Cape May Warbler
November, 2008, Browns Summit, NC
photo © by Julien McCarthy

White Street Landfill
1/10/09                                                                                        By Emily Tyler 

     The annual field trip to the Greensboro Landfill was widely anticipated and once again did not disappoint. Despite earlier forecasts of inclement weather, the day dawned clear and bright and typically cold for a January day. Later the wind would become blustery on top of “Mount Trashmore.”
     A record 29 birders made the trek to the landfill for this joint field trip with the local Audubon chapter which yielded 46 species. The pond near the office offered the usual Ring-necked Ducks, Hooded Mergansers and Buffleheads as well as a Kingfisher and Eastern Phoebe around the edges. The caravan of about nine vehicles snaked its way around the old landfill site north of the office, stopping for everyone to get out every few hundred yards and walk, spotting birds along the way.
     Our youngest member, Stephen (11), was one of the first to spot one of the special sightings of the day, a Northern Harrier, only seen a couple of other times at this site, including last January’s trip to the landfill. Other good sightings from this area included Savannah Sparrow and a Palm Warbler.
      Working our way to the other side of the 800-acre property, due diligence was given to finding White-crowned Sparrows in their usual spot since first being found there by George Wheaton on this trip in 2006. It took some time but Henry Link and Scott DePue located an immature.  We were fortunate to be able to count three American Kestrels perched on nearby wires as well as a Common Raven sailing by. A Red-tailed Hawk took a position on a pipe not far from where a brilliantly-colored Eastern Meadowlark languished in the grass  Those birders with the best ears heard a flock of Pine Siskins in flight overhead.
     In the small amount of bare soil still to be found at the landfill, atop the youngest of the “mountains,” a good number of Ring-billed Gulls was seen amidst the earth-moving equipment along with a couple of Herring Gulls. Vultures were few in number, compared to the old days when this was an active landfill for the City’s household waste, but both Turkey and Black Vultures were seen.
     Along the winding dirt road on the back side of the landfill property, with the woods on one side and the grass-covered hillside on the other, relatively few birds were spotted except for several Red-tailed Hawks, a kiting Kestrel and a Swamp Sparrow, which brought the number of sparrow species to six. Some of the other birds seen included Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Northern Flickers, Chickadees, Eastern Bluebirds, Carolina Wrens and Cardinals.
     By 1:00 most birders had left but the few who stayed on were rewarded with the sighting of a sub-adult Bald Eagle, Red-shouldered Hawk and a House Wren.
     This field trip has become perhaps the most popular one all year due in part to the special arrangements that have to be made to gain access to the landfill. We are grateful to Carolyn Allen who makes this possible for us through her special connections with the landfill management. As usual she did an outstanding job of leading us through the wide diversity of habitats and providing us with another winning trip which was enjoyed by all.

Augusta/ Highland/ Bath County, va
01/16-19/09                                                                                                                               By George Wheaton

     Five members of the PBC sallied forth to Staunton, VA to begin our winter birding trip to Augusta, Highland, and Bath County in the northwestern part of the state. We arrived in Staunton, our initial base of operations, around 4:30 on Friday afternoon and were birding by 5:00 in hopes of getting our first target bird – Short-eared Owl. Although we did see a number of White-crowned Sparrows and a “mousing” Red Fox, the owl either overslept or decided it was too cold to put in an appearance. (We resumed our search late on Saturday afternoon and dipped on [failed to find] the owl at three additional sites.)

     Saturday morning dawned clear but cold. Allen Larner, one of Augusta County’s top birders and our leader for the day, first took us to a private pond along Bell’s Lane. The 9:00 a.m. temperature equaled the number of Cackling Geese (4) we were able to identify in the large flock of Canadas and ducks that were swimming around trying to keep their small patch of open water from freezing. We found many of the day’s waterfowl species at this location. The “Cacklers” were a life bird for most of the group.

     Allen next took us to a nearby location where we had fabulous views of a Barn Owl – in the same barn as last year. He then led us around Augusta County where we were able to spot a number of interesting birds. These included: three male Northern Harriers (“Gray Ghosts”); out of season Wood Duck and Tundra Swan; Canvasback, Common Merganser, and other assorted beauties. We dipped on other stakeouts including: Greater White-fronted Goose, Loggerhead Shrike, and Snow Bunting.

