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Carolina RBA July 14 Update



hotline: Carolina Rare Bird Alert
date: July 14, 2000
number: 704-332-2473
to report: 704-332-2473 or 704-532-6336 or PiephoffT@aol.com
compiler: Taylor Piephoff for the Carolina Bird Club.

Hello, this is a July 14 update of the Carolina Rare Bird Alert featuring 
birding news from North and South Carolina , sponsored by the Carolina Bird 
Club. Highlights on this report include:

SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHERS
MISSISSIPPI KITES
WOOD STORKS
REDDISH EGRET
WHITE IBIS (inland)

The breeding pair of SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHERS south of Monroe, NC continues 
to be easily seen. Three and possibly four young have been seen in the nest 
and they will probably fledge in a few days. From Hwy. 207 in the center of 
Monroe (Hayne St), go several miles south of town on 207 to a right turn on 
Wolf Pond Rd. Take this right (still 207) and go 3.5 miles to where high 
tension power lines cross the road. Almost directly under these lines turn 
left on a gravel drive. Pass several homes, cross a creek , then immediatley 
turn right on another driveway. Go a couple of hundred yards and park just 
past a private cemetery on the right. Get out and scan the fields and fences 
for the flycatchers. The nest is in the closest metal support tower just by 
the road.

MISSISSIPPI KITES can be reliably seen in Roanoke Rapids, NC; Laurinburg, NC; 
and Newport, NC. In Roanoke Rapids, look around the intersection of 8th 
Street and Franklin Street. In Laurinburg, look around the Laurinburg 
Presbyterian Church on the King Street side. In Newport, from the 70 Bypass 
toward Morehead City, take a right at the Food Lion onto 9 Foot Rd. At the 
end turn right onto Lake Rd. Go 1/8 mile past Slaughter Rd. where there is an 
old tobacco barn. Turn right on a dirt road right by the barn. Kites perch 
often in a dead tree just past 2 houses.

WOOD STORKS can be seen in NC at the usual Sunset Beach site. Just before 
crossing the bridge onto Sunset Beach, turn right onto 179 and proceed to 2 
large lakes on the right. Look around these lakes or in the salt marshes 
across the road. Dozens of birds can usually be seen.

The west end of Sunset Beach is a reliable site in NC to find REDDISH EGRETS. 
One bird was seen July 13 far to the north at the Portsmouth Island flats in 
NC.

A new area in NC for EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES may be Sunset Beach. A dove was 
seen in the Twin Lakes area July 12. Birders should pay attention to large , 
stocky doves on power lines or rooftops.

WHITE IBIS have been widely reported from the piedmont of NC in recent weeks. 
This species disperses inland during the mid and late summer and is always 
notable in the piedmont and mountains. A single bird has been seen regularly 
at Cowan's Ford Refuge in northern Mecklenburg county (NC) for a couple of 
weeks.

Thanks this week to Greg Massey, Susan Arrington, Len Pardue, Frank Enders, 
Harrol Blevins, and S. McKeon for their calls and reports.

Taylor Piephoff
Charlotte, NC
PiephoffT@aol.com