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Foothills Birds-- 1st Broad-winged Hawk



The Glenn Hilton Park monthly birdwalk got off to a great start this morning
in Hickory, NC.  Lots of birds were singing (and courting!).  We saw a pair
of Brown-headed Nuthatches going into their new home with nesting materials,
while the newly arrived Fish Crows serenaded us from the pines above.  There
seemed to be a lot of American Goldfinch around---as well as woodpeckers!
We had five species of woodpecker including Downy, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker,
Red-bellied, Flicker, and nesting Pileateds.  We kept hearing drumming from
INSIDE a huge dead tree and decided to drum back with a stick.  It was only
a matter of seconds before the male Pileated stuck out his head to see who
was visiting!  We all got great looks and look forward to seeing the young
soon!  The male Wood Duck has also returned to the park.  Hopefully his
female will soon follow.

After the walk, seven of us decided to try our luck at South Mountains State
Park in southern Burke County---where we were promptly greeted by a very
vocal and soaring Broad-winged Hawk!!  It is the first for us this year and
seems a bit early---but there was no mistaking that call!  We heard several
Northern Parulas and Blue-headed Vireos but didn't get looks at either of
them.  We did see, after much searching our first Black-throated Green
Warbler of the year---a brilliant male!! We heard one last week and kept
hearing about ten today until we finally tracked down one near the
restrooms.  We also got good looks at a Louisiana Waterthrush along the
stream and a male Black-and-white Warbler who was only a couple feet away
and at eye-level!!!!  It was absolutely gorgeous!  There were also some
"winter" birds around the park.  We heard a Red-breasted Nuthatch and saw
four Pine Siskins feeding with a large flock of Juncos.

On our way back to Hickory, we saw several Barn Swallows on Jacob Fork River
Road in southwestern Catawba County.  These were also our first this year.
We stopped by the Purple Martin hangout on Highway 127---only to find that
none were around!  We went next door though, and located a Killdeer nest
with much deliberate searching.  It contained four perfectly camouflaged
eggs!  That was a real treat!  So then, we also stopped by Wallace Dairy
Road in the Mt. View section of Hickory and found the pair of Loggerhead
Shrikes who nest in the area.  We think they may be nesting in a dense holly
tree as we saw them flying to and from the tree several times.  We couldn't
be sure though because the tree is enclosed in a barbed wire fence and there
is no way of getting to it.  We'll check back later and see if they are
still hanging around this tree.

*************************
Dwayne & Lori Martin
Foothills Bird Club
Claremont, NC
dlmartin@twave.net