     Sunday we arose early and departed for Monterey, arriving at the traditional Red Crossbill site by 9:00. Alas, the hoped for Crossbills were elsewhere. Undeterred, we moved on to McDowell, VA to investigate various feeders. We were rewarded with excellent views of two American Tree Sparrows (a lifer for some) and a Black-capped Chickadee. We then drove to Monterey in snow showers that promised to become more substantial. On our first swing through the northern loop of the Bluegrass Valley we had mid-range looks at a juvenile and a dark morph Rough-legged Hawk in close proximity to each other. Both birds put on quite a show, preening and then flying near us. It got better! Sunday produced 12 sightings of this species, with individuals perched and flying at point-blank range, including two close fly-overs of our vehicles and one bird kiting at eye-level across from our vehicles. These sightings were all the more remarkable given the low cloud cover and continuing light snow. Golden Eagles did not venture forth.

     On Monday morning, we took one last swing through the Valley in the midst of light snow with the promise of heavier snow to come. We found two more American Tree Sparrows (again, at feeders) and had another three sightings of Rough-legged Hawk. In all, we saw this species on 15 different occasions and believe a minimum of six different individuals was involved. It truly was the year of the Rough-legged Hawk.

     An uneventful trip home wrapped up late on Monday afternoon. We saw a total of 80 species, with an additional three picked up en route. Winter birding in the mountains is indeed a rewarding and exciting experience. The scenery was beautiful, especially with snow on the mountains and rime on mountainside trees.

Sixteen of us enjoyed a beautiful morning as we walked around Bill Faver Lakeshore Trail at the center. Thirty one species were observed. Our most interesting species were Gadwall, Pied-billed Grebe, Belted Kingfisher, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Hermit Thrush, and Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

 

Nineteen PBC birders turned out for Saturday morning's trip. Attendance was excellent in spite of dark and glowering skies that threatened rain. (We encountered one sprinkle on our trip to the park, and enjoyed a sunny morning thereafter.) We concentrated on the park access road and the boat launch area. The park, which may not open to the general public until early May, has numerous woodland trails, overlooks of a newly created wetlands area, and a decent spot from which to scan one arm of Randleman Reservoir. (The PBC is especially grateful to Berry Bynum, Park Manager, for giving us access.) After leaving the park, we went on to another site in nearby Randolph County where a homeowner graciously welcomed us onto private property that overlooks another portion of the reservoir. 

Best birds, were: American Coots, Great Horned Owl (heard by several), Red-shouldered Hawk, multiple Common Ravens, Brown Creeper, and Common Grackle. A small flock of flyovers probably were Pine Siskins. Other interesting species were Horned Grebe, American Kestrel, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Hairy Woodpecker, Golden-crowned  and Ruby-crowned Kinglets. We saw 43 species in all.

When it opens later this spring, Southwest Park will be worth exploring in more detail, especially in search of neotropical migrants.

Eleven PBC members attended the Easter 2009 HBSP trip and enjoyed good weather, good birding, and great camaraderie through the weekend. The picture is of the group taking a break after a morning walk. We listed 101 species, visited a new area for many of us - Santee Coastal Preserve - and had some great views of beautiful birds. 
 
We saw a number of Eurasian Collared Doves that have not yet been added to the HBSP list but seem to be fairly common in the area. The Red-cockaded Woodpecker colony at the Waccamaw School is still healthy and active and we found another colony near Santee as well as some beautiful Prothonotary Warblers and Northern Parulas in Washoe Preserve. The colony of nesting Anhingas there was a special treat.
 
We did an afternoon through Brookgreen Gardens and enjoyed the azaleas as well as the birding. Many of us went back Sunday morning for another round of walks!
 
The fresh water pond and the Atalaya causeway was the most active area we walked and yielded good views of vireos, many Green Herons, and an alligator crossing the path! Shorebirds were active in the pond but slow in the marsh and on the beaches and mudflats. We did see several groups at the jetty and got a look at some Gannets there as well. The Purple Sandpipers had moved on, but we got an early female Painted Bunting in the scrub behind the jetty.

Other shore and waterbirds birds of interest were: American Oystercatcher, Black-necked Stilt, Black-bellied Plover, Blue-winged Teal, Clapper Rail, Dunlin, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Green-winged Teal, Red-breasted Merganser, Ruddy Turnstone, Short-billed Dowitcher, Sora,  Whimbrel, Whimbrel, and Willet.  Interesting Songbirds included Blue-headed Vireo, Savannah Sparrow, Seaside Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow,and Yellow-throated Warbler.

