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out of the August birding doldrums



        
In an attempt to break out of the August birding doldrums, I headed to Bear
Island and environs for birding with Sharon Brown on Saturday.  Target
species were Black Terns and hopefully a large kettle of Mississippi Kites.
We did wonderfully finding the Black Terns but the only kettle we found was
a kettle of White Ibis as I drove in down I-26.  Species of note are below.

Black Tern - many birds found in a variety of plumages, from almost full
breeding plumage to almost completely white

Gull-billed Tern - at least one, sunning himself amidst the bustle of the
birds feeding around him 

Semipalmated Sandpiper 
Western Sandpipers -  While one of the muddy back corners of Mary's pond was
mostly Semipalmated Sandpipers, there were a few Western Sandpipers thrown
in to keep us on our toes.  The Blue Plate special was apparently an orange
worm of some kind as occasionally one of the small peeps would jerk his head
up sharply and tug against the reluctant invertebrate then gulp quickly
when the worm would pop out of the mud.

Lesser Yellowlegs - lots

Ruddy Turnstone - a few, some still in mostly breeding plumage

American Avocet - one, still mostly in breeding plumage, with a good bit of
rust on the head and legs still mostly blue

Short-billed Dowitcher - several of the griseus subspecies and at least
three of the hendersoni subspecies.  The three hendersoni individuals were
quite highly colored, especially in contrast to the white of the birds
around them (terns and Snowy and Great Egrets).

Among landbird migrants found were:

Tree Swallows - 300+
Barn Swallows - 100+
Bank Swallows - 100+
Cliff Swallows - 10+

While we only stopped to scan one of the powerlines that were almost sagging
under the weight of hundreds of perched swallows, we passed several
powerlines that were covered with perched swallows, lined up like wooden
clothespins side by side.

Blue-winged Warbler - 1 - this bird was heard over at Donnelly WMA where he
gave one song phrase and various chip notes in response to my squeaking

Mississippi Kite - only 1, but what a bird!  A handsome individual who sat
perched on a snag in Sharon's yard for some time, caught one dragonfly,
devoured it while perched, and shortly resumed his flight to South America

Here at home today, the biggest excitement was that the Ruby-throated
Hummingbirds were chasing both House Finches and Goldfinches who dared to
sit in  the oak trees that the hummers use for perching while not fighting
amongst themselves at the feeder.

Donna Bailey
Winnsboro, SC
e-mail: dsbailey@conterra.com
URL: http://www.conterra.com/dsbailey
     "Where are the Birds?  Migration across South Carolina"
URL: http://www.conterra.com/dsbailey/audubon	
    "Columbia Audubon Society"