Western Flycatcher, Burlingame State Park, Rhode Island, December 20, 2023

My wife and I took a family vacation to visit relatives in RI for the 2023 Christmas holidays.  I knew I wouldn’t have much of a chance for birding during the trip, but I thought maybe I could squeeze in at least a little time.  And since I used to live in New England and had good lists in all 6 states, I wasn’t too optimistic that there might be a statebird target to chase.  Instead, I was just looking forward to doing a bit of fun birding at some coastal hotspot nearby that I used to bird.  But almost as an afterthought I checked my eBird Needs Alerts for nearby states just in case.  One target popped up in RI – a Western Flycatcher.  That would be a great rarity to chase – a first record for RI.  And it was reasonably reliable, having been seen nearly daily since it was discovered on November 20. 

I had a target – now I needed to figure out the logistics.  The reports mentioned the bird was often seen near the naturalist’s house or nearby at camp sites 134 and 136.  With a bit of research I downloaded park maps and found the Flycatcher’s preferred locations.  I was all set to go the next afternoon.  I reached out to my good RI birding friend Don Heitzmann to see if he wanted to join me and luckily he was available.  Don had already seen the bird, and suggested we park at the Kettle Pond Visitor Center of the Burlingame SP as it would make for a shorter walk into the campground.  I was all ready to go, though I was a bit concerned that there were no reports of the Flycatcher (positive or negative) in the last 3 days.

I met Don in the early afternoon of the 20^th, and he led me on a short walk through the woods to get to the campground.  Soon we came to the naturalist’s house and sized things up – there was nice brushy habitat in the area, though some of it was in the shade.  On this cold December day I figured a Flycatcher would prefer to be feeding in the sun, so we focused on the sunnier brush.  But we didn’t see a single bird, and only heard a distant Cardinal and Carolina Wren.  This was looking bleak, so we headed over to camp sites 134 and 136.  But it was even worse there - we didn’t have a single bird. 

Since the habitat looked better at the naturalist’s house we decided to head back there to try again.  There we finally ran into a mixed flock of birds.  But despite our best efforts all we could find were the regular wintering New England species.  This wasn’t looking good.

Then I remembered a tree line and low hedgerow just south of the naturalist building that was in the full afternoon sun.  Maybe insects in that spot could be more active and support a feeding Flycatcher.  We made our way to this new spot and quickly found a small flock of Bluebirds and House Finches.  Then I noticed a flash of yellow as a bird flitted by.  I got my binoculars on it as it landed and we had our bird – the Western Flycatcher!  Key field marks included yellowish below, greenish yellow above, with a tear-drop shaped eye ring.  Here are my 2 best digi-binned shots of the bird.

Western Flycatcher was #336 for my RI state list, and my 442nd species in New England.

My statebird map for Western Flycatcher is copied in below.  (Note that this map assumes that the Cordilleran and Pacific-slope Flycatchers will be officially lumped once again as Western Flycatcher.)  The blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen this species in its regular range.  The cross-hatched states are the last 2 in its normal range where I’ve yet to see it.  And the brown-shaded states are those where I’ve seen Western Flycatcher as a rarity – NE, KS, and now RI.

 

Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Union County, North Carolina, November 29, 2023

On the afternoon of November 25th a post came across the NC Rare Bird Alert looking for opinions on the ID of a hummingbird described on recent Facebook posts.  The bird was coming to a backyard in Union County, and the homeowner was unsure of the species.  There were multiple comments on the Rare Bird Alert and after a while consensus was pointing towards it being a Broad-tailed Hummingbird – only a second NC state record.  The bird was seen again by the homeowner the morning of the 26th, but by the time access information got out to birders that afternoon, the bird was no longer being seen.

Birders were onsite early the next morning but to no avail.  I was just about to write this one off when a post came across the Rare Bird Alert at 12:21 that afternoon that the hummingbird had just returned.  The bird quickly became a regular visiting both camellias and feeders in the homeowner’s backyard throughout the afternoon of the 27th and all day on the 28th.  So now that the Broad-tailed had become reliable, it was time for a chase. 

I had planned to head out pre-dawn the next morning but it was cold that day, with lows in the mid 20s.  I wondered if the hummingbird made it through the night, and part of me thought that I should wait until it was reported that morning to start to make my drive.  But I was ever the optimist, and decided to head out early anyway.  Hopefully I made the right choice. 