The trip to Jane Lewis’s home and property in southern Randolph County is always a pleasure and treat both for the large variety of  birds who live there and the members of  PBC who participate! They saw 60 species of birds that day. Eleven species of warblers included Northern Parula, Black-throated Blue, Prairie, Black-and-white, Worm-eating, Louisiana Waterthrush, Hooded, and Yellow-breasted Chat. Other summer birds included Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Acadian Flycatcher, Yellow-throated Vireo, Wood Thrush, Summer and Scarlet Tanagers, Blue Grosbeak and Indigo Bunting. They also observed a Northern Bobwhite!

NEW RIVER TRAIL STATE PARK
May 20, 2009                                                  by Julien McCarthy 

Carolyn Allen, Helen DeCasper, Jim Eldrett, Julien McCarthy and Emily Tyler set off at 8 am for an adventure along the gorgeous New River Trail in Virginia. It took two mostly scenic hours to arrive at the “Shot Tower Park “where we “put in” on the trail. Over a period of 4.5 hours we walked leisurely for about three miles. We first hiked south through the hardwood canopy along the riverbank and observed exquisite wild flowers such as Virginia Waterleaf, Columbine and Dame’s Rocket, and saw and heard fabulous birds among which were beautiful Baltimore Orioles in profusion as well as Yellow-throated Warblers, Scarlet Tanagers, American Redstarts and Indigo Buntings. We also observed the now abandoned Northern Raven’s nest which had produced three fledglings in April. Lunch was at a scenic overlook above the New River where we found a bench to use. After lunch we returned to the van for the short drive over to Foster Falls State Park.   There we hiked around a meadow up against a mature hardwood stand and along the edge of the river. This produced more orioles as well as Eastern Kingbirds and a nesting Downy Woodpecker.  

Altogether we found 47 bird species. It was notable that raptors were rare as were most waterfowl. One unexpected and exciting find was a colony of Cliff Swallows which had selected the pillars supporting the New River Bridge as their nesting site. Having decided to add an hour to the excursion on this beautiful day, we arrived back at our starting point at 5 pm, making this trip an enjoyable nine-hour day. 

Eight birders gathered at Price Park at 9:00 am on Wed. May 27, 2009 to observe the bird fauna at Price Park. Birders included P. Ware, H. DeCasper, J. Bartlett, Tom and Stella Wear, new members, Liz Schumacher and Will Moore visitors and myself. The weather was mostly overcast and about 70-75 degrees F. Rain held off until about 11:00 am as we were leaving when a light sprinkle started. Birds observed included: Green Heron, American Goldfinch, Eastern Towhee, Indigo Bunting, Northern Cardinal,  Eastern Bluebird, Mockingbird, Blue Jay, American Crow, Mallard, Canada Geese, Mourning Dove, American Robin, Brown Thrasher. The best looks were a the beautiful Indigo buntings and goldfinches. We did not see swifts at the swift tower nor meadowlarks in the meadow. This is a nice easy walk and especially good for beginning birders.

Jim Strickland suggested and led this trip to a place new to us, Howell Woods, which is located in Johnston County near Smithfield, NC. This 2800 acre property was donated by the Howell family to the Johnston County Community College and offers a diverse variety of habitats for wildlife, walking trails, environmental educational programs,  as well as fishing, camping, and horseback riding.  Their website offers more detailed  information.

We greatly enjoyed the two-day trip, staying overnight in cabins which were very pleasant. We spent most of Saturday and Sunday morning exploring some of the many trails. We saw 62 species of birds in a variety of habitats - bottomland hardwood forest, seasonal wetlands, pine and scrub oak sandhills to name some.

The bottomland hardwood forest was rife with Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, seen or heard at every turn. A number of other birds were heard and rarely seen - Yellow-throated and Kentucky Warblers, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, White-eyed and Yellow-throated Vireos and Acadian Flycatchers. More open areas adjacent to fallow grassland were home to Field Sparrows, Purple Martins, Yellow-breasted Chat, Indigo Bunting, Blue Grosbeak, and Eastern Kingbird. Well-stocked bird feeders at the Environmental Learning Center were frequented by many creatures, including Fox Squirrels, Red-headed and Hairy Woodpeckers, Brown-headed Nuthatches and many other common "Feeder birds." If one was tired of exploring the trails, easy and enjoyable birding could be done there or even from the porches of the cabins! Saturday evening, as we relaxed on there, we were treated to a barred owl calling, ala DiNiro in Scent of a Woman. ("Hoo-ah!") On Sunday we considered ourselves very fortunate to catch a short but good look at a pair of Mississippi Kites.

We saw a number of butterflies throughout the trip, the most exciting being Zebra Swallowtails on wildflowers in a tended garden beside the Center. As well as leading this trip, Jim Strickland also took these great pictures!

