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Re: report from the Congaree



I also saw a House Finch at Congaree National Monument while on a field 
trip during the CBC meeting but had no idea it was a notable sighting. I 
guess it's a case of familiarity breeds contempt! I saw the bird in the 
parking lot of the Monument Office.

Jack McLain
Durham, NC

At 05:21 PM 9/30/2001 -0400, Robin Carter wrote:
>Hi C-Birders,
>
>Yesterday and today I did a bit of birding near the Congaree River, Calhoun
>and Richland Counties, SC at Congaree Bluff Heritage Preserve (yesterday, 29
>Sep 2001) and Congaree Swamp National Monument (today, 30 Sep 2001). The
>weather was fall like both days, with lows in the low 50's F. and highs in
>the 70s. F -- very different from conditions last week end at Santee, SC!
>
>Yesterday I sat at the hawkwatch at Congaree Bluff for 3.5 hours. The Black
>Vulture migration has finally begun in earnest. I had 76 Black Vultures,
>plus one each of the following (not counting obvious non-migrant local
>birds) -- Turkey Vulture, Cooper's Hawk, Northern Harrier, Broad-winged
>Hawk, and Red-tailed Hawk.
>
>Today Caroline Eastman and I were at Congaree Swamp National Monument from
>before dawn until about 10 AM. We had a fair thrush flight, landing just
>before dawn, but very few migrants in the daylight. We did find the first
>park record for House Finch, a mid morning fly-over heard along the new
>entrance road. This is the second new species for the park with the last few
>days, the other being a Eurasian Collared-Dove. This tends to indicate the
>"Invasion of the Body Snatchers"  nature of the expansion of these two
>species -- there everywhere (at least in South Carolina).
>
>Here is our Congaree Swamp NM list from this morning, from along the new
>entrance road:
>
>Black Vulture -- 2 (southbound migrants)
>Wood Duck -- 1
>Red-shouldered Hawk -- 2
>Mourning Dove -- 3
>Barred Owl -- 3
>Chimney Swift -- 5
>Red-bellied Woodpecker -- 5
>Downy Woodpecker -- 3
>Hairy Woodpecker -- 2
>Northern Flicker -- 4
>Pileated Woodpecker -- 4
>Eastern Wood-Pewee -- 1
>White-eyed Vireo -- 6
>Yellow-throated Vireo -- 1
>Red-eyed Vireo -- 1
>Blue Jay -- 2
>American Crow -- 12
>Carolina Chickadee -- 10
>Tufted Titmouse -- 20
>White-breasted Nuthatch -- 2
>Brown-headed Nuthatch -- 1
>Carolina Wren -- 16
>Ruby-crowned Kinglet -- 1 (my first of the fall; park early date is 9/27)
>Veery -- 1
>Gray-cheeked Thrush -- 4
>Swainson's Thrush -- 12
>Wood Thrush -- 8
>Northern Mockingbird -- 1
>Brown Thrasher -- 4
>Northern Parula -- 2
>Magnolia Warbler -- 4
>Pine Warbler -- 3
>Black-and-white Warbler -- 1
>American Redstart -- 3
>Eastern Towhee -- 1
>Northern Cardinal -- 8
>Rose-breasted Grosbeak -- 3
>HOUSE FINCH -- 1 (first park record!)
>
>Robin Carter
>Columbia, SC
>rcarter@sc.rr.com