Authored by Phil Doerr.
June, and the distractions of our exciting and often very colorful spring migrants arriving and passing by in waves overnight is mostly over, so now we can concentrate on our nesting or soon to be nesting locals. “Birdcast.info” has completed the spring 2023 run with, often stunning, nightly radar displays of the millions of birds that pass over us on their way to northern nesting habitats. Not to be outdone, our Bird of the Year (BOTY) the American Goldfinch is arguably the most colorful of our local breeding birds. (Northern Cardinals may beg to differ!)
American Goldfinch male, breeding plumage. Photo by Bob Oberfelder
With summer truly here, American Goldfinches are now focused on nesting and the number of courtship chases we began to observe in May is increasing. Pairs are getting serious about locating nest sites, and females will soon begin nest construction, requiring 6-7 days. They’ll look for dense shrubby thickets, and wooded edges in which to work their magic of twig placement and weaving of spiderweb into a sturdy yet soft but strong cup lined with some of the same downy material collected from thistles and milkweeds. Another few days for egg laying follows with about 2 weeks of incubation before synchronous hatching takes place. Then it’s all high intensity seed collection to stuff the always open mouths demanding to be filled with thistle and other seeds. After 2 weeks as nestling the youngsters “fledge” (leave the nest). They remain in the care of dear old dad another few days while they perfect flying abilities and learn how to locate seeds! With fledging, Mom, sometimes moves on to another partner and another nesting cycle which increases her annual and lifetime productivity, and that in part compensates for the fact goldfinch females are out-numbered by males in the population.
Goldfinches are among the latest nesting of our locals, because they are almost exclusively seed eaters, and hold off the energy sapping breeding effort until summer, when native annual and perennial plants are mature, producing lots of nutritious seeds. Goldfinch beaks and their acrobatic ability to dangle on vegetation render them especially adapted to extracting thistle, teasel and other small seeds from mature seed heads. Native asters and sunflowers are seed favorites as well.
To help American Goldfinches we are reminded of the importance of pollinator gardens with native asters, coneflowers, and that we can replace part (or all!) of our lawn with natives! Pollen, seed producing wildflowers, plus native trees (esp. oaks!) make for a healthy wildlife friendly habitat around our homes.
As with many small songbirds, goldfinches are occasionally parasitized by Brown-headed Cowbirds, which leave their eggs in the nests of a “host” species to raise their chicks. The victimized birds don’t seem to recognize the intrusion and feed cowbirds chicks rather than their own. Furthermore, host species chicks are typically booted from the nest by cowbird chicks, and they die. Unlike for many parasitized songbirds, however the “just outcome” here favors the goldfinches. Because goldfinches are adapted to bring only seed to their chicks the cowbird chicks which require animal protein in the form of “bugs” and spiders to thrive, soon starve.
During June, Keep an eye for goldfinch behaviors such courtship chases and males singing from conspicuous perches suggesting nesting is imminent.
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May 31 ended our 2023 Lights Out Wake! Campaign, but September will initiate the return south flight beginning for many birds and when we will again need to think about dimming the outdoor lights and encouraging building managers to do the same 11pm-6am ‘til November30!
Thanks for what you do to conserve birds and all wildlife! It is the way…
Phil Doerr, Wake Audubon Board ([email protected])
Authored by Phil Doerr
The Bird of the Year, American Goldfinch, is a frequent visitor to our late winter feeders, which you may have noticed, often sharing the largess with purple finches this year. So, keep the “nockies” handy to check out your finches! Have purple finches joined, or even supplanted the house finches? Your ever reliable goldfinches will most likely “weather” the purple storm and mingle readily with these boisterous groups.
American Goldfinch female enjoying an icy winter perch (photo by Bob Oberfelder)
But Wait! Be alert! You may recall, that a worrisome, and potentially dangerous situation can develop among these birds when they mob our feeders. Mycoplasma gallisepticum is a bacterium causing respiratory disease in several bird species, including goldfinches!. Mycoplasmosis is especially prevalent in house finches, presenting as red, swollen and crusty eyes. Birds mobbing feeders may, unfortunately, “share” the disease by rubbing against feeders, where infected birds have fed. In harsh weather there may be significant losses, but many birds do recover infection.
