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Annoyed falcon, HBSP, black-chinned





Deterred by reports of few gulls and ducks at the CBBT, Tracy and I decided to
do Myrtle Beach this weekend.  We spent a beautiful Saturday at HBSP and
environs.  The most interesting sighting of the day was also the first of the
morning.  Approaching Murrells Inlet from the Garden City side we were alerted
to a bird flying toward us.  The bird screeched continually and began to circle
about 20-30 feet above our heads.  The bird, a Peregrine Falcon, continued this
behavior on and off for several minutes.  We have never had a Peregrine pay any
attention to us before. let alone scold us!  Any ideas on what it was doing?  We
did not notice any kills the bird might have been defending.  When not circling
it returned to a perch on one of the "Submerged obstruction" markers at the base
of the north jetty.

Also in Garden City we noted 72 Purple Sandpipers on the first groin north of
the jetty.  If you are looking for Purples and do not find them at HBSP, this is
a good spot.  In fact, if you want to see the birds without the mile hike to the
jetty, this is your place.  It's best a high tide.  Great Cormorant is also
reliable, and we noted a pair of Common Ground Doves.

HBSP was solid if not spectacular.  Nice numbers of ducks on Mullet Pond and
good numbers of maritime sparrows in the marsh.  We experienced very good views
of Nelson's Sharptails from the end of the marsh boardwalk at high tide.
Several birds were feeding on floating mats of spartina.  I had always assumed
the birds headed for high ground during unusually high tides, but these found
feeding to be more their style.  We were able to observe the birds from a
distance of less than 10 feet, a feat I may not be able to reproduce for some
time!  We also took some recognizable pictures of a Saltmarsh Sharptail on the
landward end of the jetty.

Returning to the Raleigh-area by way of Sunset Lakes, we stopped and enjoyed a
visit with the famous Black-chinned Hummingbird.  The hummer spent much of his
time scoping the area for bugs, but approached the feeder on occasion.  More
frequently we could watch as he surveyed his domain from a favorite perch in a
leafless twig.  The Sunset Lakes are also produced a nice Greater Scaup in with
a raft of a hundred or so other ducks.  The Greater was a treat for me as we
were able to obtain photographs with the digital camera and scope.  I frequently
tend to doubt myself after making a somewhat difficult identification, so the
camera is nice to "keep me honest".  In case you have not tried, we have had
pretty good success with our Kodak 3200 digital camera held "lens to lens" to my
Spacemaster spotting scope.  I stuck some of the results here:
http:\\tropicbird.homestead.com\bird pics.

Have a great week!

Steve Shultz
Cary, NC

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