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Catawba County Birds



Just because we haven't posted in a couple days doesn't mean we haven't been
birding!!  Actually, we've had quite a few goodies and thought some of you
would be interested.  First of all, though, we have just had probably the
single most fascinating yardbird we have ever had.  As Dwayne walked by the
window with supper, he yelled out "Oh my god!" and promptly threw the bag of
food toward the kitchen.  I said, "What?!?! What?!?!"  By the time I made it
from the kitchen to the window, I got a split second look at a TOTALLY
albino American Goldfinch with the male Cardinals at our platform feeder!
It was the whitest thing I have ever seen!  It flew, of course, as soon as I
picked up the camcorder!  However, it shortly returned to the shrubby hedge
behind the feeders where I got a great shot of him sitting and preening.  We
just saw it feeding with some Cowbirds at our neighbors platform feeder, so
maybe it will hang around for a little while!

Yesterday (04/04) we visited Riverbend Park in northern Catawba County where
we had numerous Blue-grey Gnatcatchers, Chimney Swifts, and swallows.  We
saw several hundred swallows trying to make their way upriver against the
wind---meaning it was very easy to see them!  We saw Barn, Rough-winged,
Tree, and Purple Martins.  We also saw three Osprey, five Blue-winged Teal,
and 30+ Double Crested Cormorants (the majority of whom were sitting on two
small rocks in the river!).  We also got great looks at a Swamp
Sparrow---looking especially handsome in the wetlands.

Today, we visited the Bunker Hill Covered Bridge (mostly to look at
wildflowers) and saw our first Northern Waterthrush of the year.  Dwayne
identified the bird based on the streaking on its throat and the yellow wash
on the breast----and no sooner did he get Northern Waterthrush out of his
mouth when the bird sang!  No mistaking that!  We also saw several
Gnatcatchers, a Sharp-shinned Hawk who was chasing four Rough-winged
Swallows, and an Osprey.  We also stopped by Claremont Park where we located
an active Red-shouldered Hawk nest.  The female is sitting on the nest and
was barely visible.  It's in a great spot for viewing so we'll keep you
posted as to the progress of the nest.

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