Trumpeter Swan (I Guess), February 11, 2026, Spartanburg County, South Carolina

On February 8 there was a post on the Greenville County Bird Club listserve that a Tundra Swan was spotted on a small lake along Berry Road in Boiling Springs, Spartanburg County in South Carolina.  I quickly went to my SC state list and confirmed that I didn’t need Tundra Swan for my list, so there was no need to chase after it. 

I didn’t think much more about the Swan, even though it continued to be reported.  But then I noticed one birder raised the question about whether it could be a Trumpeter Swan instead, especially based on the lack of yellow lores.  I checked out several of the photos posted on-line showing the birds’ cheek, and it looked like a Tundra to me based on a curved edge to the black bill on the cheek, and the black eye being isolated from the black bill.  In fact, those features make it a stereotypical Tundra Swan. 

These features are evident in this photo I took of a Tundra (on the left) and a Trumpeter (on the right) in southwestern Michigan in November 2025.  The Tundra has the curved edge to the side of the bill against the white cheek, with the isolated eye.  Whereas the Trumpeter has the straight edge of the bill which includes the eye.  It also helps that the larger size of the Trumpeter is obvious in this photo.

Not to mention, not all Tundras have yellow lores.  Still no need to chase.

That is until another photo was posted that showed the white feathering forming a sharp V at the top of the black bill, which is very much Trumpeter-like.  Plus, it was a young bird retaining some darker plumage, which is also like a Trumpeter which molts later than Tundras.  Given these somewhat contradictory field marks, some birders even suggested it might be a hybrid.  But rather than waiting for the ID to be confirmed, taking the risk that the bird might leave first, I decided it was now time to chase it, and let the ID be confirmed later.

I headed out early in the morning on the 11th hoping I hadn’t waited too long.  I arrived at sunrise at the small pond, driving slowly down Berry Road but didn’t see the Swan on the pond.  I was getting worried.  I turned around for another pass and thankfully there it was near the far east end of the lake.  The white dot in the distance in the middle of this picture is the Swan beyond Berry Road. 

My friend Keith Viglietta submitted photos of the Swan to the Report a Swan Citizen Science Project at the Trumpeter Swan Society for ID confirmation.  The response from the Trumpeter Swan Society’s expert, Dr. Ken Abraham, was as follows:

“I think it’s a Trumpeter.  Straight, heavy bill.  The narrowness of the culmen process leading to the eye is more Tundra-like, but not out of scope for Trumpeter.  Agree that it’s not an adult.  Coloring of the bill is black on most photos, but one or two look like there might be some residual paleness of the juvenile bill.”

So Trumpeter Swan it is (I guess).  An apparent third SC state record.  And statebird number 313 for my SC list. 

My statebird map for Trumpeter Swan is copied in below.  The light blue states are those where I’ve seen this species in its regular range, which now includes a major re-introduction program.  The cross-hatched states are those where I’ve yet to see it within its range.  And the 10 dark blue states are those where I’ve seen Trumpeter Swan as a rarity, now including SC.

Red Phalarope, Spartanburg, SC, September 17, 2025

On the evening of the 16^th a report came across the South Carolina Rare Bird Alert of a Red-necked Phalarope in Spartanburg County.  That’s a great bird for the upstate of SC!  But with a quick check of my SC list I realized that wasn’t one I needed for the state.  Then a bit later there was another post on the RBA saying that review of the Phalarope photos suggested it might actually be a Red Phalarope.  That’s even rarer, and this one I needed for my SC state list.  There were lots of posts on the RBA that evening including several from birders who planned an early morning trip the next day to confirm the ID.  That is assuming the bird was still there.

Early morning on the 17th I watched the RBA anxiously for updates.  Finally in mid-morning came the update I was hoping for – the bird was still there and it was indeed a Red Phalarope.  The bird was being seen in a runoff retention pond at the Dollar Tree Distribution Center just outside Spartanburg.  That was just an hour away so certainly close enough to chase.  I was free to go by mid-afternoon and left the house at 2:45 to start the drive.

I had never been to the Dollar Tree hotspot so I researched the site a bit on GoogleMaps.  The pond the Phalarope was likely foraging in was between the road and the large warehouse, which was very obvious as I pulled up. 

As I was parking on the grassy shoulder right next to the pond I took a quick glimpse of the open water.  Even before the car had come to a stop, I spotted a very pale (almost white) shorebird feeding out in the middle.  Did I have my target?  With a quick binocular look I confirmed I had the Red Phalarope!  The bird fed cooperatively right in front of me, allowing me to get this phonescoped shot

That’s certainly much easier than looking for a Red Phalarope from a rolling boat on a pelagic trip!  Also foraging in the pond were a Sanderling and a Stilt Sandpiper – more rare shorebirds for the Upstate.  But none as rare as the Phalarope. 

Red Phalarope was #313 for my SC state list, and the 14th state where I’ve seen this species.  In my statebird map below, the light blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen it within its regular range – mostly on pelagic trips.  Cross-hatched Oregon is the last state where I can still see Red Phalarope relatively easily from shore.  And the 8 dark blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen this species as a rarity, all as inland sightings.

