Tardy Henderson County Spring Migration Count Report

[mjwestphal <mjwestphal@unca.edu>]

This is not a dupe - this is Henderson County which is just south of Buncombe 
County in the NC mountains.  Sorry, I forgot to put my name on the Buncombe 
County report.  It's on this one.

The Henderson County Spring Migration Count, organized by Jim and Barbara 
Neal, took place on Saturday, May 11th.   A total of 110 species and 3,705 
birds were found.   The extensive, flat, river valleys in Henderson County 
combined with mountain forests produced a wide variety of species.   The group 
found an amazing 26 species of warbler including Northern Parula, Yellow, 
Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, Cape May, Black-throated Blue, Black-throated Green, 
Yellow-rumped, Blackburnian, Yellow-throated, Pine, Blackpoll, Black and 
White, American Redstart, Ovenbird, Worm-eating, Northern Waterthrush, 
Louisiana Waterthrush, Kentucky, Common Yellowthroat, Hooded, Canada, 
Yellow-breasted Chat, and even a Cerulean, a Bay-breasted, and, most 
thrilling, a Prothonotary Warbler.  Amazingly, the Prothonotary Warbler stuck 
around where it was found in a marsh along the French Broad River for three 
days.  Not as many individual warblers were found in Henderson County (275) as 
in Buncombe County (443), but the wetlands and low-lying areas of Henderson 
County generally attract more passing migratory species.  Most common warbler 
found in Henderson County was Common Yellowthroat with 46 (a testament to the 
very different habitat found in Henderson County versus Buncombe County where 
only 10 Common Yellowthroats were found) followed by 38 Hooded and 30 
Ovenbirds.  
Other interesting finds in Henderson County were a Sedge Wren and record 
numbers of Cedar Waxwing (214), Northern Bobwhite (17), Field Sparrow (50), 
and several other species.  The increased numbers of Bobwhite and Field 
Sparrow may be an indication that these open field birds could bounce back 
from their steady decline if even more suitable habitat became available.  The 
weather was very cooperative on count day, which helped us in our search.  The 
greatest help, of course, was from the enthusiastic and diligent counters who 
participated.
Marilyn Westphal
mjwestphal@unca.edu