[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Golden Eagle(s) in western NC
- To: CAROLINABIRDS <carolinabirds@duke.edu>
- Subject: Golden Eagle(s) in western NC
- From: Bill Sanderson <billsanderson@earthlink.net>
- Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 20:20:50 -0400
- Delivered-to: pardo@metalab.unc.edu
- Sender: carolinabirds-owner@acpub.duke.edu
- User-agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Win98; en-US; rv:0.9.4) Gecko/20011128 Netscape6/6.2.1
On September 27, a 2nd year Golden Eagle flew by the overlook at the
Mount Pisgah Hawk Watch. The eagle offered a beautiful, close-range
look at it's back, flanks, and belly. ID is certain, verified by myself
and by Ray Sharpton, both of the Mt. Pisgah watch group.
Yesterday, Ray was holding down the fort at Pisgah and saw another
Golden Eagle. This one was farther out, and the range made it
impossible to be certain if it was the same bird seen earlier or another
individual. Again, there was no question as to the species of this bird.
Whether this was a "new" bird or the same individual, it is clear
that at least one Golden Eagle has been in the area recently. We
normally don't see goldens here until November, so both of these
sightings are mighty early.
I had a report from a reliable observer last fall that a golden
was seen at the Devil's Courthouse overlook. I didn't record the date
of this report, but I believe it was in late October. I was skeptical
due to the early date. The week before we saw the Sept. 27th bird, I
got a report that two experienced birders (names unknown to me) had seen
a golden at Mt. Mitchell. I was again skeptical due to the early date.
It is now apparent that my skepticism was unfounded.
The the most reliable spot in this area for goldens is the
Shining Rock Wilderness area southwest of Asheville during late
November and December. Access is usually limited since the Parkway is
typically closed for ice by then. This, then, may represent an
unusually good opportunity for interested folks to get a NC Golden
Eagle. My hunch is that the bird(s) is(are) camped out in Shining Rock
Wilderness area, feasting on the as-yet-unhibernated groundhog
population. Spending some time at the Black Balsam trail head glassing
the adjacent valleys and peaks may be worthwhile for folks looking for
this eagle. I have not had time to get down there, yet, but would be
happy to hear from anyone who has been in the area lately.
Good luck.
Bill Sanderson
Asheville, NC