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CarolinaBirds for Sunday, May 21, 2006
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Subject: Black Rail, Roseate Spoonbill, 4 White-rumped Sandpipers -
Santee Coastal Reserve on 5/20
From: Nate Dias <offshorebirder(AT)yahoo.com>
Date: 21 May 2006 12:10pm
Carolina Birders,
I performed the final ISS census of the season at the
Santee Coastal Reserve near McClellanville yesterday
(Saturday). -- I realize the ISS protocols call for
coverage later into the season, but Deer Flies and
other biting insects make this impossible around
certain parts of coastal SC after late May.
The bugs at Santee Coastal were fairly tolerable
yesterday; the cool morning temps and the nice breeze
after 9am helped a lot.
If anyone wants to look for the good birds I saw/heard
at SCR, I would recommend going in the next 4-5 days
or the biting insects will make it too difficult. On
weekdays, the gate beside the big field is open and
one can drive closer to the impoundments. This makes
it possible to drive past most of the woodland bugs
you have to hike through on weekend. Park at the 'no
vehicles beyond this point' sign if you drive in on
weekdays. Once out at the old ricefields, the winds
are stronger and the insects are mosquitos for the
most part. I highly recommend wearing one of those
bug netting jackets - they are a real lifesaver. The
camo pattern also helps you sneak up on birds.
While I was hustling out to the ricefields, I came
across a nice-sized gator stretched across a dike.
The location was just past the tractor shed area /
equipment yard. When the gator went into the water,
it made a big splash that set off a couple of King
Rails in the freshwater marsh on the left hand side of
the dike (with the work yard at your back). The King
rails were answered by a Sora, which was answered by a
BLACK RAIL.
Despite a nasty cloud of biting insects around me, I
stopped and rummaged in my pack for a tape player and
a rail tape (I know - very low-tech). I played a
Black Rail call and got an answer from a Sora. I
waited a minute, played it again and got an answer
from a Black Rail, which proved my hearing was not
playing tricks. Not wanting to cause more
disturbance, I pressed on.
The drawn-down impoundments are nearly dry, but there
were four of them with some water still remaining.
However, I think yesterday's thunderstorms that went
through McClellanville and Georgetown replenished the
water levels a bit (just in time).
If folks want a good study opportunity of WHITE-RUMPED
SANDPIPERS, get to SCR this week. I had four of them
on Saturday.
The ROSEATE SPOONBILL was working a shallow canal that
fed into one of the larger deep canals, along with
several Egrets and Herons. Due to tall vegetation and
sloppy fieldcraft (darn it), I did not see the
Spoonbill until I was right on top of it and so it
flushed. It flew northeast in the direction of the
observation tower at the corner of the Intracoastal
Waterway and the South Santee River. I looked around
that general area, but I was unable to relocate the
bird.
Other bird highlights in the ricefield areas Saturday
included SWALLOW-TAILED KITE, MISSISSIPPI KITE and
several WOOD STORKS.
The entrance drive was very birdy in the morning. I
only stopped a couple of brief times, but I saw/heard:
RED-COCKADED WOODPECKERS (3), BACHMAN'S SPARROWS (5
singing males), Northern Bobwhite, Eastern Wood-Pewee
(4), Summer Tanager and Orchard Oriole.
It's interesting how fast the Short-billed Dowitchers
and Stilt Sandpipers cleared out of Santee Coastal.
Last week they were all over the place, yesterday I
had a mere 6 SB Dowitchers and no Stilt Sandpipers.
No Solitary Sandpipers either. But there were hordes
of Semipalmated Sandpipers, fair numbers of Dunlin,
Semipalmated Plovers and quite a few Spotted
Sandpipers remaining.