 

South Florida and Southeastern US Trip, January 6-16, 2025, Part 1 of 3

I was sitting at home on a cold day in November 2024 thinking ahead to the prospects of the upcoming winter of birding in western NC.  Winter birding in the area can be pretty slow in good times.  But complicating the picture this year was that several of my favorite birding spots were still inaccessible, or completely destroyed, by Hurricane Helene. 

That’s when I started thinking about setting up a mid-winter trip to a southern (and warmer) US location.  I’ve taken several mid-winter trips recently - lower Rio Grande valley In January 2024, Tallahassee in January 2023, and the Atlantic coast of FL in February 2023.  In each case the trips were focused on pursuing 1or more life birds, and were most successful.  So I checked out the eBird ABA Rarities Alert to see if there might be potential life bird targets to pursue this winter.  There was a long-staying Bananaquit near Miami that caught my eye.  Plus, there are quite a number of newly countable exotic Parakeets, Macaws, and Amazons in south FL that would be lifers for me.  The trip was on!

I started planning a south FL trip focused on specialties, exotics, and rarities.  And speaking of rarities, I also found reports of 2 exciting South American species being seen in south FL - Yellow-headed Caracara and Large-billed Tern.  I mentioned the upcoming trip to my good birding friend Bill Hooker, and he expressed interest in coming along.  Soon we were thinking about a trip for 4 of us –including Bill and his wife Anita, plus Bill’s friend Bob Cowan.  Not only were all of us looking for lifebirds and statebirds, but Bill was also working on his county lists, and Bob was embarking on a 2025 big year.  Plus, Anita was great at photographing our target birds.  So there were lots of potential targets for all of us.  And speaking of state and county birds, we decided to drive to south FL instead of flying so we could work on our lists along the way.

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

This blogpost summarizes the first portion of the trip.  The next two posts summarize the rest of the trip.

1/6 - South Carolina

There were an amazing number of rarities being seen in SC as our trip neared.  And even though two initial targets (Eared Grebe and White-winged Dove) were no longer being reported, we still had so many targets that we dedicated most of the first two days of the trip to chasing those SC rarities. 

Our first stop was to try for a Black-throated Gray Warbler at Harbison Pond near Columbia.  This bird had been reliable and seen by many from December 26th through 28th, but then not reported again until January 5th, just in time to put it back on our radar screen.  This western rarity was mostly seen on the eastern side of the small lake, and close to the shoreline.  In fact, most photos showed the bird right at the water’s edge.  So we were cautiously optimistic that the Warbler might actually be pretty easy to spot.

As we drove to Columbia we passed through bands of heavy rain as a strong cold front neared the area.  But luckily the rain had not yet arrived when we got to Harbison Pond, so we had a little dry window to find our target.  We started a slow walk down the eastern side of the lake but the only bird we found was a lone Phoebe.  Making matters worse, then the rain started, along with strong westerly winds.  Even though the bird was typically only seen on the east side of the lake, that area was exposed to the rain and wind.  So we decided to try the protected western side – that was a nice theory but we still couldn’t find our target. 

We went back to the east side and decided to give it one more try.  But this time we had no birds at all.  Just then Anita asked me to check out a bird she spotted high up in a tree in the distance.  Although it was pretty far away I could see the classic head pattern of our target bird – we had the Black-throated Gray Warbler!  (SC statebird #1)  No one had reported the bird foraging that high; wonder if the weather had something to do with it.

My statebird map for Black-throated Gray Warbler is inserted below.  The light blue shaded states are those where I’ve seen this species in its regular range.  The 5 darker blue shaded states are those where I’ve seen it as a rarity.

Next we were on to Fort Moultrie on the coast near Charleston.  This spot is well known for its rarities and this January was no exception – Western Kingbird, Ash-throated Flycatcher, and LeConte’s Sparrows were all being reported there.  When we arrived we spotted a birder in the distance so we made our way over to her.  She had just seen both flycatchers loosely associating together.  And soon we spotted the Western Kingbird on a low perch in the field – a nice rarity but I had seen one at Fort Moultrie in the past.  We spent a few minutes searching for the Ash-throated but with no luck.  Then I played a couple Ash-throated call notes for this tape-responsive species and it flew right into us (SC statebird #2).  I got these passable digi-bin shots of the two birds perched just a few feet apart.

 

We spent the next 30 minutes searching for the LeConte’s Sparrow, and found a nice flock of foraging Savannahs in about the right location, but we had no luck with our target.

Our next chaseable rarities were a male and female Western Tanager just 20 minutes away at Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant.  They were seen separately generally foraging in woods near a submarine memorial and nearby across the street.  We had good directions, now we needed the birds to cooperate.

We parked at the memorial and quickly checked the trees there, but had no birds at all.  Then we headed across the road and at least started to find a few birds here and there.  Soon we got to a small wooden bridge that I remembered as being one of the hotspots for the Tanagers.  This spot turned out to be quite birdy, with a number of birds coming out of the brush under the bridge.  Then I noticed a larger bird perched in a bare tree just above the bridge – it was the female Western Tanager.  (SC statebird #3).  It was likely an immature bird with very limited yellow below.  Certainly not the most colorful bird, but still a new statebird.  Here’s a shot of Bob and Bill looking at the Tanager.