So, what do we do? Mainly we keep alert! Watch your birds feeding, relish their beauty and enjoy their behavioral interactions and displays. Learn the secrets of goldfinch plumage change, because “any minute” some males will begin brightening and incorporating some bright yellow in fresh feathers. This awareness also allows us to detect the appearance of Mycoplasma (or other diseases) in any of our finches so we can react! Once detected there are several things to do:
1-Take the feeders down, and clean thoroughly with disinfectant.
2-Keep feeders down for 2 weeks (but no worries, the birds will return within hours of restarting feeding.
3-Contact Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology at Project Feeder Watch (feederwatch.org) to report the disease and perhaps the join the Lab’s Feeder Watch program and learn about the science of bird feeding.
4-When re-starting your feeder program consider increasing the number of feeders, or spreading them to reduce crowding and hence disease transmission. Consider avoiding tube feeders as there are data suggesting this configuration enhances opportunities for disease transmission as birds rub against the feeder while actually feeding. Table feeders can present similar hazard.
5-Plan to take feeders down once a week or so to thoroughly clean, disinfect, and dry.
6-Keep the area underneath feeders clean and free of waste, hulls, droppings etc.
7-Clean and disinfect any water features/baths regularly.
Now here’s another alert. Do not remove or cut out any of the long dead plant stems from last year’s pollinator gardens, flower beds, or so-called “weeds”, and don’t mess with the ground level detritus! Don’t do it!! -Not until spring is really truly here! This is really important !More next month!
Thanks for checking us out! Keep watching our American Goldfinches and all their winter buds!
Authored by Phil Doerr
In winter, American Goldfinch females and males really look alike, as males drop the very distinctive black wing feathers and brilliant yellow body plumages. By now (February) males have molted and replaced the bright yellow body feathers of late August w/ the drab plumage that will see them through winter. Females do the same but it’s not so noticeable! It’s a definite advantage to be less visible to predators as the birds forage leafless treetops and fields in groups of a dozen or more. Some winters when we have “finch years” goldfinches may be seen in tree tops or at feeders, in the company of a hoard of pine siskins. Siskins are by comparison a bit smaller, and with some yellow wing and tail feathers that contrast with a streaky brown head and body.
Male American Goldfinch in Winter
Female American Goldfinch in Winter
Goldfinches (and other finches) that regularly visit our thistle seed and sunflower feeders in winter are known from banding studies to make the rounds of available feeder stations within a 4-mile radius. This behavior seems to decrease the likelihood that the birds will encounter an empty feeder! This semi-nomadic behavior also keeps the birds moving about in more natural agricultural and woodlot areas with seed producing grasses, forbs, wildflowers and a variety of “weeds”. In flight, groups can be heard vocalizing their “potato chip” call. Keep an eye out for these wonderful winter wanderers and see if you tell the males from the females at winter feeders.
Cautionary… There’s a downside to the observed finch behavior we’ll consider next month
Thanks for caring for the birds, they do tell us to “Act on Climate!” Spread the word!
6. Tell your local government about your commitment to vultures and vulture-safe practices.
Turkey Vulture photo by Bartow
Black Vulture photo by Bartow
Authored by Erik Thomas and Liling Warren. All photos by Liling.
On March 27, board members Erik Thomas and Liling Warren traveled to Robeson County to conduct some bird counts. The bird counts were for two projects, monitoring of the Lumber River Important Bird Area (IBA) and the NC Bird Atlas. The Lumber River IBA has pre-designated stops along local roads at which counters list all birds seen or heard within a ten-minute period, with notes on how far away each bird was and when during the ten-minute period the bird made itself known. All of these stops lie in the lower part of the watershed of the Lumber River. The NC Bird Atlas, conversely, has all of North Carolina divided into rectangular blocks of land whose edges are several miles long. The aim of the NC Bird Atlas is to document breeding and wintering birds found in each block. One sixth of all the blocks are designated as “priority blocks,” those in which a more concerted effort is to be made in order to complete a thorough inventory of birds that dwell there. Observations of breeding behaviors are especially important. The ten-minute time limit does not apply to NC Bird Atlas counts. However, counting for the NC Bird Atlas will take place from March, 2021, through February, 2026, whereas the Lumber River IBA is a continuous project with no set termination.
The two counters spent the morning counting at Lumber River IBA sites. Because these spots all lie in bottomland areas, the birds that occur there are those that occur near water, along rivers or in swamps. We found a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher nest, frescoed with lichens as is typical of that species. White-eyed Vireos were already back from the tropics and singing. We did exceptionally well with warblers, coming across eight species: Black-and-white, Prothonotary, Common Yellowthroat, Northern Parula, Pine, Yellow-throated, Yellow-rumped, and Prairie. It was surprising to see Prothonotary Warblers so early in the spring, but apparently they now reach the southern part of the state, where Robeson County is situated, in late March.