Shorebird totals (16 species):
Black-bellied Plover - 3
Semipalmated Plover - 375
Killdeer - 14
American Oystercatcher - 2
Black-necked Stilt - 39
Greater Yellowlegs - 7
Lesser Yellowlegs - 23
Willet - 62
Spotted Sandpiper - 47
Marbled Godwit - 1 (unexpected)
Whimbrel - 2
Semipalmated Sandpiper - 1,384
Least Sandpiper - 58
WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER - 4
Dunlin - 619
Short-billed Dowitcher - 6
Nathan Dias - Charleston, SC
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Subject: Dillingham Road
From: Alex Netherton <danetherton(AT)charter.net>
Date: 21 May 2006 2:20pm
Hi folks;
I have seen several messages telling of trips to Dillingham road in
northeast Buncombe County, but I have never been there.
It seems a great place for birds and butterflies, and I hope there is a
creek or stream there so I can hunt salamanders!
Could someone kindly send me directions on how to get there from
Asheville? I would be eternally grateful!
--
Alex Netherton, an Appalachian Naturalist
http://alexnetherton.com
danetherton charter dot net
Asheville, NC
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: RE: Painted Bunting at Congaree National Park, Richland Co.,
SC
From: "Robin Carter" <rcarter(AT)sc.rr.com>
Date: 21 May 2006 2:52pm
Hi C-Birders,
I went down to the Bates Fork Tract of Congaree National Park this morning
to check out George McCoy's report of a Painted Bunting. I found a young
male (green-plumaged) Painted Bunting singing just about where George found
one, at the south end of the Sampson's Island clearing, right where you turn
left to go to the large clear cut just south of Sampson's Island.
Other birds of interest included four singing Swainson's Warblers and Cliff
Swallows nesting under the US 601 bridge. There were still a few migrants
present (Scarlet Tanager, Ovenbird, and Northern Waterthrush).
Here is my day list (Congaree National Park only):
OBSERVATION REPORT
Report Details
Location name: Congaree National Park
Observation date: 5/21/06
Duration: 4 hour(s) 0 minute(s)
# of people in birding party: 1
Are you reporting all the species you identified? Yes
Total # of species: 43
Observation type: Casual Observation
Start time: 8:15 AM
Distance covered: 3.0 mile(s)
Area covered: N/A
Weather had a negative effect on my ability to collect birding information:
No
Checklist diary notes:
Bates Fork Tract
Species Details
Species Name Number Reported
Wild Turkey X
Great Blue Heron X
Great Egret X
Black Vulture X
Turkey Vulture X
Mississippi Kite X
Red-shouldered Hawk X
Yellow-billed Cuckoo X
Chimney Swift X
Red-bellied Woodpecker X
Downy Woodpecker X
Pileated Woodpecker X
Eastern Wood-Pewee X
Acadian Flycatcher X
Great Crested Flycatcher X
White-eyed Vireo X
Red-eyed Vireo X
American Crow X
Fish Crow X
Cliff Swallow X
Barn Swallow X
Carolina Chickadee X
Tufted Titmouse X
Carolina Wren X
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher X
Brown Thrasher X
Northern Parula X
Yellow-throated Warbler X
Prothonotary Warbler X
Swainson's Warbler X
Ovenbird X
Northern Waterthrush X
Common Yellowthroat X
Hooded Warbler X
Yellow-breasted Chat X
Summer Tanager X
Scarlet Tanager X
Northern Cardinal X
Blue Grosbeak X
Indigo Bunting X
Painted Bunting X
Common Grackle X
Brown-headed Cowbird X
Robin Carter
Columbia, SC USA
mailto:rcarter(AT)sc.rr.com
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Subject: HBSP - 21 May 06 = signs of January
From: Steve Thomas <stype(AT)sccoast.net>
Date: 21 May 2006 6:33pm
Birders,
We went to down to Huntington Beach S.P. for our more-or-less weekly
walk to the jetty. The tide was ultra low today at 10 AM and there
weren't many people there at that time. At the waterline, not too
far from the north parking lot boardwalk, we encountered the
juvenile Common Eider (presumably the same one that's been there
since around November, IIRC) on the beach in the company of about 5
Ring-billed Gulls. As we approached, the duck swam out into the surf
- we got within 30 feet - and as we left it walked back onto the
beach where it seemed like the gulls waited for it. It was feeding
in two or three inches of water, apparently heartily, looked fit and
well, but we never saw it fly. When we returned, there were lots of
people in that spot and no eider. Could this be a non-breeding
individual that simply chooses not to migrate?
