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GOLDEN EAGLE, ST-FLYCATCHER & MOUNTAIN MIGRANTS



What is more unexpected than a Swallow-tailed Kite on the Outer Banks the 
first week of March?  Well, for my wife Pat and I, the answer is an adult 
GOLDEN EAGLE in the NC Blueridge Mountains in mid May.

We just returned from a great weekend of birding in the NC mountains.  We 
were not available last weekend during the CBC, and we needed to be in 
Charlotte today, so we took advantage of the trip to bird for the weekend.

We birded Curtis Creek Rd. and the northern section of the BRP on Saturday.  
We had great looks and photos of numerous warblers including CERULEAN and 
BLACKBURNIAN WARBLERS.  Other highlights were PINE SISKINS, Wild Turkeys and 
a Barred Owl that flew up the mountain and perched in a tree just beside us. 
  I don't know who was more surprised (the owl or us)!

On Sunday, we birded Beaver Lake in Asheville, Fines Creek / Max Patch Rds. 
(our first time) and the southern section of the BRP.  We had incredible 
point blank views and photo opportunities of 6-10 GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLERS.  I 
can't wait to get my slides back.  I could not believe how many Least 
Flycatchers are in this area.  We easily had 20+ on Max Patch Rd.  While 
looking at a Least Flycatcher and photographing the Golden-winged Warblers, 
I happened to look up and see an eagle soaring above.  An unexpected find 
for me in the mountains.  When I put my binoculars on it, I was surprised to 
see that it did not have a white head or tail, nor did it have the mottled 
underwings of a Bald Eagle.  I was so excited, I had difficulty setting up 
my scope.  We quickly had the eagle in the scope, and I confirmed the id.  
This was an adult GOLDEN EAGLE with no white windows in the wings and no 
white tail band.  The eagle circled for about five minutes, rising higher 
and higher and then heading NE out of sight.  This is only my second Golden 
Eagle in NC.  My first was a immature bird in the Winter of 1999 at Lake 
Mattamuskeet.  I don't know of any Spring records for NC since I have been 
living here.  Does anyone have info on this?

We saw numerous other migrants on the BRP including ALDER FLYCATCHER, CANADA 
WARBLER, SCARLET TANAGERS, ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS, ETC.  We rounded out our 
weekend with twenty-one (21) species of warblers, and we missed some easy 
ones.

This morning, Pat and I birded at Jackson Park for a couple hours and it was 
almost dead.  We found 1 (or possibly 2) NORTHERN WATERTHRUSHES, a late 
WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW and WILLOW FLYCATCHERS at their usual hangout near the 
baseball fields.

On our way home from Charlotte, we stopped in Monroe to look for the 
Scissor-tailed Flycatchers at the Olsen's house.  Anne was not optimistic 
about us seeing the birds with the strong winds and sporadic sightings, but 
after about 15 minutes one SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER flew into the same 
tower they have been using for 3 years.  It appears to have a nest at the 
very top of the tower on a small square metal plate at the corner closest to 
the entrance of the driveway.  After a little flycatching and show boating 
for us, the bird flew to the field behind the neighbors house, where it 
stayed.  We never saw the second bird.

We made one more stop in Laurinburg, NC to see if we could see any 
Mississippi Kite's, but we could not find any signs of a nest this year.  
Are they still nesting near the church?

What an incredible and diverse weekend!!!

-Brad & Pat Carlson
Winterville, NC
BradCarlson1@hotmail.com






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