Since we found the Tanager so quickly we still had time for one last stop.  There was a male Bullock’s Oriole coming to a nearby private feeder, and even though the general suggestion was to try for this bird in the early morning, we decided to give it a go since we still had time late that afternoon.  We arrived at the residence and headed to the chairs in the backyard to start our vigil.  The homeowners came out to greet us, and put additional jelly in the feeder to entice the Oriole.  And within just a couple minutes the adult male Bullock’s flew in to the feeding station.  I had seen a female in SC a couple years earlier, but it sure was nice to see this beautiful male.

1/7 – Coastal South Carolina

Our first stop of the day was on Edisto Island where up to 2 Long-tailed Ducks had been reported.  Unfortunately, they had not been reported for 4 days, and the locations of the eBird checklists were at multiple spots all along the beach.  So I was a bit worried if we were going to be successful on this search, or at least successful quickly.  But I got a tip that they might be more reliable off the Coots Bar restaurant, so that’s where we started.

When we parked at Coots Bar I looked down the coast to the southwest and was shocked to see numerous jetties jutting out from the beach.  Long-tailed Ducks like to feed along jetties so there could be a dozen or more places to check.  I scanned the first jetty but didn’t find any ducks.  Then Bill said he thought he had them at the next jetty.  Binocular views revealed two small mostly white ducks, and in the scope we confirmed we had the male and female pair of Long-tailed Ducks.  (SC statebird #4)  SC was the last Atlantic coast state where I still needed this species.  The two cross-hatched states in my statebird map (OR, OH), are the last 2 states where I still need this species in its regular range.

We then spent a little time focusing on the shorebirds feeding on the jetties and picked out 2 Knots among the flocks of Sanderlings, Turnstones, and Willets.

As we continued our trek down the coast our next stop was at Bear Island WMA.  And here we quickly picked up Tundra Swans as our key target.  We also kept our eyes open for a White-winged Dove reported there recently, but just found Mourning Doves. 

Our last stop in SC was at the Laurel Hill Wildlife Drive in Savannah NWR.  The key target here was a Gray-headed Swamphen which was only the second SC state record.  The bird was first reported some 2 weeks earlier, and was seen daily within 100 yards past port-a-potties located along the drive.  An occasional Cave Swallow or 2 was also reported by some birders in the area, though that target was a pretty long shot.

We quickly found the port-a-potties less than a mile from the beginning of the drive, parked our cars, and began searching the marshes nearby.  Our initial searches yielded numerous Common Gallinules and Coots and a few dabbling ducks, but no big purple marsh birds.  We continued down the road a bit combing through more cattail marshes but still couldn’t come up with our target.  I took a break at one point to look for swallows and found quite a number of Tree Swallows passing quickly by, seemingly in migration.  None looked like possible Cave candidates though all were passing by so quickly that a Cave ID would have been difficult.

We had now come more than 100 yards from the port-a-potties, so I started heading back to recheck the marsh we had just searched.  Just then I spotted a flash of purple color at the edge of the cattails.  I saw a bit more movement and watched as the Gray-headed Swamphen stepped out of the reeds into view.  (SC statebird #5) 

Just as I was getting everyone on the bird, Bill spotted an American Bittern slowly moving through the cattails just a few feet from the Swamphen.  Even when we knew where the Bittern was it was next to impossible to see.

With the Swamphen search complete, I turned back to the swallow search.  As before there were many Trees flying quickly by, but this time I noticed a swallow flying back and forth foraging low over the impoundment.  This one had an orange rump and buffy throat – we had a Cave Swallow (SC statebird #6).  We had at least 3 Caves together at the Swamphen spot, and at least 2 others a short distance down the road.  Each of the Caves were coursing low over the vegetation apparently feeding, while the numerous Trees were flying as if migrating by.  SC was my 5th state seeing Cave Swallow as a rarity.  I’ve also seen the Caribbean group breeding in south FL, and the Mexican group breeding in TX, NM, and LA.

We birded the rest of the Wildlife Drive, finding lots of waterfowl (including a somewhat unexpected pair of Mottled Ducks) and many waders.  And although we wanted to bird there longer, it was time to move on to our next stops.

1/7 – Coastal Georgia

It was now getting late in the afternoon but we had time for 2 quick stops just over the stateline in GA.  The first was at Fort Pulaski to try for the 3 “marsh sparrows”.  Although the tide wasn’t high, which is the easiest time to find these elusive birds, we still hoped to find them in the excellent salt marsh habitat at the fort.  But despite playing a lot of tape we were unsuccessful.  Lastly, we headed to the North Jetty at Tybee Island where there were old reports of Purple Sandpipers, Black Scoters, and a Long-tailed Duck.  But we could only find Turnstones and Sanderlings.  Maybe we could try for them on the way back north later in the trip.

1/8 – North Florida

Our first stop in FL was at the Sweetwater Wetlands in Gainesville for a long-staying Cinnamon Teal.  Although the bird was seen regularly in a large flock of Blue-winged Teal, there had been no reports of our target since January 2nd.  So I was a bit concerned that it had moved on.  As we walked into the park we saw a group of birders coming out.  They told us that the large flock of Blue-wings had moved on and the Cinnamon Teal likely had gone with them.  When we got to the impoundment where the Teal flock had been we found just 6 Blue-wings.  At least the whole area was very birdy, including this Snail Kite that flew in and perched cooperatively nearby.

