Thursday, March 5, 2020

The Doldrums (17Feb2020 - 02Mar2020)

Late Feb and early March are the Doldrums when it comes to birds.  However, I still love to get outside and get to know my common birds more intimately.



This Sandhill Crane was continuing in Beaufort on my way home from getting the Bronzed Cowbird.

After that nice pelagic weekend, it was back to reality and I had to go straight to Raleigh to host an audit for my work.  However, I was able to get my Woodcocks at Mason Farm in Chapel Hill in the evening.  Here is the checklist with audio.

https://ebird.org/checklist/S64680288

On the way home after the audit I stopped at the infamous Yates Mill Park and Mid Pines Rd.



Ruby-crowned Kinglet


Horrible Golden-crowned Kinglet pic I will need to replace soon..


Brown Creepers have been hard to come by in New Hanover County so I was pleased to get this one in Wake.


Dickcissel at Yates Mill - I actually thought this was a self found bird which technically it was because I had no idea that birders had been seeing it for the past couple weeks.


Field Sparrow


White-throated Sparrow

Other than Pelagics, I am trying to not travel much this year to chase birds.  I am trying to minimize my carbon footprint and there is something to be said about finding birds in your own county.  However, work trips or other family trips will allow me to get away a bit.


Ruddy Duck at Yates Mill


Horned Lark at Mid Pines Rd.


As far as I know Horned Larks are hard to come by in New Hanover.

Back home some weekend birding in Northern New Hanover County bagged me some year birds.



Wild Turkey - I am not a hunter, but if I was, I think Wild Turkey would be the first thing I would go for.  I love turkey!  Turkeys frequent the fields around Blue Clay Rd and are quite easy to find.

I have been chasing several photos up in northern New Hanover but have been coming up short for Vesper Sparrow and Fox Sparrow.



Northern Flickers are notoriously hard to photograph even though they are one of the few woodpeckers that forage on the ground.  They are kind of like Kingfishers in that regard.



I finally did find a Vesper Sparrow off a field on Blue Clay Rd.



Northern Shoveler at the pond in the Laurel Lea community.



House Wrens are little chatterboxes.



Shorebird party at Fort Fisher Federal Rocks



Tricolored Heron




Red-tailed Hawk at FF


Apparently the extra eyelid or nictitating membrane is vertical which gave this Red-tail a reptilian look. Did you know that birds have horizontal eyelids AND a vertical nictitating membrane? 



At the Cross-city trail on Rogersville Rd, I got a long-overdue tic with this American Crow. I saved his/her audio on my eBird checklists so you can hear what I used to ID it.
https://ebird.org/checklist/S64920698



Field Sparrow



Pileated WP also at X-city.



Eastern Bluebird at FF



Red-tailed at FF



Common Grackle - they are starting to sing like crazy.  Love is in the air.



Pine Warbler at the airport - my kids were at the laser tag place so I birded while I waited.





Wilson's Snipe - I spent one early morning this past weekend at the Battleship down town and had so much fun just slumming around and watching the birds do their thing.



Killdeer



Red-bellied WP



European Starling



Orange-crowned Warbler



Fish Crow and BT Grackle



Palm Warbler



Rusty Blackbird!



Cedar Waxwing



Boat-tailed Grackle



American Robin



Fish Crow - I made some audio recordings and posted on eBird:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S65313894



Rusty



Marsh Wren



Rusty



Vesper Sparrow at Lake Sutton Rd.  Even a Superfund site can be super fun..





Northern Mocker



Blue-gray Gnatcatcher







White Ibis at FF

I could do this for a living...  Work is killing me...

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