I arrived at Snapdragon Court in Union County at about 9 AM and was the first birder there that day.  Even before I was out of the car the homeowner came out to greet me.  He was happy to share the news that the bird made it through the night and he had seen it several times already that morning.  Looks like I made the right decision after all.

I walked around the side of the house and entered this very nicely landscaped backyard.

I did a quick scan of the feeders and camellias on the deck but didn’t see my target bird.  So I started to scan the nearby deciduous trees and quickly spotted a small bird perched nearby – it was the Broad-tailed Hummingbird.  Just a few seconds later the bird flew into the feeder and gave great views only a few feet away.  Over the next 45 minutes the bird visited the feeding station every few minutes.  The bird appeared to be bigger than a Rufous, with a tail that was longer as well.  All consistent with the Broad-tailed ID, though I’ll leave that up to the wintering hummingbird experts. 

My statebird map for Broad-tailed Hummingbird is inserted below.  The blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen it in its regular range.  The cross-hatched states are regular states where I’ve yet to see it.  And I’ve seen it in 3 states as a rarity – LA, FL and now NC where it is #324 on my statelist.

Two Extreme Rarities (and Almost a Lifebird) in Central Tennessee, November 25, 2023

Early on the morning of November 25th I received this notification from the Tennessee birding Facebook group – “Ancient Murrelet at Chickamauga Dam”.  I wasn’t quite sure where Chickamauga Dam was, but Ancient Murrelet would be a lifebird for me so I might be interested in a chase.  It turns out that the dam is close to Chattanooga, some 3 ½ hours from home.  My normal one-way maximum statebird chase distance is 2 hours, and sometimes I’ll stretch it to 2 ½ hours for a really good bird.  But this would be a lifebird, so I guess I could justify more time on the road to go after it.  That is if it was reasonably reliable.

With a bit of eBird research I found out that the bird was first discovered the previous day, and was seen by many.  But with the long driving time I decided to wait for it to be spotted again on the 25th before I headed out.  In the meantime, I looked at my TN Needs Alert to see if there might be other potential statebird targets in that region.  Sure enough there was a semi-reliable Limpkin just 30 minutes away and not too far off my route to and from home.  So now I had 2 targets to pursue – I just needed to get confirmation that the Murrelet was still around.

As of 9 AM on the 25th there were just negative posts from the TN Facebook page.  There were lots of birders looking for the Murrelet, but they were coming up empty.  But just as I was about to write it off as a one-day wonder I noticed a post on Facebook that the Murrelet had been re-found.  It took me a bit of time to get myself ready, but finally at 10:30 I was out the door.  The chase was on with cautious optimism that a lifebird awaited me.

Shortly after getting on the road I noticed my travel time had increased to over 4 hours.  It turns out there was major construction on I-40 in western NC, reducing the road to just 1 lane each way.  Even though I was able to use some back roads to avoid some of the backup, I still had added more than 30 minutes to my route.  And then when I neared Knoxville I started to see signs to expect backups due to football traffic – the University of Tennessee is in Knoxville and it turns out a home football game was about to start.  That added even more time.  And then when I was just about 30 minutes away from the dam there was another backup – a tractor trailer had caught fire and was burning on the shoulder.  Now my 3 ½ hour drive had become a 5-hour drive.  But it would be all worth it if I got that lifebird.

As I neared Chickamauga Dam I checked recent reports and most said the Murrelet was feeding quite cooperatively near the dam.  It had apparently moved from the nearby boat ramp area where it had mostly been seen the day before.  So I headed right to the parking lot at the dam.  As I pulled in I noticed 2 birders walking toward their cars.  I flagged them down and found out that the bird was not presently being seen at the dam, but likely had returned to the boat ramp.  As we headed back to the cars I mentioned something like a lifebird was worth a 5-hour drive, and the one birder mentioned he was surprised it was a lifebird for me.  Hmm…  That started me thinking whether I had actually seen this bird before out west.  But there was no time to research my lifelist - my chase wasn’t over yet.

I quickly got back in the car and drove a short distance to the boat ramp lot where I spotted this group of 25 or more birders at the water’s edge.  This looked promising.

I arrived at the end of the boat ramp and the birders directed me to look to the left.  There was the Ancient Murrelet not more than 50 feet away floating near the shore.  Over the next 15 minutes it actively fed and swam in that same general area.  Interestingly, there were some large oak leaves floating on the water nearby, and it was hardly larger than the leaves.  I was able to get this phonescoped photo of the bird, complete with one of those floating oak leaves in the background.

