Christmas in North Carolina 2006

Christmas in North Carolina
December 24-28, 2006
We didn’t land in Raleigh until 11:00 PM on December 23 so we were late getting to bed at my sister’s house in Durham after chatting for a bit. But I still managed to drag myself and Susan out of bed early on Christmas Eve to get down to Pee Dee NWR outside of Waltersboro for some birding. Near the visitor center there was one EASTERN PHOEBE and several EASTERN BLUEBIRDS. We parked next to the pond and walked a short trail there over a boardwalk. The most birds were close to the parking area. We saw YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKERS working the trees next to the parking area and hundreds of sparrows were on the lawn but mostly they were WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS and SONG SPARROWS. One lone WOOD DUCK flushed from the pond and the only bird on the pond itself was a PIED-BILLED GREBE. BLUE JAYS called from the woods and Susan spotted one BROWN THRASHER. We next walked a trail down to Pee Dee River and saw RED-TAILED HAWK, AMERICAN KESTREL, CAROLINA WREN, GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, and NORTHERN CARDINAL. Next we drove to Arrowhead Lake and walked the closed trail where we found a lone RUSTY BLACKBIRD in a tree. I was able to videotape and photograph this life bird as it walked along a branch up in a tree. We tried the historic location for Sedge Wren but came up empty. Next we went to the Gaddy Covered Bridge and found a field full of PINE WARLBERS. In this area we found many RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS working the trees along with BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCHES. Then it was time to head back to Raleigh for holiday festivities.
On Christmas Day I had planned a sunrise visit to Mason Farm in Chapel Hill but I woke up to a hard rain and decided not to get up so early after all. It rained hard all day long; the mad storm that descended on Denver a few days before had arrived in NC with a vengeance. It rained about two inches in one day. We put on our rain gear and braved a walk to the eagle platform at Jordan Lake but the trail was a virtual river under six to eight inches of water and we didn’t see much besides RING-BILLED GULL, DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, and RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET. Back at my sister’s house in Durham I was able to see more from her garage, BLUE JAY, NORTHERN CARDINAL, DOWNY WOODPECKER, TUFTED TITMOUSE, CAROLINA CHICKADEE, CAROLINA WREN, and many WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS.

On December 26 I promised to visit some friends in Wilmington, NC. I decided to get up early and make a side trip to Lake Waccamaw before our planned visits but disaster struck. We made many wrong turns on the back roads of NC getting lost repeatedly; the Birding NC book is very bad, has no maps, and has indefinite directions. By the time we arrived at Lake Waccamaw it was time to go but we did see one HERMIT THRUSH, several PINE WARBLERS, RED –BELLIED WOODPECKER, and GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET. On the way out Susan spotted an ANHINGA in the canal. As we headed down the back roads to Wilmington where my friends lived we had a flat tire which some nice men changed for us free of charge. We arrived late for lunch at Amanda and Edwin’s house on the marsh in Wilmington. After lunch Edwin’s father offered to take us out into the marsh on his boat. In the marsh we saw four HOODED MERGANERS, a few AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS, SANDERLINGS, GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS, HERRING GULLS, WILLETS, NORTHERN HARRIERS, one late GREEN HERON, and one BELTED KINGFISHER.

On December 27, I went all around Lake Jordan, the Triangle’s best birding location. I visited Big Woods Road, Forest Educational Center, Ebenezer Point, Farrington Point, and Eagle Point. I saw many of the same birds as the previous days and in addition HORNED GREBE, HOUSE WREN, BROWN CREEPER, CHIPPING SPARROW, PILEATED WOODPECKER, RED-SHOULDERED HAWK, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, and DOWNY WOODPECKER. As dusk approached I headed over to Mason Farm in Chapel Hill. You need a permit to bird this ecological reserve but I had my sister get one for me in advance of my visit. This is an odd but intriguing birding location behind a golf course of all things. Due to the heavy rains of the day before the creek was flooded but I was able to cross it into the parking area for the reserve. As dusk approached the only two remaining visitors departed leaving the reserve to me alone. It was full of sparrows, mostly hundreds of WHITE-THROATED and SWAMP SPARROWS but also a few Song Sparrows and Field Sparrows. After walking the entire 2.5 mile trail I doubled back to a weedy field as the sun descended and heard three or four AMERICAN WOODCOCKS giving their distinctive “pent” calls. I was hoping one would give a display flight but as darkness descended I gave up as I did not want to cross the flooded creek in darkness. The next day we left early in the morning out of RDU Airport. My parent’s bird bath was frozen and not even the cardinals had awoken by the time we left for the airport. It was a terrific Christmas vacation visting family and friends and seeing two life birds.
Common Loon
Pied-billed Grebe
Horned Grebe
Brown Pelican
Double-crested Cormorant
American Oystercatcher
Anhinga
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Green Heron
Turkey Vulture
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Mallard
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Black-bellied Plover
Willet
Sanderling
American Woodcock
Bonaparte’s Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Forster’s Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Eastern Phoebe
Blue-headed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown-headed Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Bluebird
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Pine Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Rusty Blackbird
Common Grackle
House Finch
American Goldfinch