Next we were on to the Ocala Wetland Recharge Park 45 minutes to the south.  This site had 2 key targets for us: a small number of Vaux’s Swifts that were being seen sporadically, and an Ash-throated Flycatcher.  The Swifts were mostly spotted flying over impoundments at the south end of the park, and the Flycatcher was principally near the northwestern part of the park.  We pulled in and quickly headed to the southern impoundments, but our searches of the skies came up empty.  We noticed a birder in the distance and walked over to him for some local advice.  He mentioned that we just missed the Swifts, as they flew by just 20 minutes earlier.  Surely they would come back, right?  Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case over the next 30 minutes. 

We decided to try to change our luck and look for the Flycatcher.  After a short walk toward the northern end of the park we watched and listened to no avail.  We played some tape hoping for a response like we had with the SC bird a couple days earlier, but again with no luck.  Though a couple Eastern Phoebes briefly got us excited. 

After about 90 minutes at the park we decided to cut our losses and head out for one more stop yet that afternoon.  The last stop of the day was about 2 hours to the south in Osceola County where a Whooping Crane had taken up residence with a pair of Sandhills in a subdivision under construction.  This bird was apparently quite reliable, so we hoped we might soon change our luck after missing several consecutive targets. 

When we arrived we first had to drive through a neighborhood of new houses to get to the construction area.  There we found the roads were completed and the subdivision was all laid out, but the houses were not yet under construction.  The Crane was most often reported right in the cul de sac at the end of the road, but there was no obvious tall white bird in site.  Then I looked to the east a bit to a neighboring farm and noticed a white bird in the distance.  With a quick binocular view we confirmed we had our Whooping Crane feeding in the short grass with 2 Sandhills.  (FL statebird #1) 

After watching it feed at the farm for a few minutes it took off and flew right by us, landing in a pond in the cul de sac, giving us great views.  What a great way to end the day!

There was a second Whooping Crane being seen less than 10 miles away.  It turns out that both birds were released in the area in 1999 and had formed a mated pair, but somehow the 2 birds had recently become separated.  You would sure hope that the authorities would try to reacquaint the birds, especially given that the habitat for the one we saw would soon be compromised once construction of the neighborhood was underway.

1/9 – Central Florida

One of the key initial targets for the trip was a Large-billed Tern discovered at the Goodwin WMA.  This South American species was first spotted in the area in the summer of 2023, but then disappeared until being re-found in November 2024.  Interestingly, it or another one spent the summer of 2024 near Naples in the southwestern portion of FL.  Goodwin WMA is only accessible by car on Thursdays, or with a very long walk on Sundays, resulting in a limited number of reports from the area.  The last positive report for the Tern was December 15th, so we weren’t too hopeful.  But with so many birders looking for the Tern, it’s not too surprising that another rarity was found there- a Ruff feeding with other shorebirds in one of the impoundments.  A nice example of the “Patagonia Picnic Table Effect”. 

Now we needed to gain access to the site and find the impoundments where the Tern and Ruff were most likely to be seen.  Not to mention find our target birds!  For this support we turned to David Simpson, one of the local expert birders, and the person who discovered the Tern.  It turns out that he has his own guiding company, and was free on Thursday the 9th, so we hired him for a half day tour.  And since Goodwin is only accessible on Thursdays, we literally planned our entire trip around birding that site the morning of the 9th.

We met David in the parking lot at 8, and birded the immediate vicinity for a while waiting for the gate to open at 9.  A male Vermilion Flycatcher and a Tropical Kingbird were being seen in the area, and we quickly found both birds perched in the same bush.  Later a female Painted Bunting was spotted there as well.  By the time the gate opened at least 20 birders had gathered anxious to get into the site.  We were hopeful that with all those eyes we would find at least one of our target birds. 

Once we got inside we started to get a feel for how immense the site was.   We first drove through several miles of dry savanna until we reached wet impoundments.  Marsh birds and waterfowl were everywhere, including numerous Swamphens and both Gallinules, all the expected waders, and flocks of dabbling and diving ducks.  We spent some time at the impoundment where the Tern would often perch, but we were all realistic that the Tern had most likely moved on.

We eventually made our way to the impoundment where the Ruff and most of the shorebirds were being seen.  There were already at least a dozen birders there by the time we set up the scopes.  Here’s a picture of the impoundment.

After a bit of scanning we eventually spotted the flock the Ruff was likely associating with, but the birds were really far away and most were sleeping.  Mixed in the roosting flock were large numbers of Skimmers, Ring-billed Gulls, and Forster’s and Caspian Terns – though no Large-billed Tern was in the group.  We tried numerous vantage points but mostly just found more sleeping shorebirds.  But after a while we started to find some birds up and about foraging on the flats, including a nice Stilt Sandpiper feeding with both Yellowlegs.  And then as we were about to run out of time, we came upon a large group of mostly Dowitchers feeding a bit closer to us.  And one birder mentioned he might have an interesting bird in the flock.  David looked in that birder’s scope and confirmed they had the Ruff.  It took me a couple anxious minutes but I was finally able to pick it out in the distance.  (FL statebird #2)  FL is the 10th state where I’ve seen Ruff – of course all as rarities.

On our way back out of Goodwin we spotted a couple Snail Kites – a nice way to end the trip to this amazing spot.  Without David’s help we doubt that we would have been able to find the Ruff, let alone find the impoundment where the Ruff was hanging out.

