4 for 4 and Then Some.. (10-11Apr2016)

Yesterday was a magical day.  Everything went according to plan in terms of targets and I had some nice surprises as well.  My primary target was the Western Grebe reported near Lake Norman and since it was such a long drive I planned a couple things on the way back.  I knew from the home owner that my chances of seeing the bird from her dock were much better early in the morning or late in evening.  I chose morning and so I had to leave home at 3am in order to get there a little after 7am.  Now I have Western Grebes from trips out West, but there is nothing like seeing a new state bird which this bird was.  When I got to the dock, the bird was not anywhere that stuck out without binocs but I scanned everywhere for 15 minutes and finally picked the bird out.

Western Grebe!  This was heavily cropped but he or she came closer and closer.  He/she never swam in front of the dock so eventually I got frustrated and decided to investigate the Golf Course across the cove.

Unbelievably I have not photographed Common Grackle yet this year and this photo is poor quality but it has been nagging me so I am adding this to the list now.

Unfortunately the water glare was worse on the other side but the bird was much closer.

I lightened this one up so you can see the black feathers completely surrounds the eye which is why this is a Western and not a Clarke's Grebe.

Next target was a Lincoln's Sparrow at Renaissance Park Golf Course.   It had only been seen once in the past month so I was expecting to dip.  However, after a quick playback I got an immediate response from a Lincoln's Sparrow with the exact song that was on my Sibley's for NY Lincoln's.  In fact it was so loud and clear that I thought my tape had two birds singing at the same time. I was starting to freak out when I could not pin down the location of the bird knowing that usually playback will only elicit an initial response and then the bird quickly becomes wise.  That is exactly what happened with this particular bird, he went silent and never came out of his hiding spot.  Oh well, I was happy with the Grebe and so I just spent some time birding for whatever.  There were tons of birds singing and enjoying a brief sunny spell in an otherwise dreary morning.  That's when a nice sized sparrow popped out and I managed to snap a few frames.

Lincoln's Sparrow!!  Gray supercilium and buffy/streaky breast and flanks.  I will have to get a better picture for my life list, but this one will do for my year list.

One of the many Field Sparrows singing away.  This is a song I have no trouble hearing.

Third target - Solitary Sandpiper.  There were many reports in the Charlotte Area but one was very close to Renaissance Park and also on the way home - Lietner Blvd Wetlands next to the Holiday Inn.

I continued my streak and easily located two Solitary Sandpipers.

This American Bittern was just icing on the cake as I already had one for the year.

I could watch a Bittern for hours.  He was doing his crazy tango and creeping along the weeds at a slow pace.

At one point a raptor flew overhead and he did his cryptic pose which is ridiculous since there were no reeds around him.

Target #4 was Cliff Swallows.  There was plenty of reports near Charlotte, but the nicest one was a report of nesting birds half way home at Blewett's Falls. What a cool place that was!  I am already planning a return trip.

The cool thing about this spot is how close you can get to the nests.

That's alot of spit and mud!

I took tons of photos and now I realize I should have fixed the ISO settings some more.  Many came out fuzzy.

I was surprised to see a flock of breeding plumaged Bonaparte's Gulls but apparently it is not a big deal as they did not flag in eBird.

A singing Yellow-throated Vireo was a really nice bonus.

Finally since I was coming home on the 74, I decided to stop at the Oakland Plantation Sod Farms.  It was kind of devoid of birds which is fairly standard for this location.  Every time I go I regret it.  However, on my way out I scanned one final field and Bingo!

Upland Sandpiper!!!  I have never had one in the Spring before so I was not expecting this.

It would be easy to mistake this for a dove at long distance, but what seals the ID is the funny way they undulate when they walk.

The workers were driving by constantly but he seemed unfazed.

One more stop at Lock and Dam 1 for Swallow-tailed Kite netted me a picture of a Chimney Swift but no Kites.

What an awesome day!

This morning before work I took a short walk at Wrightsville and picked up a couple year effort pictures.

Black Skimmers

I love picking through sandbar flocks.  This one had more of the usual but then I saw one tern on the right side of frame that was slightly darker bodied.  Common Tern!

Here he is on right side of frame in front of the Royal Terns.  Darker body, darker primary feathers and bill more slender with dark restricted closer to end and a more red color.  The others are Forster's.

Nice to see breeding plumaged Bonaparte's Gulls.

Forster's Tern

Great times!!! I can't wait for the rest of April.

