After work I had to decompress so I decided to head out to Brunswick county and bag myself some Monk Parakeets. Sam Cooper found out about some nesting Monk Parakeets over in Brunswick County and Harry Sell located them.
I found the nest immediately, you really can't miss it. I have seen these out west and the nest was like the others I have seen.
So I just posted up and waited and then I heard them.
Or rather they heard me and poked out their heads and started squawking at me.
Not countable per ABA but they sure as heck work for my big year since I make the rules and if an exotic is nesting its good for me.
Next I tried for Swallow-tailed Kites at Lock and Dam but they didn't show up.
I saw Derb's post about Black-bellied Whistling Ducks at Marsh Oaks so I jammed over their and tried but I couldn't find them. Some lady was was feeding the Canada Geese so I asked her and she said there was two of them on the retention pond two days ago. Oh well, maybe they will show up later.
Last stop was Wrightsville Beach. Sam Cooper told me about a Common Nighthawk that has been seen and heard over at the South end. It was a week ago that he told me so I was not sure I would see him, but luck would have it he was still there.
In fact he was making a racket and when I walked over to where he was he dive bombed me and sonic boomed literally 2 feet above my head. He repeated this three times, I have never seen them get aggressive like that. I tried to video him but he stopped dive bombing.
Thanks Sam!
Enjoyed the Monk Parakeets on your blog... and Jeri and Robin and I saw these same birds on Sat., June 14, during our 13-hour trip to "the coast". I added the M.P.s on ebird as "stakeout Monk Parakeet" etc, according to ebird's guidelines. The ebird checklist is S18794392. So if you happen to ebird them, you should find the stakeout... I think. I didn't report it as a hotspot.
ReplyDeleteI spoke to the neighbor on the corner of Northwest and Mt Misery, for she came over to say hello (and make sure we weren't going to capture the parrots or destroy the nest). I wrote about the history of the nest on my ebird checklist. Funny how something can be around for a year-and-a-half before birders "discover" it... it pays to greet the locals and ask them for information.
So ABA still doesn't count them? That's strange, as the species has nested for decades in various parts of the eastern U.S. I count them on my lifelist. Glad to see these birds for many reasons, including they are a "century bird" for me, meaning the last time I saw the species it was last century. I wasn't keeping ebird checklists in the 1990s, so it adds to my lifelist on ebird.
The rest of our trip to Wrightsville Beach, etc. was enjoyable - except for the traffic, and lack of parking. We were lucky to land a spot at the Masonboro nesting site parking area... but we "dipped" on finding a parking spot at the northern Mason Inlet (near the Shell resort). There were two cars ahead of us, idling, waiting for someone to come back to their cars, so we knew we'd waste time trying to wait for a parking spot. Why doesn't the town run a shuttle service? I'd be happy to pay $10 to park over the bridge and take a shuttle bus to that location.
We had no remarkable birds that day, but the neatest thing (other than the planned Monk Parakeets) was finding a Green Heron ON A NEST at the Masonboro nesting colony. She is in front of the eighth parking spot (counting the handicapped spots from the paying area). The nest is in a mulberry shrub (OK, a tree, but saltspray has shaped it into a shrub shape!). Look near the top, a tad to the left as you face the mulberry. Jeri and Robin got photos of her on the nest. We were careful not to spook her. We were also happy to see the baby common terns, skimmers, and oystercatchers. My friends took loads of photos. I don't carry a camera. - Erla Beegle
Enjoyed the Monk Parakeets on your blog... and Jeri and Robin and I saw these same birds on Sat., June 14, during our 13-hour trip to "the coast". I added the M.P.s on ebird as "stakeout Monk Parakeet" etc, according to ebird's guidelines. The ebird checklist is S18794392. So if you happen to ebird them, you should find the stakeout... I think. I didn't report it as a hotspot.
ReplyDeleteI spoke to the neighbor on the corner of Northwest and Mt Misery, for she came over to say hello (and make sure we weren't going to capture the parrots or destroy the nest). I wrote about the history of the nest on my ebird checklist. Funny how something can be around for a year-and-a-half before birders "discover" it... it pays to greet the locals and ask them for information.
So ABA still doesn't count them? That's strange, as the species has nested for decades in various parts of the eastern U.S. I count them on my lifelist. Glad to see these birds for many reasons, including they are a "century bird" for me, meaning the last time I saw the species it was last century. I wasn't keeping ebird checklists in the 1990s, so it adds to my lifelist on ebird.
The rest of our trip to Wrightsville Beach, etc. was enjoyable - except for the traffic, and lack of parking. We were lucky to land a spot at the Masonboro nesting site parking area... but we "dipped" on finding a parking spot at the northern Mason Inlet (near the Shell resort). There were two cars ahead of us, idling, waiting for someone to come back to their cars, so we knew we'd waste time trying to wait for a parking spot. Why doesn't the town run a shuttle service? I'd be happy to pay $10 to park over the bridge and take a shuttle bus to that location.
We had no remarkable birds that day, but the neatest thing (other than the planned Monk Parakeets) was finding a Green Heron ON A NEST at the Masonboro nesting colony. She is in front of the eighth parking spot (counting the handicapped spots from the paying area). The nest is in a mulberry shrub (OK, a tree, but saltspray has shaped it into a shrub shape!). Look near the top, a tad to the left as you face the mulberry. Jeri and Robin got photos of her on the nest. We were careful not to spook her. We were also happy to see the baby common terns, skimmers, and oystercatchers. My friends took loads of photos. I don't carry a camera. - Erla Beegle