bird was not always at the lake, with some birders needing to wait a considerable amount of time before the bird appeared.  Originally I planned to try for this bird the next morning on the 20th, but now with extra time on the 19^th, I could give it a try both days if necessary.

As I pulled into the park I spotted 4 birders with binocs and cameras all pointed in one direction.  As I always say “bird the birders”, so I quickly went over to them and found out that the Black-headed Gull had just flown in, though it was on the back side of the roof of a gazebo and mostly obscured.  I changed my angle a bit and could see the bird’s head – just enough to see the tell-tale fieldmarks though I could only see 10% of the bird (NC statebird #4).  I took a quick walk to get to the other side of the structure, and quickly spotted it on the roof among Ring-bills, now looking away from me.  Unfortunately seconds later it took off and disappeared off to the north.  During the brief time I saw the immature Black-headed I was able to take this photo holding my phone up to the binocs – not exactly the best “Kodak Moment”.  

Luckily, I’ve seen many Black-headed Gulls over the years especially in the northeast, so I didn’t need great views to confirm the ID (see my statebird map below). 

And since I needed less than 5 minutes to find the Gull, I had at least some time to head to my next planned stops at Fort Fisher just a short distance down the peninsula to the south.  The first stop was the Basin Trail where a Sedge Wren had recently been reported calling from the marsh.  With the help of input from some local birders I figured out how to access the Basin Trail, but soon realized perhaps a half mile of the trail went through marsh habitat that could be suitable for a wintering Sedge Wren.  This one could be problematic, especially given my limited time. 

The first part of the trail went through nice coastal woodlands, but my target was in the marshes ahead so I didn’t stop.  As soon as I came out of the woods I trail began to skirt along the edge of what appeared to be a very nice stretch of marsh.  Sedge Wrens are very responsive to taped calls, and even poor vocal imitations.  So I stopped and made a few imitations of its characteristic “chat” call and almost instantly got a single response.  It was likely a Sedge Wren but I wasn’t going to ID it based on a single call.  Then I waited for a minute or so but heard no further calls.  I tried my imitation again and this time the bird responded with multiple call notes, confirming it as a Sedge Wren (NC statebird #5).  That was far easier than I expected it would be. 

After yet another very quick (and successful!) stop, I still had time for a bit more birding.  I made a quick drive to the southern end of the peninsula at the ferry stop, scanning the rocks and inlet for seabirds.  There were lots of birds but nothing out of the ordinary.

And then at 4:45 I pulled into a parking lot at Fort Fisher overlooking the ocean to do a seawatch.  Visibility was excellent, lighting was great, and there were only gentle swells on the ocean, so I was hopeful.  But on my first few scans I didn’t see much flying by, and only a couple gulls on the water.  And then I spotted a Loon quite a distance out swimming on the surface that caught my attention – its back was much darker than I’d expect for a Common.  My initial gut feel was that it might be a Pacific Loon, a bird I’ve seen a few times as a rarity off the New England coast (and of course on the Pacific coast).  But I needed a lot more details to confirm such a rarity.  I zoomed in and recorded these observations while I watched it over the next 30 minutes -
-  Although it was all alone and I couldn't make direct size comparisons, it didn't look large and heavy enough to be a Common
-  Back was very dark and one solid color - darker than a Common
-  Hindneck was very dark, with a sharp vertical edge separating the dark hindneck and the white foreneck.
-  I could not see a chinstrap - but it was likely too far out to be able to see one even if it were present
-  Bill seemed too small for a Common
-  Way too dark for a Red-throated, and held bill horizontal unlike typical Red-throated

I took a few phonescoped photos, and although the bird was really distant, these three seem to support the ID as a Pacific Loon (NC statebird #6).

Wow – what a way to end the day!  And since I was able to find my last 3 targets so quickly, I was able to bird all my planned coastal locations on the 19th, despite starting my day chasing after the Bullock’s Oriole in SC.  I would have preferred more time birding the coast, but now I could concentrate on my inland targets the next day.

January 20, 2020 – Inland NC

I had two key stakeout targets on my way back home on the 20^th – Lark Sparrow and Western Tanager.  It would have been nice to try for a couple others, like relative longshots Iceland Gull and White Pelican, and Sandhill Crane which would require additional driving time.  But I needed to be sure to leave enough time to find the Sparrow and Tanager as key rarities, and of course still have time for the drive home.  Perhaps I could find these three others more locally somewhere in western NC.

The Lark Sparrow was discovered on the 11th at the Ezell Farm Community Park in Mint Hill, an eastern suburb of Charlotte.  It was seen again on the 12th but not reported for another week.  I had assumed this bird had moved on and had taken it off my target list until it was re-found on the 18th and again the 19th.  It was once again back on my itinerary.  The bird was most often found in and around the fenced community garden at the park, and sometimes in the fields surrounding the garden.  And just as important, it was often reported to be in a flock of Savannah Sparrows. 

