[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

FBC Sparrow Hunt Results



Ten birders turned out for the Foothills Bird Club field trip this morning
to look for sparrows on the Wagner Property in Happy Valley, NC.  There were
quite a few sparrows present, but not the variety of species that we had
hoped for.  There were Song Sparrows around every corner it seemed.  We
encountered a nice "flock" of Chipping Sparrows feeding in the pasture, saw
several nice Swamp Sparrows in the marsh, and had several good looks at
White-throated Sparrows.  We should have gotten Savannah and Field Sparrows
easily, but we didn't!  We did however have luck with raptors around the
pond.  We had a female Northern Harrier, a Red-tailed Hawk, a soaring
Cooper's Hawk, and a Sharp-shinned taking flight.  Some warblers were still
present with Tennessee being the most abundant.  We also had a male and
female Black-throated Blue Warbler, an adult Cape May Warbler, an immature
Common Yellowthroat, and a very co-operative Orange-crowned Warbler who fed
and flitted below eye level several feet in front of the group for a couple
minutes.

One of our members (Chuck), had a Marsh Wren pop up in the marsh (where
else?!) for a few seconds.  It's perfect habitat for them and there
should've been more than one!  "Winter" birds also made their presence well
known!  Droves of Yellow-rumped Warblers were out and active, two
Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers moved from tree to tree, and both Golden-crowned
and Ruby-crowned Kinglets flitted incessantly from branch to branch.  One of
the Ruby-crowned's even popped his red crown up for all to see---a truly
inspiring sight!  We listened for a Red-breasted Nuthatch but could only
hear the nasally honk of the White-breasted!

After a picnic lunch at Moses Cone, we walked around Trout Lake.  There
weren't a lot of birds out---but the scenery was magnificent!  There is no
bluer sky than from this area of NC!  Most of the foliage is either at peak
or just past peak making for a nice hike no matter what the avian activity.
We did have five Wood Ducks in the water and an unidentified accipitor tear
in front of us across the path.  Oh yeah, we saw some Dark-eyed Juncos too!
Hope your day was as beautiful as ours!

*************************
Dwayne & Lori Martin
Foothills Bird Club
Claremont, NC
dlmartin@twave.net