In the afternoon, we shifted to counting on upland sites for the NC Bird Atlas. Chipping Sparrows and Eastern Bluebirds were plentiful. We also encountered a pair of Loggerhead Shrikes and a Horned Lark. The most exciting find of the day, however, was a Swallow-tailed Kite that was heading northward as we stood in the Marietta Cemetery. Swallow-tailed Kites are magnificent birds—and virtually impossible to mistake. You can enjoy some of Liling Warren’s fine camera work of the kite and other birds here. For the entire day, we completed 21 counts, 10 of which were at Lumber River IBA sites. We entered all 21 in the NC Bird Atlas, and of those, 12 were in priority blocks.
authored by Erik Thomas
On June 15, I conducted some bird counts at the Lumber River Important Bird Area (IBA), which the Wake Audubon Society monitors. Counting consists of stopping for ten minutes at designated spots and making a record of all birds seen or heard. All of the sites in the Lumber River IBA are wetland habitats. This time, however, I decided to do something a little different. I counted at six of the designated sites along Ashpole Swamp, which parallels the South Carolina border a few miles away, and six other spots at nearby upland sites that are not designated locations.
The contrast in birdlife between the bottomland sites and the upland sites was striking. Down in the bottomlands, birds of wooded swamps were plentiful. I heard Yellow-billed Cuckoos at several sites, Red-shouldered Hawks at a few, and various kinds of woodpeckers. Blue-gray Gnatcatchers were easy to find, and I heard—but only occasionally saw—quite a few Carolina Wrens and some Acadian Flycatchers. Prothonotary Warblers, Northern Parulas, and Yellow-throated Warblers were actively defending territories. Here and there a White-eyed Vireo chattered. There was even a flock of Wood Storks passing overhead.
Northern Parula. Photo by Ed Schneider
Yellow-throated Warbler. Photo by Chris Wood Glamor
Just up the hill from the swamp, however, the birds changed dramatically. Three members of the icterid family—the Eastern Meadowlark, Orchard Oriole, and Red-winged Blackbird—appeared there. Indigo Buntings were singing at several spots, and Northern Mockingbirds guarded yards throughout. Mourning Doves sat on power lines or flew by nearly everywhere. Cattle Egrets were attending a group of steers at one site and a Chipping Sparrow was singing heartily at another. Most impressively, a congregation of Mississippi Kites—I counted nine, but there may have been more—was sailing over some fields.
Indigo Bunting at Yates Mill Park. Photo by Bob Oberfelder.
Eastern Meadowlark
If you’d like to see more details, I’ve uploaded all the counts I did to eBird. One additional sighting I had was a series of realtor signs in Ashpole Swamp. It seems that most of the swamp is for sale. It’s too wet to develop for housing (fortunately!), but logging interests may want to pounce on it. It would be desirable if the state or an environmental organization could acquire this valuable and extensive habitat, perhaps to be added to Lumber River State Park at some future date.
–Erik Thomas
Authored by John Gerwin
A significant element of the Nicaragua economy is based on coffee exports. Based on numerous surveys, a significant number of birds thrive among the vegetation found in traditional coffee farms and there are many such farms in northern Nicaragua. On a traditional farm, the coffee bushes are planted under the canopy of taller trees. Those trees can be a broad mix of native species, or a mix of native and fruit/nut bearing trees, or even a single species. Although a forest consisting of a mix of native species is preferred, even one of only a layer of the Flowering Inga can provide food and “lodging” for a suite of birds. And of course, coffee growing/harvesting/processing is a form of agriculture, and this suite of activities yields employment for many people.
Coffee from Finca Esperanza Verde
One of those jobs is the “cortador”, or harvester; a.k.a coffee picker. Well, the person is not picking “coffee” but rather, coffee beans. And technically, coffee fruit, called a “cherry” because the typical fruit is a bright red color when it is mature. Finca Esperanza Verde is located in the north-central highlands of Nicaragua. In these parts, the coffee cherries mature between December to mid-February. Some bushes will continue to yield ripe fruit into early March, at higher elevations. The cherries on a given bush do not all ripen at once. Thus, pickers will re-visit bushes several times during the harvest season.
