Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Baby Screech (27-28May2014)

The past few days before and after work I have been trying hard to get some birds that have been seen over the past week in the Ft. Fisher area.  A Gray Kingbird and Bank Swallows.  This hunt mostly consisted of driving around and looking at telephone wires or snags.  The first day turned up empty so I decided to console myself with seeing the Purple Gallinule at the Aquarium pond and looking for shorebirds at the "rocks".


Willet - this bird was so heavily patterned that I almost thought it was something better like a godwit of some sort.


Purple Gallinule - this bird would normally be an amazing find but I had just seen one a month ago on the OBX.  It was on the far side of the pond hence the heavily cropped photo.

The second day I also dipped on target birds, so I decided to go to Carolina Beach State Park to look for some other goodies.  I got some good looks at some Painted Bunting and then just before packing it up I thought I would check the Owl box near the Marina.  I have checked it several times to no avail over the past several months but this time I saw a bunch of insects circling the hole so I knew this meant something was in there.

After a little while this little guy poked his wobbly head out.


Eastern Screech Owl.


This was a year bird for my photographic big year and boy did I need this to boost my morale.

Great times.

Monday, May 26, 2014

Appalachian Hiking trip and some birds on the way home (23-26May2014)

Hello Birders,

I spent the Memorial Day weekend doing my annual hike with my brother Noah and his friend Paul.  We are trying to section hike the Appalachian Trail but at the pace we are going it will take us 20 years.  Anyway, we met up at Rock Gap which is West of Franklin and over the course of 3 days we hiked 30 miles and ended at the Nantahala River Gorge. The weather was perfect and we had a great time.  My luxury item was my binocs which added significant weight to my already overweight pack, but it was worth it.  I saw tons of birds.  Black-throated Blues, Greens, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Worm-eating Warbler, Canada Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warblers, Scarlet Tanagers and more of the usual suspects.  Most of our hike was from 3000 ft to 5500 ft.  I did see multiple thrushes but most were Veery with some unidentified that did not vocalize.  I didn't have a good camera anyhow so I was not too upset that I continued dipping on Gray-cheeeked and Swainson's.
The highlight was easily the multiple Saw-whet Owls we had Tooting for several hours on the second night near Wayah Bald.  Unfortunately my phone was out of batteries so I couldn't attempt to lure one in and photograph it.  But I thoroughly enjoyed listening to them, at one point there was 2-3 sounding off from different directions.  After about an hour it actually started to get annoying and I was having trouble getting to sleep with all the tooting.  I think they ended up tooting for close to 2 hours.
In the end I did not get any new birds on the trail for my big year, but I did manage to get a couple on the way home.

A little North of Franklin on Route 28 there was a bridge that had Cliff Swallows!


Cliff Swallow - see light colored rump and forehead.



Then after dropping my brother at the airport, I swung by Greensboro's Bog Garden hoping for a Gray-cheeked Thrush.  No luck in that department, but I had some other birds I have already added.


Willow Flycatcher - this was a previously reported bird and is easy to find.  He was vocalizing like crazy and is right at the entrance to the Bog Garden if coming from the Bicentennial Garden.


Barred Owl - he/she was staring at a couple of Mallards that had 4-5 chicks swimming by but never pounced while I was there.


Charlie the Chipmunk.


This Song Sparrow would not shut up unless I took his photo so here it is.

After the Bog Garden I resolved to drive home, but about 1 hour in I started to fall asleep at the wheel, so I diverted to Mason Farm in order to wake myself up.  Nothing gets me alert like adding a year bird. Unfortunately I quickly found out that Mason Farm Biological Reserve is not just a place you can go to whenever you want and directions are not posted as far as I can see.  So instead I just hiked the trails in back of the Botanical Garden.  I intend to bird the reserve one day but I did not have the time or patience to investigate further.