Fox Squirrel	Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly	Wild Azalea

On Saturday, August 8, 2009, 11 members of the Piedmont Bird Club made a trip to several places on the Greensboro reservoir lakes to look for migrating shorebirds and waders. The first part of our trip was a walk in on the southern end of the Nat Greene trail, where Horse Pen Creek empties into Lake Brandt. July’s hot, dry weather has created extensive mudflats there, and we found a number of species at that spot. Highlights included a Tricolored Heron and several juvenile Little Blue Herons, and also, surprisingly, some waterfowl: a pair of Mute Swans that have been on the lakes for a couple of years – feral, if not wild; a male Pintail that has summered on the lake – far out of its normal summer range; and 2 early Green-winged Teal

After leaving Nat Greene we drove to the Church St. causeway to check out the Lake Jeannette spillway, then on to Plainfield Rd. with a stop at the causeway there, and a walk in on the western end of the Reedy Fork Creek trail. These stops produced 2 Snowy Egrets and more Little Blue Herons – a total of 9 for the trip – as well as an interesting Solitary Sandpiper with dark feathers on its underside that prompted some efforts to make it into something more rare.

While the day was forecast to be hot, morning clouds kept the heat down until late in the morning. While the Roseate Spoonbill did not make an appearance, we did tally 48 species and got the opportunity to study some common shorebirds in late summer plumage.

Bethabara Park, Winston Salem.
August 22, 2009       By Louise Brown 

Roger Tory Peterson is noted for his page in the American Field Guides of “Confusing Fall Warblers.” I would like to make a note of “Annoying Fall Warblers.” They are such because
1) They don’t sing,
2) They flit about on the foliage, teasing birders with their presence yet always lurking behind the leaves,
3) When they do emerge from the leaves, it is such a brief appearance and at such a rapid pace that it is impossible to make note of any colors or field marks.
This was especially true on Sat. August 22^nd, at Bethabara Park in Winston-Salem, when they did make their very brief appearances it was always against the backlight of the heavily overcast sky, making impossible to even narrow down the possibility of their ID.  

The originally scheduled PBC trip to the Wastewater Treatment Plant in W-S was cancelled due to heavy construction there, so instead we went to this lovely park, the site of the old Moravian settlement. Only two of us were apparently willing to risk the possibility of rain, and while we were sprinkled on a little bit we missed the sporadic deluges that occurred in other areas. This condition was not conducive to good birding. While there were indeed many birds present, many of them, such as the aforementioned warblers, of which there were indeed at least a couple of species, refused to step forward and be counted. There were quite a few American Goldfinches, in full and brilliant breeding plumage, feeding on wildflower seeds along the trail that follows a nice woodsy creek.  There were quite a few “regular birds,” Cardinals and Carolina Wrens and such. We did hear a White-eyed Vireo calling to us from its concealed position in the foliage. A couple of Great-crested Flycatchers treated us to a glimpse of themselves just above us in the trees, one parent and possibly a full-grown offspring. We also got a look at a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, displaying the perky tail that is as long as its little body.

During some of the rainy moments we checked out some of the buildings that are reconstructions of the 1752 settlement, cabins, barns, and sheds made of pegged logs and daubed with mud. We also explored an extensive vegetable garden containing many interesting and unusual varieties of vegetables, including red okra and cucurbits that we did not recognize, and a “Medicinal Garden” which is planted according to detailed records from the 1700s. This contains many different herbs, including hops.  

Sparrow Hunt
October 26             by George Wheaton

Yesterday's PBC outing through northern Guilford County was successful. The emphasis was on sparrows and nine species were located. They, along with some other nice birds resulted in a respectable total of 55 species. 

We started at Lake Brandt and moved on to Strader Road, which hosted several species of sparrows. We then moved further east and worked the lower end of Nutt Road, which also was very productive. The trip concluded with a stop at both Church Street causeways over Lake Townsend. At these latter sites, water levels were very low, producing extensive sand/mud flats where some nice shorebirds were found. The temperatures were cool under sunny, overcast, and then cloudy skies. A brisk breeze out of the northeast picked up toward the end of the trip. 

Highlights included the following: excellent studies of Swamp, Savanna, and White-crowned Sparrows (the latter included adult as well as juvenile birds); an extremely cooperative Vesper Sparrow, which posed for point-blank photos for several minutes (its white eye-ring seemed enormous); a Great Horned Owl and Eastern Screech-Owl (heard); a nice variety of shorebirds (Pectoral Sandpipers, Lesser Yellowlegs, and two Dunlin); and just as we turned for home, a fly-over by an adult Bald Eagle. This was a nice end to a very good trip!