Another critical element of life here is the machete. In Spanish, the verb
Twins with machetes
“cortar” also means to cut. Here our Young Naturalists learn the importance of knowing homonyms (“twin” words).
On a traditional coffee farm, the cherries are picked by hand. In some places, the pickers cheat a bit and strip all the cherries off, discarding unripened ones. This is a bad technique for two reasons. It wastes those unripened fruits that would continue to ripen if left on the bush; and it damages the stem where the cherry had been attached and this can cause that part of the bush to not fruit again. So, on a farm that is designated, or strives to be, sustainable, pickers are not allowed to use that technique. Each farm employs a “coffee manager” who oversees how the picking is done and how it is proceeding each year, which ensures compliance. At FEV, a coffee cherry is picked, one by one. As you can imagine, this is a laborious process.
In this photo of coffee cherries, red are ripe, green or ‘reddish’ are still ripening.
Coffee bush with cherries at different stages of ripening
To get a sense of just how laborious, I asked Vanessa and Olivia to give it
Getting a basket and instructions
a try one morning. We set out with Luis, the resident coffee “mandador” on a bright sunny morning in mid January. Luis helped them attach the baskets around their waists that local pickers use. Two sizes can be found – the women got a size that holds about 15 pounds of coffee cherries. With baskets tied around their waists followed by a quick introduction to picking, it was time to get to work. Each spent the next hour tugging, pulling, and twisting away.
When a basket is full, a worker will empty it and return to pick more. At the end of a day, her coffee haul is weighed and she is paid for the day. In the Matagalpa region and provinces to the north, most of the pickers are women. Different folks have told me that the women have better dexterity and concentration. And as is the case in most cultures, their focus is on providing for the family. Pickers may move around a province, or remain in a smaller area, perhaps working a few farms. But the work is considered “migratory”. Often, women bring their children along (there is no school in January; also a Fair Trade certified farm cannot allow children at all). When a social cproblem arises among a group of pickers it tends to be testosterone-driven, exacerbated by alcohol abuse. Thus, overall, women are preferred.
Thus, I felt it was best to just have Vanessa and Olivia do the picking while I watched and took photographs……. I’m sure you would all agree.
Our Young Naturalists now hard at work (yet still smiling)
Picking coffee
Picking coffee
A skilled picker will pick enough coffee cherries to yield 130-160 pounds. In January of 2017, a picker will receive 200 cordobas (Nicaraguan currency) for 130 pounds picked, which is nearly $7 USD at this time. And so, after one hour, Vanessa and Olivia ended their coffee-picking session and it was time to weight the fruits of their labors.
So how did our industrious Young Naturalists fare? Will they earn enough to eat dinner tonight? More importantly, will they earn enough to feed their mentor Juancito dinner tonight?
Coffee cherries picked when ripe
Olivia and Vanessa with the coffee cherries they harvested
Each picked about 3 ½ pounds. After doing some complicated math, we come to the realization that we will all be going to bed hungry tonight. They have each earned about $0.10 in one hour, so if they were to work a 10-hour day, they would each get $1 USD. Of course, with enough time, practice, and putting their deXXterity and concentration into play, I’m sure they would soon be up to the more livable $7 USD/day. That is livable right? Parents’ wishes notwithstanding, I ask each if they would like to come back and be a seasonal coffee picker, or go home and on to college – for now, they will go to college. It’s nice to have such choices.
Picking coffee fruit is only the beginning of a very detailed, laborious, multi-multistep process in getting fresh beans to your local roaster. I won’t go into all those details (you can find a lot written and described online). Suffice it to say, to produce really good coffee beans requires a lot of hands-on work, with an eye towards minutiae. Good coffee is expensive and I understand why. I wish the people in Nicaragua were paid more, but that’s how the market works. In the end, I’m grateful for the opportunity to enjoy good coffee, and the birds I love (both at home and in the tropics). And once/year visit my second family here at Finca Esperanza Verde (Green Hope Farm).
Emerald Toucanet at Finca Esperanza Verde, Nicaragua
John Gerwin is Treasurer of Wake Audubon and
Research Curator, Ornithology, NC Museum of Natural Sciences
All photos are by John.
