Blog Archives

SHINY COWBIRD AT FORT MACON

6/23/2017

One of the things Glyn and I like to do occasionally is to get up early and drive the hour and a half to the Atlantic Beach, NC area and have breakfast at our favorite restaurant, the Banks Grill in Morehead City. Glyn would walk the 70 miles here for their delicious grits!! If you are a grits lover, this is your place. If you are not a grits lover, these grits may convert you! After breakfast, Glyn usually drops me off at one of my several favorite birding sites in the area and goes her merry way visiting the shops in the area. When we got to the Fort Macon site yesterday morning around 8AM, there were several birders all set up on the lawn with their tripods, scopes and cameras. I was quickly informed that there had been a Shiny Cowbird hanging around here for the past week or so and they were trying to see it. This is not a truly rare bird here, but certainly an unusual one and a “life” bird for me. They are South American residents normally, although they have frequented Florida in recent years and are occasionally seen in our area. This one was trying to hang out with some local Brown-headed Cowbirds. I decided to take a walk around the freshwater pond and come back to the feeder area later. At the pond, I saw a Spotted Sandpiper, White Ibis, Barn Swallows, and an adolescent Yellow-crowned Heron. When I got back to the feeder area, I was informed that the Shiny had showed up and left. I decided to sit in the shade on a ledge and wait. The feeders were attracting quite a few species including Painted Buntings, House Finches, Grackles, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Red-winged BBs, Thrashers, Cardinals, Blue Jays-----and finally the Shiny Cowbird!!!. I was excited to see it. It was obvious that it was traveling with a small flock of Brown-headed Cowbirds, and hung around the feeders for a good 15 minutes. I was able to get several good photos.

Later, I walked behind the main building near the Coast Guard Station and was surprised at the large number of Orchard Orioles in the area. I have seen a few here in the past, but never such a large presence. I got some good shots of both the male and female. This trip reminds me of why I like this site so much. You never know what you will see and the variety is always good.. To see a full description of the Fort Macon Site, click the link. For pictures from this trip, see the gallery below.

SEE GALLERY BELOW. CLICK ANY PIC TO ENLARGE. USE SIDE ARROWS TO MOVE BACK AND FORTH. SCROLL DOWN TO SEE MORE RECENT ENTRIES< OR CLICK ON THE ARCHIVES ON THE RIGHT.

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THE INDIGO BUNTING

6/20/2017

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One of our smaller but prettier birds to me is the rich sky-blue Indigo Bunting. These summer nesters visit the mid-west to the Atlantic coast , and the Gulf states north to Canada. they began to populate southern Canada in the 1970s and may be expanding on into Canada as the climate warms. They are about 51/2 inches long, male is solid blue with darker wing and tail stripes, female is brown with a lighter breast. For a complete description, behavior, and life history, please see the Cornell Bird Guide at this link. These birds can be found in brushy fields, especially along field edges near small trees and bushes. In spite of the male's bright blue color, they can be hard to see against the blue sky.

The pictures below were taken in the past few weeks in fields near Greenville, N.C. I find it harder to see females so you will see that I have many more male photos. I was lucky to get a pic of a courting pair. An interesting fact about these birds is that they migrate at night and are able to track the stars. Enjoy the pics below.

SEE GALLERY BELOW. CLICK ANY PIC TO ENLARGE. USE SIDE ARROWS TO MOVE BACK AND FORTH. TO SEE MORE RECENT ENTRIES, SCROLL DOWN OR CLICK ON ARCHIVES ON THE RIGHT.

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HUNTINGTON BEACH STATE PARK, S.C. IN JUNE

6/11/2017

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Glyn and I visited Huntington Beach State ParkHUNTINGTON BEACH STATE PARK/BROOKGREEN GARDENS, S.C. near Murrells Inlet, SC last week. I was glad as always to return to this favorite birding site. There is not a “bad” time to be here in terms of seeing a good variety of species, including the beautiful Painted Bunting,which was abundantly present on this visit. There were also many heron species as well as Wood Storks and Egrets. I had hoped to see Roseate Spoonbills, but they usually don’t arrive here until late summer. My time was short on this trip, so I did not get to visit some of the trails or the swamp breeding area where I am sure I might have seen baby and adolescent herons and egrets, and I did not get to the beach areas.

We enjoyed our trip and Glyn located a new restaurant, J. Peters, which turned out to be a real winner--be sure to try their prime rib!! You cannot go wrong in visiting this site any time of year if you are a birder!! See pictures below from this visit.

SEE GALLERY BELOW. CLICK ON ANY PIC TO ENLARGE. USE SIDE ARROWS TO MOVE BACK AND FORTH. SCROLL DOWN BELOW FOR MORE RECENT JOURNAL ENTRIES OR CLICK ON ANY MONTH'S ARCHIVE ON THE RIGHT.

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RIVERPARK NORTH AFTER THE SPRING FLOOD

6/9/2017

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During the past few weeks, eastern NC has suffered from extreme high water causing extreme flooding of our rivers amnd streams, including the Tar River which greatly influences this park. During the extreme flood stage of the Tar, the park is almost totally flooded. We reached this stage earlier, and the park was underwater for several days. I walked through the park several times in the immediate days after the water receded to see if I could observe the impact of the flooding on the bird population. The flooding occurred during the nesting period of birds such as the Prothonotary Warbler, who frequently nest in places that are just above normal water levels. Before the flood, I had seen and photographed many of these birds, on a given walk seeing 6-8 birds. Other low-nesting birds that may have been affected include the ducks and Geese, Common Yellowthroat, Blue Grosbeak, Yellow-breasted Chat, etc. During my 3 walks after the flood, I observed 1 or 2 Prothonotary Warblers each time, no Yellowthroats or Grosbeaks or Chats. I saw a few adult Canada Geese with goslings, but not nearly as many as usual. I saw no Wood Ducks or Mallards with chicks, although I did see adults. This is certainly not a valid scientific study, but I am convinced the flood greatly affected these birds.

A few days after the water receded, there was a large mud flat exposed in the back pond, and this was visited by quite a few shorebirds, including Sanderlings, Greater and Lessor Yellowlegs, Solitary sandpiper, and one I had not seen here before, a Spotted Sandpiper. There were also Cliff Swallows, Common terns, and our resident Ospreys. Overall, I felt that the bird population was significantly diminished. We all hope that these floods do not continue. See pics below.