I left my Wilmington hotel pre-dawn and arrived at the park around 10 AM.  It had turned noticeably colder and it was rather windy, so I thought it might be a challenge to get the sparrows to perch out in the open.  I could see the community garden a short distance ahead – a small half-acre patch of personal vegetable gardens surrounded by chain-link fencing.  And the garden was in the middle of 30 acres of grassy fields – all suitable habitat for Savannah Sparrows.  I headed right over to the garden, and made a slow loop around the perimeter but didn’t see a single bird.  Then I noticed some nice brushy sparrow habitat to the southeast and spent some time there.  But after a couple minutes I realized that although this area might be good for White-throats and Songs, it wasn’t right for Savannahs – they were more likely in the grassy fields – all 30 acres of them!

A couple reports from the 11th mentioned that the Lark Sparrow was in the grassy field “to the right of the entrance road”.  I guessed that this meant “right” of the road as you walked to the gardens instead of from the gardens.  [Note to anyone reading my post – please don’t give directions that include words like “left” and “right” that are often confusing – use of “east” and “west” are much more definitive.]  I started a slow walk of this field, and flushed 2 individual small sparrows that were likely Savannahs, but found no flock.

I was now walking in the general direction of the gardens and noticed a couple birds up on the telephone wires to the south.  After a few steps in that direction I spotted a small flock of sparrows fly from that area and land in trees to the west.  With a quick scan I realized these were all Chipping Sparrows.  It was a flock of sparrows, but the wrong species.  So I once again turned my attention to the area with the telephone wires and spotted several sparrows in the distance.  As I got closer I realized I had a flock of Savannahs just outside the fenced area – was it the right flock?  Within a couple minutes the entire flock flew to the ground inside the garden area.  As they flew away from me I spotted one larger sparrow with white outer tail patches – that must be the Lark Sparrow, but I wanted a better view.  I got to the other side of the gardens just as the entire flock flew up to perch in the fencing.  There were about a dozen Savannahs and the boldly-marked head of the Lark Sparrow (NC statebird #7).  Here is a shot taken by holding my phone up to my binocs, first uncropped then heavily cropped.

NC was my 8th east-coast state where I’ve seen Lark Sparrow as a rarity.

After taking a few minutes to enter my sightings on the eBird app, I was off to try for my next target – the Western Tanager.  This stakeout bird was coming to a feeder near the center of Charlotte just a few minutes away.  It appeared to be quite regular so I was cautiously optimistic.  When I arrived I found another birder there watching the feeders from her car.  She said I had just missed the bird after it fed at the feeders for several minutes.  Hmm – if I hadn’t stopped to do the eBird checklist at the Lark Sparrow spot I bet I would have gotten there in time.  Are we spending too much time focused on our smartphone eBird app instead of actually birding?  But that’s for another post…

I started my vigil watching the feeders from a short distance away.  The feeders were mounted on the back of a condo complex on a second floor balcony.  This was in a suburban location without much good habitat nearby, so there weren’t many birds in the area.  I waited for about 45 minutes seeing just a couple Chickadees and Cardinals at the feeders.  But then finally the target bird appeared on the feeders (NC statebird #8).  I got this shot of the very photogenic adult male Western Tanager by holding my phone up to my binocs.

It stayed either feeding, or just perched on the feeders out in the open, for the next 10 minutes.  I worried that this large bright yellow bird might be an easy target for a passing Accipter.  Otherwise it seemed to be very contented at the feeders in this rather marginal habitat.  Hopefully it makes it through the winter and returns to its normal breeding range in spring. 

My Western Tanager statebird map is similar to the one for the Lark Sparrow – I’ve seen this species in most of the central/western states in its regular range, plus a number of eastern states as a vagrant.

What an excellent way to end my winter trip to coastal NC and SC, and points between.  I added 8 new statebirds in NC, bringing my list to 285.  That's in addition to 9 statebirds in SC.  All in all, twice what I had hoped for.  And that included seeing several stakeout rarities and finding a couple others on my own. 

I understand the next CBC winter meeting will be in January 2021 in coastal NC.  Can’t wait!

