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FBC trip to Sandhills NWR



The Foothills Bird Club had it's annual field trip to Sandhills NWR (in
McBee, SC) to look for the endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker yesterday
(12/18).  We were quite successful, and in fact, had seen all 8 species of
eastern woodpeckers by noon!  We encountered the Red-cocakeds on the road to
May's Lake.  We had luck with them last year along this road as well.  There
were at least three and possibly four foraging in the large pines near the
first little field on the right.   The bird(s) of the day though, were not
of the woodpecker variety!

In the large field a little ways (1/2 mile?)  past the refuge office we
encountered two adult Grasshopper Sparrows and one juvenile as well.  They
were in a large "flock" of Savannah and Song Sparrows who seemed to keep the
ground moving all around us!  We got excellent scope views at all three
birds and are quite confident in our id.  We noticed though that Grasshopper
Sparrow is not on the refuge checklist.  It took a few seconds to "sink in"
that what we were looking at was Grasshoppers as we were not expecting them.
They showed the classic pale median stripe and eye ring and had the
"flat-head" look.

Other birds of interest were:  a Gray Catbird calling from the observation
deck at Martin's Lake, a small raft of Ring-necked Ducks also at Martin's
Lake, a Brown Creeper and Red-breasted Nuthatch in a mixed flock of
kinglets, chickadees and Pine Warblers on the left just past the gate to
May's Lake, a male Northern Harrier helping a crow to harass a Red-tail, and
a Black Duck with several Mallards seen from the Oxpen observation area.

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