Just as I was leaving after seeing very little action I heard a waterthrush next to the creek!!!  Pictures of the waterthrushes have been eluding me for over a month so I was determined this time.  The song was definitely a Louisiana Waterthrush and then I saw it!  Light colored, with an unmarked throat.  It was a Louisiana!


Louisiana Waterthrush - see unmarked throat which is one of several field marks that is good for Louisiana, but really you want to hear the song to be sure.  And this bird was singing its head off.


The lighting was bad in the understory but you can get the idea from this pic.  Long super cilium, streaking below and bobbing like a proper waterthrush.

Seeing this bird did the trick and I was awake enough to make the rest of the drive home.  And it is good to be home!

Cheers.


Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Chucks and Whips (20May2014)

Hello Birders, I went to Governors and Lee Bucks Rd. in Brunswick County at sunset to try for Chucks and Whips.  The first hour was spent driving around and listening.  I heard a couple Chucks in the distance but couldn't get any close to me.  It was getting dark and I knew I could not get a decent picture so I started heading back the long way on the dirt roads.  I ended up seeing tons of Chucks in the road and a couple of them on posts.  The below photo was the only one that even came out recognizable out of many.  Good enough to count it!

I hope to get better pics later.  Maybe I can find one in the daylight. 

I heard one bird that I thought was a Whip but was not sure. 



Great Times.

Jamie.


Monday, May 19, 2014

Kentucky or Bust (19May2014)

Since I worked the weekend I decided to take a half day from work today (Monday) and get myself a Kentucky Warbler where I know I can get them - Howell Woods.  For anyone in NC that has not been, do yourself a favor, its a wonderful place.

By the way, here is the horrendous picture from my Chuck and Whip hunt the night before at Green Swamp.  I am going to have to get a floodlight to get a picture of a Chuck. The darkness prevents proper focusing and the eye is so big it explodes with the flash.


Back to Howell Woods.  There was tons of birds everywhere, most migrants have moved on but otherwise it was really birdy.


Acadian Flycatcher - red eye is do to flash which must have still been on from previous evening.


Prairie Warbler.


Yellow-breasted Chat - these were everywhere.


Summer Tanager.


Indigo Bunting.


Click and Clack - the tappit brothers.


Jimmy the Greek.


Wood Thrush!!!!  Love it when I get a bird for my Big Year. In fact I am really having a hard time with Thrushes in general.


Kentucky Warbler!!!!!  This guy was very vocal.  He was at entrance to Slough Trail signing constantly and when I walked back past the trail two hours later he was still there singing.



He looks like an Elvis Impersonator here.



Stay Cool!

Jamie

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Bonus Bird! Late Entry from January 2014

This morning I decided to recount my birds to make sure I was not over reporting, and turns out I under-reported by one.  Back in January I posted pics of Horned Lark from a trip to North River Farms.  For some reason I captured the other birds from that post in my tally but missed Horned Lark.  So rather and go back and renumber everything from bird 40, I am just tacking onto the end of my tally with a parentheses with late entry.

Just got back from a brutal work trip in South Florida and did not get to bird down there at all except from a high rise window and I saw at least 3 Magnificent Frigatebirds.

Hope to go out this evening for Chucks and Whips.

Cheers

UPDATE: I got plenty of chucks but pictures did not come out!

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Twofer Tuesday (13May2014)

Before work today I headed down to Ft. Fisher to try for a Marbled Godwit on the rocks since it was high tide.  No luck in that department, but on the way back I checked the wires at the Ft. Fisher museum and was rewarded with a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher.  The tail was so long I did a double-take to see if it was a Fork Tailed Flycatcher since I knew Harry Sell would be over the moon with one of those.  However, it was in fact a Scissor-tailed.


From my first vantage which was far away and while I was driving I almost dismissed it as a Mockingbird but it just didn't sit right.  So I pulled over and got a better look at it and I am glad I did.


Scissor-tailed Flycatcher - tail much longer than the one we had last year.  Maybe the same bird and now he is a full adult.