Authored by John Gerwin, Treasurer, Wake Audubon
Research Curator, Ornithology, NC Museum of Natural Sciences
I have been visiting Nicaragua since 2005. It is a country with wonderful birds, coffee and lovely people. I was invited by Dave Davenport and John Connors, who had been co-leading some ecotours to Nicaragua since 2000. They had helped a group out of Durham (Sister Communities of Durham/San Ramon=SCDSR) to set up trails and cabins for a tourist operation at a restored shade-coffee farm, called Finca Esperanza Verde (FEV), near the town of San Ramon in Matagalpa province. I was asked to initiate some bird-banding and add to their bird-watching activities and I confess I was leery of going. But after just one visit, I was smitten. For the next 7 years we did 1-2 tours/year, during March, mostly with classes from North Carolina State University or Guilford College. In 2012 FEV was put up for sale. At that time, I had two new graduate students and decided to take them to another farm north of FEV to do some studies on Golden-winged and Wilson’s warblers – two species found to be fairly common in several coffee farms in northern Nicaragua. In 2013, FEV was sold to new owners but SCDRN remained active in supporting the local community and offering its own tours. Dave, John, and I have continued to bring tour groups down each year.
We have helped to train Humberto and Omar, shown below, to be nature guides & excellent birdwatchers. Donations from recent trip participants and a generous discount from Tracy at the Wild Bird Center in Chapel Hill, paid for the purchase of 2 new pairs of Nikon binoculars.
John Connors and John Gerwin flank Humberto and Omar.
John Gerwin. and Dave Davenport give a (feeble) shout out to ecotourism.
The Golden-winged Warbler (GWWA) is a species now quite threatened. Population numbers have declined dramatically in the past 20 years. As is often the case, we do not fully understand why – there are numerous factors involved. And like many (I suppose most) migrants, the Golden-wing spends 5-6 months in Central or South America. And so, to do effective conservation work, there is an International coalition of biologists who are working together to get, and share, as much data as we can about GWWA, across the species entire range (that is, breeding, migration, and non-breeding).
Male Golden-winged Warbler Color-banded
My now-former student and I returned to FEV in 2014 to continue our studies of the GWWA. We have continued tagging individual warblers with color bands/rings, radio transmitters, and in 2015, geolocators. The radio transmitters allow us to track individual birds over very short distances/areas – the radio signal transmits about 500 meters from the bird to our receiver. With this technology we can find tagged birds and observe behaviors, e.g. how they feed, where they feed, who they are with, how much space they use, and more. In 2015 we were invited to participate in a multi-country effort to put a different type of tag on individuals of this species, that would track and record their migration. These are called geolocators. The units are solar-powered and last for up to one year. The units are attached using degradable thread tied in a figure-8 harness. They take many measurements each day to record the length of daylight, the date and time of day. These data can be used to estimate the location of the bird at the time of the recording because daylength varies by latitude and of course, changes as the seasons do. The units record the data – they do not transmit it – so the device must be recovered in order to download the data. To do that, we have to return to where we first caught the birds and try to recapture them. We have documented that 30-50% of the GWWA’s banded in one year will return to the same site the next, which makes this species a good candidate for the use of geolocator technology. The geolocator technology is not perfect. The accuracy of the point locations is good but not great (about 50 miles). But when a bird is migrating from say, Nicaragua to Pennsylvania, a 50 mile accuracy is good enough. If the solar panels can get covered by feathers, or debris; or if the bird spends a lot of time in denser vegetation, these can negatively affect the data collection.
A male Golden-winged Warbler wearing a geolocator.
In 2015 we deployed 5 geolocator units. In 2016, I received a small grant to return with more help, and more units. Our work at Finca Esperanza Verde is part of a multi-country effort in collaboration with scientists at Indiana University at Pennsylvania (Dr. Jeff Larkin); Cornell University (Ruth Bennett, Ph.D. candidate); the American Bird Conservancy; Audubon NC; and Jaguar Reserve & Ecolodge north of here. In addition, Jeff and Ruth are working with scientists in Panama, Costa Rica, and Honduras to deploy geolocators as well.
In February of 2016, 4 of us went to FEV where we recaptured one of the birds from 2015 and deployed 18 more units on 17 GWWA and one Brewster’s Warbler (a hybrid between GWWA and Blue-winged Warbler). We also visited a coffee farm just north of FEV and put geolocators on 3 warblers. In November/December I sent two of my technicians back and they recovered 5 of the 18 at FEV – they did not have time to visit the other site. We received news that the unit from 2015 failed at some point in its life – the principle investigator of this project was unable to recover any data from the unit. This was disappointing news but is a typical event in the world if research – it’s always one flap forward and two flaps back. Jeff and Ruth are receiving units from the other countries. Hopefully a good number will provide data and by this summer, we will have generated a handful of migration maps, and we’ll know where the birds from each country went to breed.