Sedge Wren, Stilt Sandpiper, and Ruddy Turnstone in Vermont, September, 2014

As the Summer of 2014 progressed a number of possible statebirds were reported in northwest VT.  First came the report of a pair of Sedge Wrens likely nesting in Middlebury.  Then came word of a drawdown of one impoundment at Dead Creek with 1 and then 2 Stilt Sandpipers – and who knows what other rare shorebirds that might be attracted to these flats in the future.  Then there was the big news of a Brown Booby on Lake Champlain.  Unfortunately the Booby disappeared (more accurately became unreliable though still on the Lake) before I could get there.  Finally came repeated reports of a pair of Ruddy Turnstones in St. Albans.  That was more than enough critical mass to make the 3 ½ hour trek to the northwest part of VT.  This time, unlike most of my other trips, I decided to get a motel room in the area the night before my birding day to avoid having to make the 7-hour round-trip drive in one day. 

I had timed my trip to be a day before the next front in hopes that the shorebirds wouldn’t have moved on yet.  And I received excellent details from VT birders for locations for the Wren, Stilt, and Turnstone.  So I was pretty optimistic that I might get the Stilt and Turnstone.  The Wren, however, was another story.  It was last reported 11 days earlier, and it was getting really late for even these late nesters to still be sticking around their apparent nesting spot.  Sedge Wrens are reported in late summer in northwest VT most every year, and although I had tried for them twice before, I waited too long both times.  I was worried that I might be too late for this third try as well.

I was able to leave early enough to get to the Wren location in the evening of the first day.  With perfect directions I quickly found the correct tall grass field where they had spent the latter half of the summer.  It was very still and quiet, so I listened intently for their characteristic call and song, but with no luck.  So I walked off the road to get to the edge of the “their” field and listened some more, but only heard a distant Red-bellied Woodpecker.  I know Sedge Wrens are very tape-responsive, so I made a couple short imitations of their call note, and almost instantly heard one note coming from the field.  Then I heard another call from a short distance away.  This second bird popped out in the open at the field’s edge and gave me distant but good looks.  Success!  VT is only my fourth New England state for Sedge Wren.  My statebird map below also shows that I have a number of gaps in this species’ normal summering and wintering ranges.

The next morning I met up with long-time birding friend Hank Kaestner and we headed to the Brilyea Access portion of Dead Creek WMA to try for the Stilt Sandpipers.  After a short walk we were at the upper reaches of the impoundment where the drawdown was occurring.  There wasn’t a lot of habitat, but we quickly found numerous Yellowlegs (almost all Lessers), a handful of peeps, and a couple Semi Plovers - though no Stilts.  We walked off the trail to get a different view of the flats but still no Stilts.  We continued walking east to get different views, and tried really hard to turn the Yellowlegs into Stilts, but to no avail.  We finally made it to a point of land and the farthest east we could walk to get a final view of the flats.  We were now looking almost directly into the sun, so viewing wasn’t the best.  Despite the glare I spotted a Stilt Sandpiper in the distance, along with a second bird and then a third one.  A pair of Short-billed Dowitchers were feeding with them, along with some of the ever-present Lesser Yellowlegs.  A nice group of birds for comparisons of size and shape, as well as feeding habits.  VT was my last New England state for this species - my 228^th in each of the 6 states.  I’ve seen Stilt Sandpiper in most of its regular US range as a migrant, and a couple states as a rarity.

Hank and I next went on to Charlotte Town Beach for another shorebird search, and also for a quick lake watch.  There were 40 Killdeer and 1 Semi Sand on the shore, but nothing else.  We spent a bit of time looking over the lake but the sole highlights were a small number of Common Terns and Bonaparte’s Gulls flying down the lake.  The skies were starting to look threatening, so rather than continue on the lake watch, I decided to head north to the St. Albans Bay Town Park to try for the Turnstones.

After a short drive I arrived in St. Albans which is about as far northwest as you can get and still be in VT, and in the US for that matter.  There is a sandy beach at the Town Park which apparently is normally favored by swimmers and dog walkers.  But this year an algae bloom had fouled the beach and caused the town to close it.  As a result, not only were there no people and dogs to bother the shorebirds, but the decaying algae on the beach had attracted lots of shorebird food.  There had been good numbers of shorebirds there for several weeks, including the 2 Ruddy Turnstones.  I got to the edge of the beach and began to scan the narrow patch of habitat with my binocs.  I found a number of Yellowlegs and a couple flocks of peeps, but no Turnstones.  Then on another scan I noticed a large dark shorebird just a short distance away – a winter plumaged Ruddy Turnstone.  Another scan revealed a second bird, along with 2 Baird’s Sandpipers that hadn’t been reported there in the past.  I got these phonescoped photos of one of the Turnstones.

Not so easy to pick out the brown bird amongst the brown algae

Easier to spot in profile

Like the Stilt Sand, VT was the last of the New England states for me for Turnstone – number 229.  And VT was my second inland state for this otherwise common coastal species.  Though I still need it in OR.

With 3 VT statebirds on the trip that gives me 264 for VT, and 1,980 for New England.  I’m closing in on the magic 2,000!