While watching the bird I heard a photographer lament that the lighting wasn’t good.  To which another birder responded – “would you rather take pictures of a Mallard in good light or an Ancient Murrelet in bad light?”

I didn’t stay too long because I still had the Limpkin to pursue.  Plus I was way behind schedule given all the backups.  But as I walked back to my car I started thinking again whether the Murrelet was actually a lifer or not.  I pulled up my lifelist on eBird and there was the Ancient Murrelet already on my list.  I had actually seen this species in Alaska (on both of my trips there), and as a rarity on a pelagic trip out of California.  I was confusing this with the Long-billed Murrelet, another alcid that rarely shows up on inland lakes, which would have truly been a lifebird.  Another senior moment I guess.  I wouldn’t have made the long drive if I had realized it was just for a couple possible statebirds – even though the Murrelet was a first record for TN. 

But now I was off on a Limpkin chase.  This had been an amazing year for vagrant Limpkins throughout the east, and this Limpkin was being reported sporadically feeding near a bridge over a small arm of Chickamauga Lake.  After a quick 30-minute ride I arrived at the bridge and parked nearby.  This part of the country has been under an extreme drought and all the water bodies were extremely low.  Here is a picture of the wetlands upstream of the bridge – there was a huge amount of potential muddy habitat for a Limpkin to feed in. 

It was time to find a brown bird in an all-brown background.  And oh by the way, it was about the size of a lot of those brown rocks now exposed by the low water levels .  I scanned the area below the bridge and found a nice flock of Ring-billed and Bonaparte’s Gulls, plus a few Killdeer, but no large brown wading birds.  Then I checked upstream of the bridge and found no birds at all.  Was the Limpkin search going to be more difficult than the search for the Murrelet?  I went back to the downstream side and scanned more slowly, but still no target bird.  Then I returned to the upstream side and noticed some movement in the water in the distance.  There was the Limpkin wading in the middle of the little stream of water that remained.  Here’s a digi-binned picture of the bird without zooming in – it really blended in with its surroundings.

And here it is heavily cropped.

My statebird map for Limpkin is inserted below.  I’ve seen Limpkin in FL which is the only state where it is regular (shaded in blue).  And now TN is my 3rd state (shaded in brown) where I’ve seen it as a rarity.

That was certainly a most successful day, despite all the driving.  In hindsight, I guess I’m glad that I hadn’t remembered my lifelist correctly or I wouldn’t have been able to add these 2 extreme rarities to my TN statelist, which now stands at 258.

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.

Limpkin, Mountain Creek Park, Catawba County, NC, August 26, 2023

There had been quite a number of sightings of Limpkins throughout the southeast in the summer of 2023.  This species is not generally prone to vagrancy.  But this year, it was apparent that some type of post-breeding dispersal was occurring similar to what happens with other waders.  Unfortunately, all the reports were quite distant from home, including several in central NC and a couple in central TN. 

But then I noticed a Limpkin report from Catawba County on August 25.  The bird was seen at Mountain Creek Park a bit northwest of Charlotte about a 2-hour drive from home – within my self-imposed driving limit.  I could chase after it the next day, but some of the local Limpkin reports were one-day-wonders.  So it sure would be nice to know that the bird would stick around before I made the trek. 

As it turns out my birding friend Bill Hooker was also interested in pursuing this bird to add it to his Catawba County list.  He was able to relocate it on the 25th, and went back on the morning of the 26th and found it again quite easily.  Bill passed along his suggestions to find the Limpkin – set up your scope on the fishing pier and scan the islands and small mudflats a short distance away.  Although the bird was sometimes seen in the open on the flats, it seemed to prefer perching somewhat obscured in low branches in front of the right most island as you look out from the pier.  With that great advice I was all set and headed off for Mountain Creek Park.

I arrived just after 1 PM in the heat of the day – my car thermometer said the outside temperature was 100 degrees – yikes! 

I quickly made my way to the fishing pier, which thankfully was partially shaded.  I did a quick scan of the island to the right but came up empty.  Then with my scope set up in the shade I searched that right-most island more closely but could not find the Limpkin.  Slow scans of the flats and remaining portions of the islands were unsuccessful as well, with the best find being a Pectoral Sandpiper. 