As we continued our drive toward southern FL our next stop was Paul Rardin Park along the eastern shore of Lake Okeechobee.  This small roadside park had an amazing set of wintering flycatchers, with recent reports including a Vermilion Flycatcher, 2 Western Kingbirds, a Tropical Kingbird, and occasional sightings of the only overwintering Gray Kingbird in the state that year.  Soon after we arrived I spotted a pair of flycatchers on power lines at the edge of the park which turned out to be a Western and a beautiful male Vermilion.  Then another Western joined them.  Soon we were surrounded by Kingbirds, and we counted 4 Westerns and a Tropical, eventually all flying in to perches in the same tree!  Here is one of Anita’s pictures of the Tropical with the rising moon in the background. 

We spent some additional time trying to re-locate the Gray Kingbird without success.  That one will have to wait for the breeding season when they’re common in the right habitats.

It was now late afternoon and we had just enough time for a stop at the Sem-Chi Rice Mill.  This spot is well-known for its blackbirds, with large mixed flocks coming to feed on spilled rice.  Our key target here was Shiny Cowbird which was sometimes seen in those flocks.  I had birded here a few years ago, and the protocol was to park at the edge of the parking lot and bird from the edges, staying away from mill operations.  This strategy was confirmed by my more recent contacts as we prepared for this trip.

We pulled into the parking lot and quickly noted a small flock of blackbirds coming into a nearby dumpster.  Just as we started to focus on the birds several employees came out of the buildings and made it quite clear that we weren’t allowed there.  We made a hasty retreat to our cars, and found a safe spot to park just outside the mill property.  Luckily there was a spot where we could still see the dumpster and all its blackbirds.  The birds would fly into neighboring hedges and trees, stage there briefly, then either fly right into the dumpster, or rest briefly on its edge, before dropping into it out of view.  At times the whole flock would be spooked and all would fly away, only to come back to start the process all over again a couple minutes later.  At best that gave us only brief views of any one bird so we had to be quick with the binoculars.

We spent the better part of an hour there watching the almost constant movement of blackbirds dominated by about 100 Red-wings.  We eventually all got good views of at least 3 Shiny Cowbirds (at least 1 male and 2 females), and at least 3 Yellow-headed Blackbirds.  I also got one view of a Bronzed Cowbird but couldn’t get others on it before it flew off.  Wonder what was in that dumpster that the blackbirds liked so much.

The next 2 blog posts summarize the rest of the trip.

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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Black-headed Gull, Lexington County, South Carolina, February 11, 2024

On January 25 I noticed a report of a Black-headed Gull on the South Carolina Rare Bird Alert text group.  The bird was found in Lexington County, which was not a county I was familiar with.  But by far the most likely location for a wayward Black-headed Gull to show up in SC is somewhere on the coast, so I just assumed Lexington was one of the coastal counties.  But just in case I opened one of the checklists and clicked on the map to check on its actual location.  Lo and behold the bird wasn’t on the coast at all – it was being seen well inland in a suburb of Columbia which is “just” 2 hours away.  

Now I just needed the Black-headed to stick around, and just as importantly, for me to muster enough interest to chase after it.  Which makes me recall the term “activation energy” that I learned about in school in my chemistry classes.  It can be defined as the minimum energy required to cause a process (such as a chemical reaction) to occur.  And once that activation energy has been applied to the reactants, that reaction can’t be stopped.  In a lot of ways, the tenets of activation energy can be applied to my state bird chases.  Once I hear about a chaseable state bird, I need to develop enough interest (the “activation energy”) to make the chase.  But once I’m committed to that chase, there’s no turning back.  After 2 weeks of nearly daily sightings of the Black-headed Gull, I finally had exceeded the activation energy to chase after this SC rarity, and had an opening in my calendar to pursue the bird on February 11.  To continue the analogy - the chemical reaction was underway.

The weather was a bit iffy as I awoke on the 11th – the prediction was for rain all morning in western NC, but with less rain as you headed south into the upstate of SC.  It was raining lightly as I left the house and the radar showed that it was dry in Columbia, so the weatherman seemed to be correct – at least for now.  But as I continued my drive south I passed through multiple rain bands,and some of the hardest were in SC.  Then as I got to within 15 minutes of my Columbia the rain stopped and the roads were dry.  Looks like the weather would be cooperative after all.

My destination was the Outlet Pointe Wastewater Treatment Plant, featuring an aeration lagoon measuring about an acre in size.  The Black-headed was an adult mixed in a flock of up to 40 Bonaparte’s Gulls.  And although it was reported most days, there had been a number of negative reports recently.  I pulled into the small gravel parking lot next to lagoon at 9:30 and began my search.

There were quite a number of Bonaparte’s swimming, perched, and flying about, but with a quick binocular scan I couldn’t pick out the Black-headed.  I then scanned more slowly with my scope but again no target.  So much for an easy search.  I tried changing my viewing point a few times just in case the Black-headed was hiding behind something, but still to no avail.  I diverted my attention to the waterfowl on the lagoon, and picked out 9 species, but soon returned to my scans of the gulls.  At one point I got excited when a larger gull flew in but it was a Ring-billed.

After about 2 hours I started to wonder if I should question my ID skills.  I know Black-headed Gulls well, having seen them a number of times in the Mid-Atlantic and in New England, so I didn’t think I would have ID problems.  I was just trying too hard – my target just wasn’t there.

