Yadkin River Greenway
Saturday, October 24, 2009                                                                        by Rob and Mitzi Rogers 

We had excellent weather in Wilkesboro and a good birding day Saturday.  Jodi started off the day right with authentic Cuban Coffee and pastries as we prepared for the walk.  Red Winged Blackbird and Grackle flocks were flying over the parking lot as we enjoyed the refreshments.  A nice V of Canada Geese and a lone Killdeer did a nice flyby.  We had participants from Boone Audubon, Forsyth Audubon, Forsyth Tech Class, Local Talent (Jack) as well as walk-ons (Mike & Eva).  We were lucky to have Jack Ogburn as he is the local expert who has documented rarer birds at the YRG in the past and he is the one that spotted our "Big Ticket" bird of the day.  The first leg of the walk took us along the jogging track behind the YMCA.  An Immature Red Tailed Hawk landed in the tree line and sat for 3 or 4 minutes so that everyone got a good look at our common raptor

The next leg of the walk took us off the paved path and over to the banks of the Yadkin where we quickly tagged two wren species - House Wren - I think Marilyn got that one and the ever-present Carolina Wren was seen by many.  Then there was the Winter Wren.  We kept hearing him sing but he would not cooperate and denied us the triumvirate as no one was able to spot him.  Several Yellow Rumped Warblers were flitting about and we also heard the White Throated Sparrows singing "Old Sam".   The next bit of excitement was the small flock of Golden Crowned Kinglets that came in close for some good looks.  Also in that first section was a Great Blue Heron that posed patiently and several members saw a pair of Wood Ducks. 

Birding Trail at Wilkesboro   

  Well, I learned a few things today - starting with the fact that Wilkesboro and North Wilkesboro are 2 separate entities. One is on the North side of the Yadkin River and one on the South.  The other thing is that the "Strip" that you see going up 421 to Boone (my youngest is a freshman at App) bears no resemblance to the Town of Wilkesboro - especially the Historic section.  I went up to Wilkesboro to scout out the NC Birding Trail locations where we will be conducting walks over the next few weeks.  Jodi Frichner was my gracious hostess as she shepherded me around the county.  We went to Whippoorwill Academy first.  This spot has a variety of habitats from pastureland to overgrown field areas to bamboo forests to hardwood forest and a trail that leads to the Yadkin to top it off with Riparian.  The trail has a drop off on one side so that you can look out into the trees instead of straight up all the time.  We spent time with the owner and did a little semi-serious birding.  We saw both kinglets, chippies, Field Sparrow, Waxwings, House Wren, but the big prize was a Winter Wren along the Yadkin.  Not only did we see it but to my surprise it was also singing its very high pitched melody!  As we walked back up from the Yadkin, we spotted a thrush - unfortunately due to the backlit position it was in, we did not get good enough looks to decide whether or not it was a Swainson's or a Gray-cheeked. 

         We left there and went to the Greenway.  I should probably clarify that, we went to one of the 8 different Trail Heads for the Greenway.  The walk that Jodi picked is the one were the Upland and Buff-breasted Sandpipers have been spotted in the past.  We did not see those species (either would have been a lifer for both of us) but the Killdeer were abundant.  We will have the walk up there this Saturday if weather permits - if not we will try again on Sunday.   Again, the habitat is varied along this section with open fields, overgrown fields and riparian.  It looked like a cross between the Muddy Creek Greenway and the Yadkin in Tanglewood.  Plenty of chippies again, Song Sparrows, Red-winged Blackbirds, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Red-tailed and Cooper's Hawks - and then we hit a flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers  that had at least one maybe two Palms with a Blue-headed Vireo for good measure.  We ran out of time long before I was ready to quit (as usual) - so we drove to some of the other Trail Heads and got out for a quick peek.  The other sections also border the Yadkin and looked very promising.

         To top off the morning and early afternoon activities, we drove the short distance back to the Historic District for lunch.  There is an authentic Cuban Sandwich place right on Main Street that has excellent sandwiches.  I got a #2 Cuban Sandwich on authentic Cuban Bread that had been toasted in something like a Panini Press - I usually eat half a sandwich for lunch but I couldn't stop until I had wolfed it all down.  The owner and his wife both came out and talked with us - they have moved up here recently from Florida.  It is a great, friendly place to round out a morning's birding session.

          I guess you can tell I was impressed with both the birding locations which actually are many more than that if you consider all the sections of the Greenway - there was a brief article on the Greenway in the September issue of Southern Living.  I highly recommend making the hour drive when you are up for an outing and am looking forward to the walks that we will have up there.  I will be scouting out the Kerr Scott Waterfowl Impoundment some time in November in prep for the Dec 12 walk up there - really looking forward to that one too.

 Rob Rogers

You may be noticing Canada Geese in Guilford County with bands, or tags. Here is some information about that!

Liz Rutledge, a researcher from NC State, is studying the movements, preferences and impact of Canada Geese in western Guilford County.  Funded by the Federal Aviation Administration, her study includes the neck-banding of 800 geese and the use of GPS transmitters on over a dozen geese.  You can help with the study by reporting any sightings of the geese that are wearing the highly-visible neck bands.  Write down the identification number which is on the band and report the sighting to www.canadagoose.ncsu.edu .  There is more information about the project at that website.

Liz & Tom Schmid
Wild Birds Unlimited of High Point
Phone:  (336) 841-2572
Fax:  (336) 841-2573

Education Committee Meeting
Tuesday, June 23, 2009  7:00 – 8:15 pm
Don Allemann’s house

Here is your Education Committee at work. The committee met at Don Allemann’s house. On the agenda were budget items, plans for new displays, and the development of PowerPoint presentations.

Jean Murdick, Sally Howell, Pat Bradley	Don Allemann & Emily Tyler
Emily Tyler	Jim Eldrett
photos by Susan Weimer