My two technicians also discovered more disappointing news. Many of the areas where we had captured the other birds that we had tagged in February, were occupied by new birds (unbanded). We don’t know if “our” tagged birds had gone to another area after being “asked” to carry this device around for a year, or if they had not yet arrived, or just what. The devices weigh 5% of the birds’ body weight – studies of birds carrying different weights have determined that 5-6% is the upper limit for an individual bird (so we don’t exceed 5%). But there could be other factors that affect a given bird, using this technique, that we don’t fully understand yet. So to be thorough, I came down in January, along with two Wake Audubon Young Naturalists, Olivia and Vanessa Merritt, to double check the FEV site, and visit that one other site to the north.
Olivia and Vanessa are twin sisters who have worked with me for nearly 5 years, assisting with field and museum work. They are quite experienced at putting up the nets we use to capture birds, at tagging/measuring/releasing birds, and other field tasks as needed. They recently spent 10 weeks in Spain, where their grandmother lives. While there, they assisted with some migration/bird banding on Gibraltar island and during a 4-day period there were so many birds around that each of them removed ~250 birds from the nets – that’s a lot of birds in 4 days. So down we came, on January 3rd, to re-visit areas and assess the situation where the warblers hold territories. Another aspect of our study is to see if birds remain on territory during this non-breeding season. From similar work with Wood Thrush, we are finding that individuals seem to roam during the non-breeding season. And many do not return to the site where they were banded. I have banded many Wood Thrushes here at FEV but over the years, have not recaptured any. But in years past, a handful of our banded GWWA have returned and remained at least into March, so we’re trying to piece together this element of the species life history.
Vanessa clings to her first captured GWWA
Olivia poses with her first captured GWWA
Our Young Naturalists returning from a successful warbler-banding venture
John discovers another pair of twins and the finca
My first two field techs banded ~20 male and 3 female GWWA’s in Nov/Dec, but reported that there are still unbanded Golden-wings on the property. So we will now try to capture/band as many of those as we can. Another element of our research is to band and monitor these birds for as many years as we can, to learn what we can about which ones return, and for how many years (some migrants we’ve banded in NC returned up to 10 years). So far this trip (in two weeks) we have not found any more of the birds from last year. We will continue to tag with bands (rings, really) any new birds we can capture.
Vanessa and Olivia will also do some GPS (Global Positioning System) work to help create detailed digitized maps of the property (to outline the coffee plots, the forested plots, and other features on the landscape). We are also creating some educational documents that highlight the birds that visit the banana and hummingbird feeders. This farm has some nice cabins that can house up to 28 visitors and there are many tourists that visit between December and April of each year. So we are creating some educational material about both the resident and migratory birds that visit the feeders and are easily observed by the tourists.
Coffee is an important product for many people – those who grow it, those who export it, those who roast it, and those of us who drink it. Small “traditional” farms grow their coffee plants in the shade of taller native trees and those trees provide habitat for many birds. Thus, there are two strong connections between a place like northern Nicaragua and North Carolina: the coffee we crave, and the migratory birds we love. And now we have a third connection: a number of these coffee farms provide lodging and guides who are here to showcase the plants and animals, and the coffee process, to anyone who wishes to visit. Birdwatchers/nature lovers are a welcome addition to the economy of this region.
In subsequent posts, I will share a few adventures and discoveries during our time here. I will post images of some bird species that are local residents and which ar very much like some of our own residents, along with some familiar migrants. I will also describe the coffee-picking effort of Olivia and Vanessa and explain why they earned a whopping $0.25 (each) for their one hour of labor. So, make like our favorite local animal here, the sloth, and hang around.
Sloth at Finca Esperanza Verde
Photos by John Gerwin except first photo by Dave Davenport.
Authored by Erik Thomas.
Two members of the Wake Audubon Society board, Colleen Bockhahn and Erik Thomas, conducted bird counts in the Lumber River Important Bird Area (IBA) on May 1 and 2. IBA’s are areas that provide especially extensive areas of prime bird habitat and may harbor uncommon or rare species. Audubon North Carolina has entrusted the Wake Audubon Society with monitoring the Lumber River IBA, which covers much of the eastern half of Robeson County. Designated points are established at which the counts take place. Counting follows a protocol in which counters record the numbers of each species they see or hear within a ten-minute period and approximately how far away each bird was from the point. WAS members have been monitoring the Lumber River IBA for the past nine years.
