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Broad River WMA, 10/27



        
On Saturday, I decided to make my annual "end of the season" pilgrimage to
Broad River WMA before it is closed on November 1.  The sparrow fields
needed checking and the duck flats needed to be looked over.  And quite
often, something really neat shows up on these end of the season excursions
- one year, an Orange-crowned Warbler; another year, a calling Bicknell's
Thrush.  This year was no exception.  

I was quite pleased to find Tim Kalbach had the same idea and together we
tried to flush interesting sparrows from the fields.  Tim found two,
possibly three White-crowned Sparrows, one (possibly two) immatures and an
adult, a nice treat for me.  My previous look at an adult White-crowned
Sparrow had been too brief.  At the end of the field across from the beaver
pond we flushed a Vesper Sparrow, a nice county bird for me and a new bird
for Tim for Broad River.  We also found the expected Song, Swamp,
White-throated and Savannah Sparrows, as well as Field Sparrows.  A nice
bonus was one very yellow Palm Warbler, also flushed from the field.

As has become habit at Broad River for me, we found Bald Eagles, as well.
The eagles were the usual three - two immatures (one nearly adult, retaining
only a dark terminal band on the otherwise white tail and the barest of
smudges behind the eye on a white head) and one adult.  Unexpected were the
"suburban" birds  found at Broad River - Northern Mockingbird (migrant?) and
one lone Rock Dove, apparently lost.  

Winter resident species found included House and Winter Wren, Ruby-crowned
and Golden-crowned Kinglet, Yellow-rumped Warbler and the roving large
flocks of American Robins who winter in the country. While there were no
ducks on the flats, I did have a flyover of a nice flock of American Wigeon
and a couple of Mallards flying down the river.

All in all, a nice albeit frosty morning to be scouring a sparrow field with
a fellow birder!

      
Donna Slyce Bailey
Winnsboro, SC
e-mail: dsbailey@conterra.com
URL: http://www.conterra.com/dsbailey
     "Where are the Birds?  Migration across South Carolina"