I would have stayed longer to try and get more pics but I had to go to work.  Then around noon Greg called me and altered me that he dipped on the flycatcher but had a White Winged Dove at a private residence!  I hightailed it over there and snapped some quickies before heading back to work.  I would trade lunch for a WW Dove any day.


Don't bother asking me about location on this one, the very nice lady would prefer not to have tons of people coming.  I am just grateful she allowed me to come.



Purple Martin across the street.  Not a new bird but I couldn't resist.

Great times.

Monday, May 12, 2014

Consolation Prize (12May2014)

Update 13May2014 - This is the photo I took with Harry's camera, much better than my camera, see below for comparison.


Greg and Harry invited me to go to Lodge Rd. with them at the crack of dawn Monday to look for Bitterns and other goodies.  Well I was up about 30 minutes into the drive when I got a call from Greg saying they got to the gate and were told the road was closing for the summer today!  That was a bummer, I will have to travel much further to find a Least Bittern.  However, after birding the Marina for a bit, we decided to check Sutton Lake.

I got to the Lake first and once we got to the dirt road, I waved Harry up to chat and see where we would bird.  As they pulled up I immediately heard a Bobwhite calling and Greg confirmed.  We pulled over onto the shoulder and after a while Greg spotted it on a mound.  We all took pictures although mine were the worst.  Harry had his 400mm rig and got some great shots.  Mine are just good enough for identification.  Harry let me grab his camera and snap a few photos which he sent me for my photographic big year.  No one said it has to be my camera! In fact the Rebel I use isn't even mine (thanks Lauren and Steve).  I will post Harry's camera picture later when I figure out how to upload it.  For now, here is the crappy shot from my camera.


Northern Bobwhite.

Can you see him in the middle of the frame?

All that and I still got home in time for my first Teleconference of the day.

Another bonus, my Great Crested Flycatchers are back!  They have been flying around but I have not seen them get into the box yet. I am pretty sure its the same two that had a brood last year.


Great Crested Flycatcher.

Most of the "easy" birds are done now.  I have a couple left but things will be much slower now unless I get on some good pelagics which will not happen for a little while.

Great Times.

Mother's Day Present (11May2014)

Sunday was Mother's Day and I had to use every bit of restraint to not go chase the White-winged Dove and Reddish Egret seen at Ft. Fisher.  However in the end everything worked out in my favor.

I took Melissa and the boys to Blue Surf Cafe for a Mother's Day Brunch.  For those of you in Wilmington that have not been, they have the best sandwich I have ever had, no exaggeration.  Its the Meatloaf Sandwich.  Its a Brioche Bun with some delicious brown sugar cooked Meatloaf with micro greens and a Siracha based Mayonnaise.  But here is the kicker, you have to ask them to add an over easy egg to the sandwich.  Its not on the menu so consider this your insider knowledge.  Thanks Steve for giving me this gem.

After lunch there happened to be a nail salon next door so I offered Melissa some pampering which she of course jumped at.  This offered me an opportunity to head to Andover Rd. near by to try for Mississippi Kites.  I had tried a couple times before but dipped, but this time I spotted a kite sailing and managed a decent shot.  Thanks to Sam Cooper for finding these birds.


And the best thing is that Greg and Harry looked for the Reddish Egret and White-wing Dove and dipped on both.  So I didn't miss anything after all!!!!

Great times.

Mountains Mania (with pictures this time) 01-10May2014

What a great 10 days!  I started my birding vacation with a long weekend at the CBC meeting in Henderson and then moved over to the amazing Anvil Rock cabin at Grandfather Mountain courtesy of an extremely gracious Jesse Pope.  I am going to try and keep this update mostly pictures, otherwise I may end up with a book.

I arrived in Henderson late on Thursday evening hoping to get the White-rumped Sandpiper and Stilt Sandpiper that had been reported the previous day but there was nothing going on, the fields had dried out.  However I managed to start my warbler extravaganza at the river at Hooper Lane.


Palm Warbler - one of the easiest warblers to identify even in fall due to pumping tail behavior.