Then a few minutes later a few Bonaparte’s took off from the lagoon, circled several times gaining altitude, and headed out.  And just as I started to worry that all the gulls might be moving on, I spotted a gull overhead pitching into the lagoon.  And this bird had dark underwings – I had my target Black-headed Gull!  It first landed on a floating divider near the back and I was able to get this shot providing a good comparison with nearby Bonaparte’s, showing it’s red bill and legs, larger size, and paler mantle.

And I was even lucky enough to get this shot as it showed its dark underwings.

Then it flew quite a bit closer and landed on a wooden post at the near edge of the lagoon, allowing me to get this great digi-scoped photo.

I guess I should have never doubted my ID skills.  I just needed to wait till the bird flew in.

Black-headed Gull was number 303 for my SC state list.  And in my state bird map below, SC is the 5th state where I’ve seen this species as a rarity (the brown-shaded states).  The 6 blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen it in its regular range.

Saltmarsh Sparrow On My Statelist Once Again, Kiawah Island, South Carolina, October 27, 2023

I’ve birded the southeast Atlantic coast for many years; in fact for many decades.  Much of my coastal birding time predates the split of the Sharp-tailed Sparrow into Saltmarsh and Nelson’s Sparrows.  So when the split occurred I simply had Sharp-tailed Sparrow on my statelist for each of the Atlantic coastal states.  Unfortunately, back then I did not look close enough at the sparrows to note the differences, so I have no idea if I saw either one or both species in a number of states.  And both species are present on the southern coast at the same time of the year, so the timing of my past trips doesn’t help me to determine which species I may have seen.  So for a while, I arbitrarily put Saltmarsh Sparrow on my state list for a number of coastal states. 

I partially clarified this situation for SC on October 20, 2022.  My wife and I had taken a vacation to Kiawah Island on the SC coast and of course I added in some birding time.  I had received a tip to try for these marsh sparrows near high tide, since the high water levels flush these skulking birds from the marsh grasses.  I headed to the extensive Spartina marshes near the bridge onto the island to try for the sparrows, arriving right at high tide.  I was lucky enough to spot a Nelson’s of the Atlantic race that day.  Over the next 30 minutes I flushed 2 Seasides and no less than 5 other smaller, lighter colored sparrows, but all flew deep into the marsh and dropped in without perching.  Undoubtedly all were Saltmarsh or Nelson’s, but none cooperated enough for a definitive ID.  As a result, I added Nelson’s to my SC statelist and took off Saltmarsh.  I’d have to wait for a future visit to try for Saltmarsh Sparrow. 

That next opportunity came in October 2023 when we once again took a fall vacation on Kiawah Island.  And I once again planned to head to the Spartina marshes near the bridge onto the island to look for those skulking sparrows.  My first try was the high tide the evening of the 25th.  I was successful in flushing 10 sparrows from the perimeter of the marsh, but unfortunately all were Seasides.  I felt like I had my system to spot these marsh sparrows down pretty well.  I just wasn’t finding the right species.

I had one more chance to search for my target bird the last morning of our trip with a high tide near sunrise.  Little did I know that the high tide that day was exceptionally high due to the full moon.  When I arrived at the marsh I was shocked to see nearly the entire marsh underwater.  In this picture what looks like open water is actually flooded dense Spartina marsh grasses.  And the tide was still rising!

I climbed down the bank of the entrance road and stood ankle-deep at the edge of the marsh – a spot that was far out of the water at other high tides.  My plan was to try to work the normally dry shrubs along the road embankment which was the only vegetation in the area that was above the water level.  It was still too dark for any positive IDs, so I just stood at the edge waiting for sunrise.  Soon I started to see a number of individual small sparrows flying out of the marsh to the vegetation in front of me to get out of the flooding.  I was cautiously optimistic.

When I thought it was finally light enough to be able to identify the sparrows, I started playing a few Saltmarsh call notes, and instantly got Seaside Sparrows to come out and perch just a few feet in front of me.  At one point I had 10 Seasides in view at once in a small bush, most giving pretty good views.  But still no Saltmarsh (or Nelson’s for that matter).  Then I finally noticed one bird with an orange face.  The bird had fine flank and chest streaking, and only a faint orange wash below.  I had my target Saltmarsh Sparrow.  Later I counted 11 more Seaside’s in another bush.  Even though I covered a very small area I had 21 Seasides.  Surprisingly, I only no other Saltmarsh or Nelson’s.

And now that I confirmed Nelson’s the previous year, I could finally add Saltmarsh Sparrow (once again) to my SC statelist - #302.

I’ve now seen this species in all the states in its range along the Atlantic coast except cross-hatched Georgia (see my statebird map below).  My experience with Saltmarsh Sparrow in GA is like that in SC – I saw “Sharp-tailed” Sparrows there years ago, and have seen Nelson’s more recently but not yet Saltmarsh. 

 

American Flamingo, Cape Romain NWR Bulls Island, SC, October 24, 2023

The tropical system that would become Hurricane Idalia formed just east of the Yucatan peninsula on August 27th.  The system then meandered in the waters off western Cuba for a couple days before moving north into the Gulf of Mexico on August 29th.  Idalia rapidly intensified into a major hurricane with sustained winds near 125 mph when it made landfall in the FL Big Bend area.  Idalia continued northeast through the southeast US, passing through FL, GA and SC, and eventually moved off the coast of SC just south of the NC line on the 31st as a tropical storm.

