HBSP on Jan. 14

[Jack Peachey <ppaw@sccoast.net>]

Hi Carolinabirders,
	Had a good day birding solo at HBSP.  While there I met Tim & Melanie
Kalbach, Steve & Barbara Thomas and visiting birder David Trently and his
brother from Tennessee.  Perhaps they will add the things I missed to this
list-serve.  It was high tide. Though mostly overcast the sky was bright
and the winds were gentle from the north.  I met Steve Roff who told me
that the Corps of Engineers will rebuild the eroded beach at the base of
the jetty with sand from the dredging this year of the inlet. I birded some
at the causeway, and did the jetty, and jetty pond and walked behind the
secondary dunes back to the boardwalk leading to the North parking lot. 45
species. NO GANNETS, FEW LOONS AND SEA DUCKS BUT GOOD NUMBERS OF MARITIME
SPARROWS.

Red-throated Loon-1 flyby at the end of the jetty
Common Loon-3
Horned Grebe-1
Great Cormorant-1
Double-crested Cormorant-20
Great Blue Heron-10 at the causeway
Great Egret-6
Am. Black Duck or female Mallard-2 in Mullet Pond, I lean to female Mallard
Gadwall-37 in Mullet Pond
Redhead-16 in Mullet Pond
Ring-Necked Duck-1 male in North end of Sandpiper Pond
Scoter sp-1 flyby, not White-winged
Hooded Merganser-60 most in Mullet Pond some across the road in the marsh
Red-breasted Merganser-3
Virginia Rail-1 heard briefly at north end of Sandpiper Pond.  I was using
my "very expensive, magical, imported from above the arctic circle rail
rocks" and had a response. The rocks have a marvelous tone.
Black-bellied Plover-20
Semipalmated Plover-187
Piping Plover-10
Killdeer-4 on the marsh side of the causeway
Am. Oystercatcher-17
Greater Yellowlegs-2 on the marsh side at the causeway
Willet-4 
Ruddy Turnstone-9
Sanderling-5
Western Sandpiper-47 some at the marsh and some at the jetty pond
Purple Sandpiper-69 on the jetty
Dunlin-353
Short-billed Dowitcher-198
Bonaparte's Gull-8
Ring-billed Gull-40+
Herring Gull-1 first winter bird
Great Black-backed Gull-1 first winter bird
Mourning Dove-4
Common Ground Dove-1 flushed from behind secondary dunes
Wren sp.-1 sounded Sedge/Marsh Wren like.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet-4 power line cut near the entrance
Yellow-rumped Warbler-10 heard only
N. Cardinal-1 heard near entrance
E. Towhee-3 heard only near entrance
Savannah Sparrow-10 to 20
Then there were the maritime sparrows about a dozen were flushed from the
marsh near the jetty pond but mostly from the wrack at the edge of the big
marsh behind the secondary dunes.  Three were seen well.  Two were
Sharp-tailed. Notes were taken.
Sparrow A-seen for about 20 seconds in profile and from above as it perched
closeby on the wrack "black back, broad prominent longitudinal white
stripes, strong yellow/ochre triangle around brownish auriculars, WHITE
UNSTREAKED CHEST AND BELLY! (this doesn't seem to compute with any field
guide or the article in Birding). 
Sparrow B-seen in frontal view and in profile for about 15 seconds.  Very
ochre/yellow face pattern as above bird but with narrow band of buffy/ochre
across chest with short fairly well defined streaks, buffy chin and throat,
white belly.  I took this one to be a Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow very
similar to interior race Nelson's in Sibleys guide as well as figure 5
photo in the Sibley's article in birding. 
Neither sparrow had a median crown strip so Le Conte's was eliminated.
Seaside Sparrow-1 small uniform mousy gray sparrow ran from beach grass
into the marsh.
White-throated Sparrow-4
Red-winged Blackbird-25
E. Meadowlark-5
Boat-tailed Grackle-6

Good birding,

Jack





Jack Peachey
Conway, SC