Blackpoll Warbler - I had lots of these throughout the trip but had no good pictures, they mostly stayed high in the trees.  If you look closely you can see the yellow legs which helps when you are looking at a female or a fall blackpoll.  This one was a breeding male so it was a no brainer.


Indigo Bunting.

Friday was an all day trip to Mt Mitchell with Marilyn Westphal and Mark Simpson.  What a couple of expert birders!  They eat breath and sleep the mountains and know everything about them.  Putting faces to names was a huge bonus about the meeting as I had previously only seen these names on the listserv.

We started the trip with a nice long drive up Curtis Creek Rd. which is a forest service road that creeps up to the top of the Blue Ridge and gives a great sampling of the birds that can be found at each different elevation.


Acadian Flycatcher - how do I know?  Because Marilyn said so.  Empinodax Flycatchers are very difficult to identify without vocalizations.  This one was apparently giving it's call although I couldn't hear it.  I am really starting to think I need to invest in a hearing aid specifically for birding.  I am fine with normal human frequencies but the high pitched warblers and flycatchers are extremely difficult to hear for me unless they are right on top of me.


Black-throated Blue.

We got a bunch of other good birds like Swainson's Warbler, but I had most of them already and I need to keep the pictures down to birds I don't have.

Up on top, the trees were still bare.


Craggy Gardens.

On way back down the mountain, I saw Derb Carter looking up at a road side spot a little up from Bull Gap on the Parkway.   I asked him what he was looking at and he said "just a bunch of Ceruleans."  So I went down to get the rest of the group.  Apparently Ceruleans are a social species and when you find one you frequently will find more.  There were at least 5-6 chasing each other in the tree tops.


I liked birding with the group, but I definitely think you are more likely to see birds close up when birding alone.  These birds stayed pretty far away and the pictures I got are heavily cropped.



Cerulean Warbler.


Black-throated Green.


Saturday consisted of two half day trips.  Trip one was to Jackson Park with Taylor Piephoff as trip leader.  Although we did not have tons of species of warbler, we were able to get some interesting birds.


Magnolia Warbler.




Yellow-billed Cuckoo - we saw two of these but both of them were poor looks.  This was one concealed and the other was way up in a tall sycamore.


Solitary Sandpiper - I was really happy to see this bird as I have only seen them a few times.  Little did I know I would end up seeing 10-15 of them in later outings.  Not sure why they call them solitary, I saw groups of 5-6.


Yellow-Rumped Warbler - sporting his breeding plumage.  This is the bird you wish would leave in the winter so they would stop distracting you from finding other birds and then when they are gone or scarce you wish they would come back.


Chestnut-sided Warbler - John Jones who had presented on the Golden-wing Warbler and Chestnut-sided Warbler the previous evening pointed me out this one which he obviously knows the song for probably more than he would like.  His work is centered around problems related to the decline of Golden-wings.  The Chestnut-sided is crowding out the Golden-wing as they share the same habitat which is shrinking both in their northern breeding grounds and southern wintering grounds.

The second trip on Saturday was Charles Owen Park which is next to Warren Wilson College.  I really like this location.  It had two big ponds, a river, tall trees, fields and best of all tons of beautiful college kids roaming around.  Seriously though, I really liked the college atmosphere, it brought me back to my younger days.


Bobolink - The field had tons of these.  I also had a Vesper Sparrow but I was not able to get good pictures.


American Redstart - Male.


White-crowned Sparrow.


As we were headed back the trip leader said a Cape May had been hanging out in the Spruce Trees next to the college.  And there is was!  How great is that when a migrating bird sticks around for several days in the same trees.


Cape May Warbler - not very cooperative for pics but even in the poor light you can make out the chestnut colored mask.



Solitary Sandpiper and Least Sandpiper in the pond next to the pigs.