Windblown birds will often get displaced by tropical systems, especially storms that form in the tropics.  And just as anticipated, Idalia was responsible for a number of displaced storm birds.  But few would have anticipated the single key displaced species for which Idalia would become known.    

On September 2nd this most surprising post came across the NC Rare Bird Alert chat –

“Ten flamingos at Pea Island in South Pond!!”

Flamingos!  A whole flock of them!  On the Outer Banks of NC!  Although escaped birds are always possible, surely a flock of birds must be wild.  And immediately I started to wonder if they could have been displaced by Idalia.  Soon thereafter came a report of 2 Flamingos on the SC coast at Bulls Island in the Cape Romain NWR, which were discovered on September 1.  I’ve only seen wild Flamingos once before – a flock of 16 at least a mile away off the Everglades at Snake Bight Trail on December 8, 2008.  So I would have loved to go chase after both the SC and NC Flamingos.  But the SC birds were at least a 5 hour drive and boat ride away, and the NC birds were even farther requiring a 7-hour drive.  So I would just have to pass on these ultra-rarities.

Often birds displaced by tropical weather systems only stay a short time before trying to head back “home”.  But both the SC and the NC birds continued at their new locations throughout September and into October.  And during that time more Flamingos were spotted at out-of-the way locations throughout the east including in PA, MD, VA, KY, OH, IN, TN, WI, KS, AL, and throughout FL.  A few of these had been banded in the Yucatan Peninsula, confirming the wild nature of these birds, just in case there was any lingering doubt as to their origin.

As Idalia was forming in the tropics, my wife and I made reservations for a vacation at the end of October at Kiawah Island on the SC coast.  As the Flamingo reports started to come in, I briefly wondered if the SC Flamingos might stick around until our vacation.  But surely the Flamingos would be long gone nearly 2 months after Idalia passed through.  Sure enough on September 3rd one of the Bulls Island birds disappeared, leaving just one bird behind.  But reports of that bird continued on a nearly daily basis well into October.  Finally, as our vacation neared it was time to add a trip to Bulls Island to the trip itinerary.  With a bit of research, I found information on the ferry service that takes you to the island, Coastal Expeditions, and made a reservation for October 24th.  Now I had to just hope that the Flamingo would continue to stick around.

I combed through all the recent reports and it seemed that the Flamingo was always being seen in Upper Summerhouse Pond.  That was the good news.  The bad news was that Upper Summerhouse Pond is actually a pretty large lake, with several peninsulas and coves.  As a result, only a portion of the lake is visible from any one vantage point.  Sometimes the bird was close to shore, most recently along the dike on Turkey Walk Trail.  But other times the bird was spotted at the far end of the lake a quarter mile or farther away.  I figured I just needed to be thorough in my search and I would hopefully be successful.

The 24th finally arrived and I was out the door of our rental house bright and early.  After an hour ride I pulled into the parking lot for the Bulls Island Ferry.  As I waited for the ferry’s departure I checked eBird one last time - the last report from Bulls Island was from the 19th and the Flamingo was indeed spotted that day.  I started chatting with the boat captain and he said it was spotted by one of his passengers on the 23rd.  I was cautiously optimistic.

As we winded our way through the channels in route to Bulls Island I reflected on my last trip to the island.  It was back in May 1977, 46 years ago, when I got species like Sandwich Tern and Purple Gallinule as lifebirds.  This time I wasn’t looking for a lifer, just a much rarer addition to my SC state list. 

After disembarking from the ferry I headed right to the Upper Summerhouse Pond.  Along the way I passed through some very nice woodlands that were quite birdy.  But I didn’t stop, not only because I was on a Flamingo hunt, but also because the mosquitos were thick and hungry!  As I arrived at northwest corner of the pond I did a quick binocular scan but did not see my target bird.  Then a more detailed scan with my scope came up empty.  But I wasn’t too concerned – I was only able to see a smaller portion of the pond from this location and there were still several more vantage points to check. 

I took a short walk down the dike on the Turkey Walk Trail until I got to a break in the vegetation affording me a view of the main pool.  Once again I did a binocular scan and then a more detailed scan with my scope.  But to no avail.  Far in the distance at the southern end of the pond I recognized a row of power poles that were in the most recent photos of the bird, but there was no Flamingo there today.  Which was good news I guess because if so, the bird would have been more than a quarter mile away.

So it was on to the next vantage point near the northeast corner of the main part of the pond.  Distant scans of the perimeter of the pool still came up empty.  Now I was really starting to worry.  Would I be the first person to miss the long-staying Bulls Island Flamingo?  There were still a couple other vantage points I could check, but they would require longer walks and subject me to a lot more mosquitos. 

As I stood there trying to decide my next course of action, I noticed a bit of movement just beyond the thick vegetation at the edge of pond quite close to me.  I took a couple steps to get a slightly clearer view of the area and there was my target bird – an American Flamingo!  The bird was no more than 50 feet away!  I slowly took a couple more steps up the dike until I reached an opening in the vegetation and got tremendous views of the bird.  Here are a couple phonescoped shots.

I watched the Flamingo for the next half hour actively feeding by immersing its entire head under the water.  That was quite different from what I’ve seen in zoos when they would only barely put their bills under the water surface to feed. 