At the base of the jetty, we enjoyed:
2 Whimbrel
Willets apparently on territory
Wilson's Plover apparently on territory
12 Spotted Sandpipers
about 7 Black-bellied Plovers
At the Maxwell observation deck:
Least Bitten walking around close-up - getting to be a "trash bird, "
Heh, heh.
Regards,
Steve
--
Stephen Thomas
Aynor, SC
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Subject: Near Tragedy
From: "Larry" <Larry(AT)lbarden.com>
Date: 21 May 2006 7:30pm
Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 17:16:56 -0400
From: "John Register" <jregister4(AT)cox.net>
Subject: Re: Near tragedy
Greetings, C'birders...
Yesterday, Mike Dunn and I were at Lake Mattamuskeet. Driving in the
entrance road, we noticed a Snowy Egret in the canal along the south side of
the road. The canal has been drained, and has only a trickle of water, mud
and muddy wallows. The bird was clearly in distress, leaning forward, wings
stretched out, wingtips in muddy water, pulling with its right leg. Putting
my binoculars on the bird, I saw that its right foot was in the mouth of a
large snapping turtle -- how large, we couldn't tell as the turtle was sunk
in soupy mud. We stopped, got out of the car and considered what to do. Of
course, the bird, already in a frightening situation, was not happy to see
us, and tried to pull away all the more. After a minute or two, we began to
approach the bird.
Whether the turtle sensed the approach of danger or was just tired of
holding on, it suddenly opened its jaws, and the egret jumped away, across
the muddy ditch and walked (did not fly), limping slightly, to safety. When
we first came upon the scene, the egret seemd in such a hopelessly ugly
predicament, the more so since a snowy egret is such a strikingly beautiful
bird, and we could think of no effective way to loosen the jaws of the
snapper. On reflection, though, the turtle had no way of killing the bird
(there wasn't enough water to drown it), and probably would have released it
whether we had come on the scene or not.
Mother Nature's little dramas are not always light-hearted.
Thoughtfully,
John Register
Washington, NC"
John Register has vividly described an ethical dilimma that symbolizes
experiences that all of us have had: an animal that we consider "beautiful"
is being killed by an animal that is not beautiful to most folks, such as a
snapping turtle. How should we respond? Our first and instinctive response
is to rescue the prey from the predator. But now let's reverse the
situation: an Egret has caught a newly hatched snapping turtle and is trying
to kill it. How should we respond? How many of us would feel try to save
the snapping turtle? Our human and birding sympathies tend to side with the
predator this time instead of the prey.
My point is that we can all grow into a higher level of acceptance of the
physical world and the physical laws that govern it (and ultimately us) by
recognizing that these two situations are morally identical, despite our
natural instincts to act in contradictory ways. The path out of this
ethical ambiguity is to try to stop thinking anthropocentrically (human
values dominate) about the physical world, as difficult as this is, and to
try to start thinking biocentrically (biological reality dominates). A
biocentric way of thinking would not rate egrets higher than snapping
turtles or Hawks higher than snakes in value.
I realize that our deep personal predilictions will almost always dominate
our superficial rational thinking processes, but it really is a good mental
exercise to try to see the physical world as it really is, not as we would
like it to be. I think John does that in his last sentence.
I also realizing that to a great extent I am preaching to the choir and most
CarolinaBirders have moved a long way toward biocentric ethical values,
which is one reason I really like this listserv.
Ok, I'm finished. Almost. Before anyone brings it up, I am fully aware and
in agreement that our human domination of those parts of the physical world
that cause us harm (pneumonia bacteria, for example) is a good thing. I may
be wacko, but I'm not stupid.
Cheers,
Larry Barden
Charlotte
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: N&O article (B. Bockhahn...)