Well the meeting was fun and I met lots of cool people, but I was looking forward to a week in a cabin on Grandfather Mountain.  Upon arrival that evening the plentiful Juncos, which love elevation in summer, were there to greet me.  The cabin was absolutely beautiful.  Kuralt had stayed there a couple times and written from the cabin.  There is a quote from Kuralt at the entrance to the Anvil Rock Cabin about his time up there and he refers to the numerous Bluets which were in bloom around the cabin.  He was spot on, they are one of my favorites too.  They make you just want to lie down and let the sun shine on your face while Peter Rabbit munches near by.  I took a picture of the Cabin with my iPhone and will try to post it later.


Dark-eyed Junco - slate colored variety.


Juncos were everywhere and I quickly learned their various calls and songs.


A view of Grandfather from the cabin. I think the elevation of the cabin was about 4500 feet.  The leaves were only just budding on most trees when I arrived and when I left a week later most were leafing out nicely.  I couldn't have asked for nicer weather.

My first solo trip was to find the previously reported Ross' Goose at Meat Camp ESA north of Boone.  I wanted to bag this bird before it left.

What an awesome park!  I think the story was that the owners of the property were going to sell the land for some developer so the ponds and bogs could be drained and filled in.  However a local birder recognized it was a gem for birds and was able to buy the land at a song since it was not desired land for development.  Now the land is I believe private but the owner is a birder and allows birders to come and walk around.  There is even a bunch of wood walkways through the bog.


Yellow Warbler - I have seen tons of these outside of North Carolina but it was a treat to see them in my home state.  This is a warbler I can hear loud and clear which makes me appreciate them even more.

At the end of the reserve, there is a vantage point from across a river where the previously reported Ross' Goose is hanging out with a bunch of Canada Geese.


The bird was so white that the glare of the sun reflecting off the bird prevented a truly good picture.  However all the field marks were there or not there in the case of the "grin patch" that the Snow Goose has.  Also this bird was immaculately white, no staining that Snow Geese typically get.



Another Yellow Warbler.

The middle part of the day was spent at Elk Knob, a gorgeous park near the Tennessee border.


Tree Swallow - amazing colors on his back.


Dark-eyed Junco.


Canada Warbler - These became more and more plentiful at elevation during my stay.



Rose-breasted Grosbeak.


Chestnut-sided Warbler.

On the way back to the cabin I hit the Parkway and stopped at Moses Cone park and hiked about 5-6 miles hoping to see or hear Crossbills in the many fir trees. No luck in that department but there were a few birds around despite the warms temps.


Black-throated Blue Warbler.


I have previously posted a yellow-eyed species of the Eastern Towhee.  Here is the "normal" red-eyed variety.

Monday I stayed local and explored the trails around Grandfather.  I have to admit I am always leery of parks that have a large price tag to enter and are known as an "attraction" with things like a swinging bridge and a Bear exhibit, but boy did this place change my view.  It was done very well which is a testament to Hugh Morton the man who opened the park to the public and eventually bequeathed it to the state.  The trails are great with some that have informational plaques with good info on local flora and fauna.  I guess it helps that I had access to the park before anyone else since the park only opens at 8am and closes at 6pm or so.  So I basically had the whole mountain to myself for 2 hours in the mornings and 3 hours in the evenings, which worked our perfectly since I was working during the day anyway.

The museum is nice and especially attracted me because they have a balcony with 4-5 seed feeders and 5-6 nectar feeders.


Ricky the Red Squirrel - what a cute creature.  When Greg Massey showed up later he was so smitten with Ricky that he threatened to put him in his pocket and bring him home.


Ruby-throated Hummingbird.


Red-breasted Nuthatch.


This particular Ruby-throat was amazing, it was flying with only one wing.  I kept going in circles but an amazing feat none the less.  Ok I am kidding, it had two wings.


How rude, this bird kept sticking his tongue out at me.


Pine Siskin - year bird for me.  Not many have been seen in NC this year so it was good to see them in numbers at Grandfather.


Red-breasted Nuthatch - also a year bird.