This was going to be a challenge.  If I was going to be successful, I would need to just settle in and keep doing frequent scans of those islands.  About a half hour after I arrived I heard the unmistakable calls of a Limpkin coming from the shoreline a short distance away.  But the calls were a little too good – it was another birder playing tape. 

Then a half hour later I finally got the break I needed – I noticed a large brown bird flying from the back of the right island towards the flats.  With a quick scope view I had my Limpkin!  I was able to get a couple quick phonescoped shots as it briefly walked out in the open.

A few seconds later it walked into vegetation toward the left and disappeared.  It was in view for maybe just 60 seconds.  I remained there for another hour hoping to get better views but it never re-emerged.  I guess a 1-minute distant view over 2 hours would have to be good enough.

Limpkin was #323 for my NC statelist.  And now NC is my third state, after FL and SC, for this expanding species.

 

As a postscript – just a couple weeks after the Mountain Creek Park sighting a Limpkin appeared at Jackson Park only 15 minutes from home.  I saw this bird on September 9, which certainly was much more cooperative than the one in Catawba County.  I could have saved myself a 2-hour drive if the Jackson Park bird had shown up a couple weeks earlier.

Flock of Swallow-tailed Kites, Bluff City, Sullivan County, Tennessee, August 23, 2023

It was August 22nd and we were well into what I call “The Summer Doldrums of Birding” – a period where the breeding season is over, and migration isn’t yet underway.  Unfortunately, that lasts nearly 2 months here in the mountains of western NC.  Luckily, it’s good birding the remaining 10+ months of the year.  I hadn’t had a new statebird, let alone even tried for one, since coming back from my Oregon, Idaho, and Washington trip in June.

Even though it was a slow time of the year I decided to check my eBird Needs Alert for Tennessee on the off chance that there might be something to chase after in the eastern part of the state.  As is usually the case, most every listed species was being seen in the central or western part of the state.  But then I noticed some reports of Swallow-tailed Kite from Sullivan County.  First of all, I didn’t even know I needed STKI for TN – thank goodness for eBird Needs Alerts!  Then I thought I remembered that Sullivan County was near the northeast corner of TN.  And sure enough a quick search on GoogleMaps showed the site to be 1 hour 55 minutes from home - just within my self-imposed 2-hour driving limit for chases.

Now I had to determine if my target was reasonably reliable to justify the chase.  There were nearly daily reports recently of up to 5 birds along Chinquapin Grove Road, with reports going back to August 6th with up to 8 birds spotted.  That was all good news.  But, there were no reports from the 22nd.  Since the spot was not a hotspot I couldn’t tell if anyone looked for them unsuccessfully that day.  I tried to overlook the lack of reports writing it off simply as most of the local birders who wanted to see the Kites had already done so by then.  The out-of-range Kite flock was old news of sorts.  At least that’s what I told myself.  Based on the Kites’ history at the site I assumed they were reliable enough to make a run to TN to give them a try.  I was free the next morning - the chase was on!

Kites aren’t typically up and about until mid to late morning, so I figured there was no need to leave the house too early.  I was out the door at about 6:45 which had me rolling into the area where the Kites had been seen at 8:40.  The site turned out to be an active cattle ranch, with grazing pastures in all directions.  A few reports mentioned seeing them across the road from a red barn, which was pretty obvious when I pulled up.  So I decided to park along the road right at the barn and set up my scope to look roughly northeast over the fields opposite the barn.

I didn’t see any Kites when I first arrived, but I wasn’t too worried since it was likely still too early for them.  Though I kept scanning the skies just in case.  At about 9:30 I saw the first Vultures soaring nearby.  There were several reports of the Kites soaring in Vulture kettles so I scanned the Vultures closely, but to no avail. 

Then at 9:40 I spotted a raptor flying nearby quite low – without even a binocular view I knew it was my target Swallow-tailed Kite.  Then 3 more followed it.  All 4 birds landed at the top of a tall sycamore tree about 300 ft away just across the road from the barn and proceeded to preen for the next 15 minutes.  I was able to get these phonescoped shots of some of the perched birds.

Very striking birds!  And certainly worth the chase to get this rarity for TN.  Swallow-tailed Kite was number 256 for my TN list.  

My statebird map for this species is inserted below.  The blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen Swallow-tails in their regular range.  Blue cross-hatched AL is the last state in its regular range where I’ve yet to see this species. And now I’ve seen Swallow-tailed Kite in 2 states where it is a rarity (TN and NC shaded in brown).

 \