Twenty to One Odds (09-10Apr2016)

If someone told you it would take 20 birding trips to photograph the one bird you were looking for would you go?  Now what if the place that bird was being seen was a gorgeous garden with other distractions in the form of other species of birds and thousands of flowers?  For me it was a no-brainer decision.  Since the Nashville had been seen months ago at Airlie Gardens, I have been going regularly in the hopes of photographing it.  I have actually caught quick glimpses of it 4-5 times but each time it was high in a tree and feeding actively or skulking deep in a bush.  Finally I got my chance on Saturday.  It was high in a tree but sticking to one section and this time I just started a rapid fire sequence of shots and came out with a few decent pics.

This Hermit Thrush was from a bit earlier in the day.

Bingo!!!  Nashville Warbler.  Note the prominent eye ring.

In this photo he was actually hanging upside-down so I rotated the photo.

Red-headed Woodpecker at the Battleship.

Sunday I took a nice drive on Lee Buck Rd.  Not too many migrants had arrived but I got a few birds.

Cattle Egret with an Andrew Dice Clay haircut.

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Black-and-White Warbler

Prothonotary Warbler

Has to be the best warbler on the East Coast.

Eastern Kingbird

Great times.

I might take a drive early to try for the Lake Norman Western Grebe in the morning.  Have some conference calls after noon so will have to make quick work of it.

Pre-mountain Distractions (03-08Apr2016)

I have really been itching to get up to the mountains but in the mean time I have been able to get in some new local birds for my year effort.

I was fairly certain when I saw this bird hanging out with a Dunlin that it was a Semi-palmated Sandpiper based on the relatively short bill, thick base and lack of droop.  Later I second guessed myself, and now I am back to Semi-palmated.  Western vs Semi is a very hard ID.  Both can have rufous tones and there is overlap in bill size.

Dunlin and Short-billed Dowitcher.

Early in the week I saw a report of 2 Yellow-crowned Night-Herons at Burnt Mill Creek.  I went the next afternoon and dipped but was persistent and tried early the third morning and scored.

Probably the best looked I have had in NC for this species.

I couldn't help myself and snapped a hundred or so frames.

On the beach not much was happening in the middle of the week but it was nice to see some birds turning colors and getting their breeding plumages on.

Willet

Thursday evening after supper, I commandeered Luke as a spotlighted and headed to CB State Park to try for Goat Suckers.  I promised him some donuts from the relatively new Wake and Bake Donut shop if I was successful with photos.

Yellow-throated Warbler with the ISO cranked up right before dark.

The Goat Suckers did not make a showing but I tried a toot of a Screech Owl recording and was promptly dive bombed by this young bird.

Eastern Screech Owl.  Luke did a good job with the spotlight.

Unfortunately the donut shop was closed so I promised to go back and get donuts on Friday.

Friday I took a half day from work and went first light to Lee Buck Rd.  No new warbler migrants yet but I did manage one new bird for the year.

An egret next to cattle, must be a Cattle Egret.

Its too bad the light was so poor, this bird was asking to be crushed.

I only had 30 minutes on Lee Buck Rd because I had an appointment with Captain Harry in Southport.  Harry brought me to his honey hole to show me some nice birds that have been hanging out for a couple weeks.

It was raining and cloudy so the photo ops were horrible, but I will take what I can get.

Glossy Ibis - I blew up some of my photos and lightened them up to check for red facial skin but this was definitely a Glossy, not a White-faced.

The impoundment also held about 30 BW Teal.

A Black-necked Stilt was a nice addition for this part of North Carolina.

There was plenty of Yellowlegs and Dowitchers.  This photo has a Greater Yellowlegs on left, probably Long-billed Dowitcher in middle and Lesser Yellowlegs on right.

Horrible photo but nicely shows size difference between Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs.

After a nice ferry ride over to Ft. Fisher chatting with Harry on the way, we found a nice Sandwich Tern at the Federal Rocks.

We had thousands of shorebirds on the Spit but the variety was not good.  All Dunlin, Dowitchers, Whimbrels and Peeps.  Above is Dunlin with one Peep that we decided was a Western Sandpiper.  Note the longer bill slightly drooping at the end.

I was asking the birding gods for some Gull-billed Terns and voila!

Gull-billed Tern

A Red Knot looking a little ratty for a bird getting ready for breeding.

Probably a Western Sandpiper, although it could be a Semi.

The Dowitcher in the middle was so red and the color extended all the way down the belly.  We thought it probably was a Long-billed Dowitcher.

Dowitcher doing a Spoon-billed Sandpiper impersonation.

What to do this weekend?  Perhaps Howell Woods for some warblers?  I am drooling just thinking about it.

I picked up a half dozen Wake and Bake donuts on the way home and I can confirm they are delicious.