I’m glad I didn’t have to wait any longer to get to Bulls Island.  As it turns out my report of the Flamingo was the last one on eBird.  So instead of being the first birder to miss the Bulls Island Flamingo, I was the last one to see it. 

American Flamingo was #301 for my SC list, and my 541st photographed species in the ABA region.

And now for a postscript for seeing birds displaced by tropical systems –

I’ve had a pretty good track record of seeing rarities displaced by tropical storms and hurricanes.  These include –

Hurricane Katrina – August 2005 – TN – Band-rumped Storm-Petrel, numerous Laughing Gulls – Pickwick Dam

Hurricane Earl - September 2010 – MA - Sabine’s Gull and South Polar Skua, First Encounter Beach

Hurricane Irene – August-September 2011

MA – White-tailed Tropicbird, Sooty Tern, and 2 Jaeger sp. - Quabbin Reservoir in Central MA

VT – Sanderling – Connecticut River in Vernon

RI -– Brown Pelican, Parasitic Jaeger, Sooty Tern - Moonstone Beach

ME - Black Skimmer – Pine Point

Hurricane Arthur – July 2014

MA - Sandwich Tern - Plum Island

ME – Royal Tern - Hills Beach  (both on the same day)

And now I can add the American Flamingo in SC after Hurricane Idalia.

Pacific Loon - Statebird #300 in South Carolina, Lake Jocassee, March 9, 2023

On March 4th an e-mail from the Greenville County Bird Club list popped up with this subject line – “Pacific Loon at Devils Fork SP”.  That certainly caught my attention, though I wasn’t sure where Devils Fork SP was.  The body of the e-mail read:

“Jay Mager, an ornithologist who specializes in studies of loons, reported a Pacific Loon on Lake Jocassee at Devils Fork SP around noon today.”

I remember hearing about Lake Jocassee, although I had never been there.  That is the spot that features large numbers of wintering Loons, and where a Pacific Loon was found at that same time of year in 2020.  I didn’t chase after that one as that was at the beginning of the Covid outbreak and I was pretty much sticking around home back then.  So with 3 years of kicking myself for not going after the 2020 bird, I sure wanted to give this one a try. 

The key question was whether it was just passing through or whether it would stick around long enough to chase after.  It was seen again on the 5th so at least it wasn’t just a one-day-wonder.  The next complication was that we had a short family trip scheduled for the 6th through the 8th, so March 9th would be my first opportunity to try for it.  I watched the eBird reports every day, and luckily the Loon was reported daily through the 8th, including with some excellent photos of the bird at quite close range.  The hunt was on!

I was out the door pre-dawn on the 9th feeling quite optimistic that not only would I find the Pacific Loon, but that I would find it quite quickly.  Most of the reports included sightings along the east shore of the lake near the Villa properties.  And the best viewing spot appeared to be from the Eclectic Sun rental shop.  Within minutes of paying the Devils Fork SP entrance fee I had set up my scope on the lawn in front of the rental shop to start my scan of the lake.  I first looked toward the northeast in the vicinity of the Villas but didn’t see any birds at all.  Then I turned my attention to the open lake waters toward the north and northwest, finding a couple Common Loons, but not my target bird.  With additional scans I found a few more Common Loons, a pair of Horned Grebes, and some distant Bonaparte’s Gull but still no Pacific Loon.

Could the Loon be feeding in some other portion of the reservoir that wasn’t visible from the Eclectic Sun?  Or worse yet, had it move on?  Just then a group of birders walked up to me and asked if I had found the Loon yet.  It turned out that they were the ones who first discovered the bird, and told me about a couple small coves near the Villas, not visible from my viewing spot, where they had seen the bird earlier in the week.  So I headed into the Villas and checked out those hidden coves, but to no avail.  I then drove around to the west side of the lake for another viewing angle but just came up with the same birds as before.

It was now longer than I had planned to stay, but I decided to make one more stop at the rental place.  As I started my scans I noticed a pontoon boat far out on the water owned by a group that gives tours of the lake.  I could see several people on the boat with binoculars, and watched the boat slow down each time it passed by a Common Loon.  I assumed it was giving a tour to some birders who were also looking for the Pacific, so I decided to keep a close eye on them in case they got lucky. 

A few minutes later the boat slowed once again.  A short distance ahead of them I could see a Loon on the water – the first thing that jumped out at me was that it was quite a bit smaller than the nearby Commons.  Did I have my target?  Unfortunately, the boat soon passed between me and the bird so I lost it for about 15 seconds.  Finally the bird reappeared giving me long albeit distant views.  In addition to being smaller, it was paler than the Commons, with a smaller bill.  I did indeed have my target Pacific Loon!  Not the best of views, but still definitive looks at quite a rarity for the Upstate of SC.

My statebird map for Pacific Loon is inserted below.  The blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen this species in its regular west coast range.  And the 12 brown-shaded states are those where I’ve seen it as a rarity.

This caps off a most successful winter for rare waterfowl in the Upstate of SC – I added Red-necked Grebe, Common Merganser, Ross’s Goose and now Pacific Loon to my statelist this winter.  And Pacific Loon was a milestone for me in SC – it was #300 for my SC list.  SC is now the 11th state where I’ve tallied 300 or more species.