[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

A wonderful day in the Foothills



The Foothills Bird Club had it's monthly birdwalk at Glenn Hilton Park this
morning.  There were good numbers of both birds and birders!!  The most
numerous warbler was the Tennessee Warbler---they seemed to be everywhere!
Other warblers included:  Black-throated Green, Black-throated Blue,
Yellow-throated, Yellow-rumped, Common Yellowthroat, Redstart, and a
super-fabulous Nashville Warbler who everyone got to see!!!!  He was in a
small River Birch--in the sun--and gave us all breath-taking views including
the red on his head!  Wow!  Among the other migrants still passing through
were:  Philadelphia Vireo, Wood Thrush, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Catbird,
Blue-winged Teal, and Fish Crow.  We also had some early arriving "winter"
birds!  I guess the front that came through brought them down.  We had
Ruby-crowned Kinglets, a Rusty Blackbird, a White-throated Sparrow, and a
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.

We also had several raptors put in an appearance at the park including, an
Osprey, several Turkey Vultures, an accipiter species, and a lone
Broad-winged Hawk.  We saw most of these in a matter of minutes which made
us think it could be a good "hawk-day"---so 8 of us decided to travel
northward to W. Kerr Scott Reservoir (the Mountain View Overlook) to do an
impromptu hawk watch.  Several of the group arrived ahead of us and checked
the lake around the dam first and found several Pied-billed Grebes and an
adult Little Blue Heron which was still there when we arrived!!!  The "boys"
went ahead of us "girls" to the overlook and missed a kettle of around 25
Broad-wings----wouldn't you know it?!?!!  In about two hours at the
overlook, we saw the following:  10+ Turkey Vultures, 8+ Black Vultures, 5+
Red-tailed Hawks, 3 Cooper's Hawks, 2 Accipiter species, 1 Northern Harrier,
2 Kestrels, 1 very up close and personal Merlin (you left ten minutes too
early Dianne!!) and a large kettle of gulls---probably Ring-billeds out over
the lake.  After we left the overlook, Dwayne and I stopped back by the dam
to try to positively identify the gulls---but found they had already moved
on.  We saw a flock of about 25 Blue-winged Teal come in and land near the
dam----and while scoping them out, found a female Northern Shoveler in the
mix!  Seems a little early for a Shoveler, but we guess it's getting cold up
north and their opting for our southern climate!

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