"What are you looking at you silly human".


At the top which is over 5000 ft in elevation, I had a couple Chickadees which I was hoping was the Black-capped and not the Carolina which is all over NC.  However, I later found out the Black-capped is typically only found in the lower parkway ranges which is strange since it is a northern bird.


Apparently not enough white edging to the tertials to be a Black-Capped.


Handsome bird none the less.


The bridge was kind of scary on Monday as the winds were clocking gusts of 60-70 miles per hour.  Here you can see the swinging bridge was really swinging back and forth, notice the hand rails are not in a straight line.  However what was really remarkable was the noise.  They should call it the Singing Bridge not the Swinging Bridge.  The high winds hitting the cables were making an awful racket.


Prime Saw Whet Owl habitat.  Lots of spruce firs which are stunted by the winds.  I searched high and low all over the mountain but only found one owl box and it appeared to be unoccupied.



Black-throated Green Warbler.

On Tuesday my good buddy Greg Massey joined me in the cabin which was a great thing for two reasons.  First is that Greg has amazing ears and can help me find 3-4 times more birds and more specifically can help me hone in on target birds.  Secondly he is funny as hell and just really fun to hang around.

We started the day birding some of the Parkway spots including Mt. Mitchell.

Blue-headed Vireos were everywhere.



Common Raven - see wedge shaped tail.

On the way down from Mitchell we hit a Forest Service Rd that Greg knows about.


Willow Flycatcher - Greg said the call was spot on which is needed for confirmation on an empi flycatcher.

A morning walk around the Grandfather trails and I found an owl box which was unfortunately unoccupied.  Apparently the best way to photograph a Saw Whet is to catch one in the box.  Some times they sun themselves in the opening.  No such luck for me.  Greg and I tried hard to get owls at night with no luck.

We also tried very hard for Ruffed Grouse which we heard drumming several times but never saw the birds.  A couple times I was hiking alone and felt like I was having heart palpitations, but it just turned out to be a nearby grouse drumming.  The drumming is literally felt more than it is heard.  Hard to explain, so if you have not experienced a drumming grouse, I would highly recommend it.


I wanted to show Greg the Meat Camp ESA spot so we went one of the mornings.


Green Heron.


Our friend the Ross' Goose was still around with some Canadian friends.  Here you can see the size comparison.  Also note the very pale Canada, I have never seen one that pale.


We also visited Elk Knob again and it was good that Greg was with me or I would probably not have seen the many Least Flycatchers.  They were all singing Chebeck!


Least Flycatcher.


Like most Empinodax flycatchers you really need to hear the call or know the habitat to tell them apart.

We had an Alder Flycatcher but unfortunately I did not get a picture, so looks like I will have to visit their high elevation breeding grounds later in the summer.  Jesse told me about a good spot which I checked but they were not there yet.  They apparently come in later than the others.


Rose-breasted Grosbeak - he sang away while we had lunch at a picnic table directly beneath him.


Red-headed WP - Apparently these are fairly rare at this elevation so I snapped a pic.


Greg took us to a spot in Elk Knob and said it was Scarlet Tanager Rd.  So this Scarlet promptly showed up.


Scarlet Tanager - duh!

Next stop was Shady Grove, a private farm or nursery that is good for Golden-wing Warblers.


Golden-wing Warbler.


He was signing away, but of course I could hear nothing but the ringing in my ears - Tinnitus.  I can hear the song if I put an iPhone up to my ear.  For all of you with good hearing, don't take it for granted.  For those of you that are young enough to stop hearing loss, wear protection if you are going to be around loud music or machinery.


Golden-winged Warbler.

Here is a random pic from hiking the Grandfather trails, I need help with ID.  If I saw this bird in winter near the coast I would say Hermit Thrush.  However it was not tail pumping and although the tail has some reddish hue, I am not so sure.  No buffy tones to breast or face so I don't think it's a Swainson's which is the most common thrush at this time and elevation with exception of Veery and Robin which it's obviously not. Breast spots not dark enough for Wood Thrush.  As for Gray-Cheeked or Bicknell's I guess the tail and wing color rule them out?  So its a Hermit?



