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Re: Annoyed falcon, HBSP, black-chinned
- To: <steven.shultz@unifi.com>, <carolinabirds@duke.edu>
- Subject: Re: Annoyed falcon, HBSP, black-chinned
- From: "Reece Mitchell" <rmitche2@tds.net>
- Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2001 12:57:44 -0500
- References: <852569D5.004C44E6.00@intlnamsmtp20.us.pw.com>
- Sender: carolinabirds-owner@acpub.duke.edu
It's a little early for courtship activity by Peregrines but they can be
very vocal at any time of the year. They often call for several minutes for
reasons that are obscure to me but I suppose not to them. The type of call
sends a message. If it was the "cacking call" the bird was disturbed by you
or something else. The "wail call" is most common and seems to be
territorial and is used in courtship. This is the call used when one bird of
a pair approaches another. Eg. when the male brings food to the female.
Sorry, I can't describe the calls better. The one you usually hear on
birding tapes is the wail.
Reece
----- Original Message -----
From: <steven.shultz@unifi.com>
To: <carolinabirds@duke.edu>
Sent: Monday, January 15, 2001 8:54 AM
Subject: 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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