From: "Rob G." <thrush(AT)hotmail.com>
Date: 21 May 2006 8:04pm
surprised no one has mentioned it by now but there's a rather extensive
article in today's (Sun.) Raleigh N&O (section D) on our own Brian Bockhahn
and birding Falls lake for a local 'Wildathon' -- should be of interest to
several folks on the list:
http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/442013.html
By the way, does someone on this list have the license plate "RT Hawk" (B.
Brooks maybe???) -- I just recently moved to Foxcroft Apts. and noticed that
vehicle in the parking lot today and wondered who dat might be? And
joy-oh-joy I have hummers again!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~}
**Rob Gluck...... Chapel Hill, NC...... thrush(AT)hotmail.com ....
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Watauga Co. (Valle Crucis) birds
From: "Thomas McNeil" <tsmcneil(AT)earthlink.net>
Date: 21 May 2006 8:36pm
21 May 2006
Watauga County, NC
Valle Crucis
Valle Crucis Community Park
Rob Biller, J.T. McNeil, and I birded the Watauga County area this morning.
We had never birded the Valle Crucis area, so this was a real treat. We
were briefly joined by a couple from Miami (Hays?).
Thanks for the great directions on the Carolina Bird Club website.
Highlights:
Solitary Sandpiper (1)
Spotted Sandpiper (2)
Chuck-will's-widow? (1) - This bird was roosting in a willow along the
pond. We worked hard on this one. It's not very often that you get to
work on nightjar field marks. We assumed size was a good key (nearly
"pigeon sized"). Rob took some great digital pictures and will probably
post a link later. Someone needs to let us know if we are correct in our
ID.
Willow Flycatcher (several)
Least Flycatcher (several)
Great Crested Flycatcher (1)
Yellow-throated Vireo (1)
Warbling Vireo (1)
Swainson's Thrush (1)
Bobolink (2)
Orchard Oriole (2)
Baltimore Oriole (several)
We also visited the Meat Camp Creek Environmental Studies Area later in the
day. It had become fairly quiet by the time we arrived. We were a bit
concerned about the "No Trespassing" sign posted at the boardwalk. Is this
location still OK to visit? We had never birded this area either. Looks
great!
Thomas S. McNeil
Elizabethton, TN
tsmcneil(AT)earthlink.net
tsmcneil(AT)northeaststate.edu
423-360-2970 (H)
423-354-2487 (W)
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Nightjar Picture Link
From: Robert Biller <merlin42(AT)charter.net>
Date: 21 May 2006 10:56pm
Hello Carolina Birders,
The following link will take you to my sorely outdated bird journal (except for
today ;)). There I have the NIGHTJAR pictures from today (with Tom McNeil) at
Valle Crucis Community Park in Watagua County, NC. Any help confirming this ID
as a Chuck-will's-widow (which we believe it is) would be appreciated.
Likewise, any comments on why it is not would be equally appreciated. The
pictures are linked to my gallery page where you can click on the pictures and
get better looks. Unless this warrants a discussion on Carolina Birds, then
you may email me personally at merlin42(AT)charter.net, Tom at
tsmcneil(AT)earthlink.net, or leave a comment at the journal site or the gallery
site. Thank you for you time and help with this identification. I hope the
pictures are good enough for the ID. Valle Crucis was a big, BIG surprise for
me and I hope to get back there as soon as possible (probably next Sunday unless
something unexpected arises).
Here is the link:
http://technobohemia.com/technoblog/etnbirdjournal.php
Rob Biller
Ellizabethton, TN
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Somewhat Tardy Sandhill Migrants
From: Scott Hartley <picoides(AT)alltel.net>
Date: 21 May 2006 11:59pm
Hi - had a gray-checked thrush on Friday the 19th and singing scarlet
tanager on Saturday the 20th, though the scarlet may rarely breed here
- had a calling male in mid June a couple of years ago.. Driving up my
driveway tonight at 9:15pm had a chuck-wills-widow in my headlights at
less than 20 feet - what an awesome ruby red eye shine. Watched it git
grit for a minute or so before it flew off.
Scott Hartley
Weymouth Woods - SNP
Southern Pines, NC
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