The primary goal of this trip was to find migrants. We found a few transient species during the trip: two Black-throated Blue Warblers, an American Redstart, several Black-and-white Warblers, and one Spotted Sandpiper. For the most part, however, we found local breeding species, in which the Lumber River IBA is notably rich. The bottomland forest warbler triumvirate of Prothonotary Warbler, Northern Parula, and Yellow-throated Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler
Northern Parula. Photo by Ed Schneider
Yellow-throated Warbler. Photo by Chris Wood Glamor
was ubiquitous. Yellow-billed Cuckoos, Acadian and Great Crested Flycatchers, Pileated Woodpeckers, Barred Owls, Red-shouldered Hawks, and three species of vireos were frequent. We heard Swainson’s Warblers at three different count points. Even a few Wild Turkeys materialized. Perhaps our biggest surprise was a Wood Stork that was soaring overhead at one count point. One species that we did not find was the Red-headed Woodpecker, a bird that has appeared on many of our previous trips to the Lumber River IBA. Our total for the IBA on this trip was 73 species.
The records for all of the point counts are entered into a website that Audubon North Carolina keeps. Although this website is not publicly accessible, we also entered all the counts on eBird, so if you’re curious about what species we found at each site, just go to the eBird website (http://ebird.org/content/ebird/), click on “Explore Data,” and click on “Species Maps” to see any species or “Explore Hotspots” to see any of the individual points, which are designated as “Lumber River IBA D-01,” “Lumber River IBA D-02,” etc.
Authored by John Connors
The Raleigh Christmas Bird Count was held on December 19, 2015. It was clear and chilly…a marked change from what had been an extended mild autumn season. Sixty-seven participants were distributed in twenty teams scattered across the top birding spots in southern Wake County. Our Raleigh Christmas Bird Count has taken place in this same 15-mile diameter circle since 1937. The Count Circle center is at the Farmer’s Market along Lake Wheeler Road.
This year we had groups owling at Schenck Forest, Mid-Pines and Lake Raleigh; and one pair of intrepid birders took a pre-dawn paddle into the upper reaches of Lake Benson. Most groups assembled around 7 am and birded through the morning. For those who could make it, we got together for our mid-day Countdown at Yates Mill Pond County Park.
All told we tallied 99 species of birds for the Raleigh Christmas Bird Count- a pretty good count for our area these days. Years ago the Raleigh CBC would regularly top 110 species, but nowadays we hope for 100.
Highlights for this year’s Raleigh Count include:
1 Red-necked Grebe seen by boat at Lake Benson, 3 Redhead Ducks at Lake Wheeler, 1 Northern Harrier at Schenck Forest, 1 Horned Lark and 40 American Pipit along Mid-Pines Road, 2 Common Raven at Umstead State Park, 1 Blue-headed Vireo at Walnut Creek Wetland Center, and 1 Orange-crowned Warbler at Lake Raleigh. The American Bittern made an appearance at Prairie Ridge Eco-station, and an incredible 11 Bald Eagles were seen at various locations across the Count Circle. Other notable species which may have lingered in our area during the warm fall weather include: 2 House Wren, 1 Gray Catbird, 2 Palm Warbler, and 1 Common Yellowthroat. A total of 11 Fox Sparrow (mostly at Schenck), 3 White-crowned Sparrow, and 13 Rusty Blackbird were also seen. In addition, 12 Baltimore Oriole, most at Lena Gallitano’s feeders, were tallied. Winter finches were noticeably absent- only 3 Purple Finches were seen.
More worrisome were the low numbers for Loggerhead Shrike (1), and Eastern Meadowlark (7). Bobwhite Quail may have disappeared from the count circle entirely. Perhaps the oddest miss was for the Fish Crow- the first time in many years where none was reported. Of course years ago the species was very rare here. Not to worry, they are now a common breeding bird and as I finish writing this post I can hear some outside my office window.
Thanks to all those who participated and particularly to those who worked as site leaders. John Connors
All Christmas Bird Count data can be viewed at:
<https://www.audubon.org/conservation/science/christmas-bird-count>
Bald Eagle at Shelley Lake. Photo by Bob Oberfelder