The famous Swinging Bridge from the end of the Black Rock Trail.


Tree Swallow - two birds were nesting in a Bluebird Box at the top of the mountain.

I am losing track of time, but at some point we went back to Warren Wilson to get Greg some Bobolinks.  Well we got him a Bobolink and bagged some other good birds.


Orchard Oriole - Male - see black beard.


Warbling Vireo!!!!  A good bird for NC.  and there was two of them!!

We knew this bird was being seen in the vicinity but it was Greg's wonderful ears that tracked them down.




When I saw this nest I thought for sure it was an Oriole nest, it was kind of hanging.  But Greg swears he say the vireo land in it and not the other close by next which was more of a traditional nest construction.

After the park we headed up Curtis Creek Rd. all the way to the Mitchell summit with our goal of getting a Saw Whet. We saw some good birds but nothing new.


After the sun set we tried for owls at Mitchell with no luck.  So we headed down to a couple other spots on the parkway north of Mitchell.  Persistence pays!!! We got a rather weak Toot toot toot toot from a Saw Whet probably a mile or so away near Ridge Junction.  Of course no pictures.  Although if I get desperate at the end of the year I will make an audio recording and post it.

The following are some more random pics from the Grandfather area over the rest of the week.


Canada Warbler.


Blackburnian Warbler.


Hairy Woodpecker - note the much sturdier and proportionally longer bill compared to his little cousin the Downy.


Hairy WP.


Scarlet Tanager as seen directly from the Anvil Rock Cabin.

I was on a Teleconference for work and nearly pooped myself when a Broad-winged Hawk flew right past the picture window.  I woke Greg from his daydreams and we both ran outside and captured some shots of this beautiful bird with my phone on mute and held by my shoulder while I snapped away.



Taking some advice from Jesse Pope we headed to Valle Crucis to bird the community park.  What an awesome place.


Willow Flycatcher - "three beers" he was saying.


There was at least 3-4 in a small area and we found 2 nests in the process of being built.


Check out the wide bill from below which is a pretty orange/yellow.  One field mark that is helpful but again you really have to rely on vocals for Empi Flycatchers.


What? Another Tree Swallow Picture?  Damn straight.


Female Baltimore Oriole.


Veery.


White-breasted Nuthatch - another Anvil Rock denizen.


Veery - Looks angry.


Green Heron.


Tree Swallow - Sorry I just can't get enough of this bird.  He is so accommodating.


I guess this is why they call it the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Last morning dawned dry despite reports of threatening rain.  So naturally I tried hiking some more of the trails for one final shot at photographing a Grouse or Saw Whet.  I heard several drumming Grouse but no visuals and the owls well lets face it some people spend years trying to see a Saw Whet.



Good Bye Grandfather!  Hope I get another opportunity to hike you again some day.

On my way home I stopped at Reynolda in Winston-Salem for 20 minutes to look for the previously reported Olive-sided Flycatcher but some local birders filled me in that it had not been seen for a couple days.


Best sighting at Reynolda was this Swallow-tailed Butterfly (I think that's what it is).

Next stop in Winston-Salem was for the Dickcissel that was being seen in a field off Research Parkway.


I wonder how many studies have been done on Bobolink social structure.  They seem to post sentries and if you get too close the sentry will sing a tune to his colleagues that is to say "watch out a big goofy birdwatcher is coming" and the flock takes off.


This male was a little crisper with his plumage.


Bingo!!! This is a bird I can hear and I was able to find him in the sea of grass/wildflowers in following his song.


Dickcissel.

What an incredible 10 days!  Thanks to Jesse Pope for his hospitality, Greg for his ears and jokes and my wife for being supportive!

Its good to be back in Wilmington, but I suppose I will get an itch again soon.

Great times.