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Re: Goshawk? and Crossbills



Birders:
	Mark Simpson's checklist of birds of Mount Mitchell State Park was
published way back in 1972, and neither Cooper's Hawk nor Goshawk were
on the list.

I would not expect a Cooper's Hawk in the spruce-fir zone. They
typically occur lower down in mixed woods in the lower and middle
elevations, as well as downstate. There are a few summer records of
Goshawk from the NC mountains, mostly in the higher mountains, including
the spruce-fir zone.

Based on probability, I'd say Shantanu's bird was a Goshawk. I've never
seen this elusive species in NC, despite 30+ years of trying, and
chasing such a bird a few days later would be difficult, even if it
still were inside the park. These birds stay inside the forest most of
the time and seldom soar; usually when seen it is like he described --
dashing away very quickly. Nonetheless, those of you/us who are birding
the park should try to pay close attention to any raptor there! There is
also no convincing breeding record for NC, though there is some
circumstantial evidence a few decades ago. I've got to be in Blowing
Rock tomorrow, but I'm not sure if I can get to Mt. Mitchell on Sunday,
but I sure hope to! 

With the report of a singing Mourning Warbler last weekend at Roan
Mountain, a probable Goshawk at Mt. Mitchell, and apparently one or two
Band-tailed Pigeons farther south at Devils Courthouse, there are a lot
rarer things up high than just those Red Crossbills! And, I wouldn't
mind seeing the singing Yellow-rumped Warbler near Craggy Gardens, just
to see a potential breeding bird in NC. And, someone needs to confirm
nesting by Magnolia Warblers, such as those at Beacon Heights near
Grandfather Mountain. Hope I can find the time (actually, the lodging)
to find some of these birds myself.

Harry LeGrand

Shantanu Phukan wrote:
> 
> I just got back from another one of my dashes up to the mountains half an
> hour ago, and am bursting with questions. I was supposed to be at a
> retreat up in little Switzerland, but the retreat took the form of brisk
> birding as I was determined to get the Red Crossbills for my N Carolina
> list. So up I went to Mt Mitchell yesterday morning (june 27th) and within
> a minute of walking out of the car at the visitor Center at Mt Mitchell I
> had a flock of some twenty Crossbills mixed in with Pine Siskins. They sat
> atop the young (and mostly dying) spruces, and kept on descending ot the
> ground to pick up grit from the gravel road. They seemed to really prefer
> one naked, wet spot right outside the balcony of the visitor center which
> puzzles me since the spot did not have any grit or gravel, it was smooth,
> wet earth. Can anyone elnighten me as to why siskins and crossbills should
> be eating earth? Do birds need salt as mammals do?
> 
> There was a scarlet tanager and a family of black throated greens feeding
> the almost fully grown babies at Rough Ridge Junction overlook, and a walk
> on the Commissary Shelter Road down from the visitor center revealed a
> bold, singing Winter Wren, lots of breeding DE Juncos, GC Kinglets, more
> BT Greens, Catbirds, Cedar Waxwings, about a million Indigo Buntings,
> Ravens, Turkey Vultures, and some distantly singing Veeries.
> 
> GOSHAWK?:
> About half a mile down the Commissary Shelter Road where a montane meadow
> appears on the left side of the Road I flushed a huge accipiter from the
> conifers. My first thought on flushing it was "accipiter" and second was
> "gosh that is huge". I know that size can be deceptive, and especially so
> when combined with wistfulness. But all I can say is that I have seen lots
> of accipiters and they never make me trip over myself as this one did. Not
> only was it big, its body was stockier than any Coopers hawk I have ever
> seen, and it sflight seemed to be more powerful. Other than this I saw the
> banding on the tail clearly, but try as I would I could not get a
> satisfactory look at he belly or at the eye-brow since the bird was flying
> away from me, and the day was overcast. The bird soared over the raod
> ahead of me and then went straight towards the summit where I lost it once
> it was no longer etched against the sky.
> So my question to you all is this: What would you do with a sighting like
> this and if you had seen plenty of Cooper's hawks in your life? I hear and
> read that with the regrwth of the conifers after the logging of the turn
> of the century the Goshawks are expanding their range southward; none of
> the local rangers seemed to know much and were only too happy to accept a
> Goshawk verdict and add the species to the park list. But I advised them
> against doing that since I cannot be totally sure. DOES ANYONE ON THIS
> LIST HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE WITH GOSHAWKS?
> 
> The other noteworthy bird was a single Great Blue Heron winging its way
> over the road and over the summit. This too is not on the MT Mitchell Bird
> list, and of this I was absolutely sure.
> 
> ANd finally there was a couple of turkeys with six chicks feeding on the
> parkway.
> 
> Please le tme know your sense of the accipiter, folks.
> 
> Shantanu Phukan
> 
> *****************************************************
> SHANTANU PHUKAN
> Lecturer in Urdu-Hindi & Indian Literature
> University of N. Carolina, Chapel Hill
> Curriculum in Asian Studies
> Alumni Hall 413C
> Chapel Hill, N.C. 27599
> 
> phukan@email.unc.edu
> 919-962-6825
> *****************************************************

-- 
Harry LeGrand
NC Natural Heritage Program
1615 MSC
Raleigh, NC 27699-1615
(919) 715-8687 (work)
FAX: 919-715-3085
e-mail: harry.legrand@ncmail.net