Last weekend I executed a surgical strike mission to get 3 rare birds in 3 different locations separated by hundreds of miles. Usually when I tackle such lofty goals I end up missing 1 or more of them. This time it worked and probably because I was persistent and planned the stops to be realistic. In the past I have tried to tackle too much and end up running around like a chicken with its head cut off.
I left early Sunday morning and drove from Wilmington all the way up to Charlotte to get the continuing LeConte's Sparrow off Rhea Farms which is really not a farm at all. The field with the sparrows is an abandoned development surrounded by residential units and commercial properties and seems like an unlikely place for a rare sparrow but birds are weird. The fields are chock full of what I think is Broomsedge which is a native grass that birds love. The grass is actually very similar to what I have seen LeConte's Sparrows in previously at North River Farms.
LeConte's Sparrow - been a couple years since I saw one of these.
The nape with purplish lines is a clincher on ID.
My next stop was a private home in Greensboro that has been hosting a Black-chinned Hummingbird for the past couple months. This is a species of hummer I had never seen in NC but usually 1-2 are found annually. Most times they are one-day wonders or are being hosted by someone that does not want visitors.
I posted up on the side of the house in the shade and nearly froze my butt off waiting for almost an hour with no visits from any hummer. Luckily there were plenty of other birds to watch.
Blue Jay
Hermit Thrush
Dark-eyed Junco
Thats when I noticed the neighbor had a hummingbird feeder too and I started scanning back and forth between the feeders. Finally after about 1.5 hours the little sucker showed at the neighbors feeder and she invited me over for a closer look. Apparently there are multiple feeders close by so the bird is probably making rounds and I think on this day was visiting the feeders more exposed to the sun.
Black-chinned Hummingbird - to be honest, I would have had trouble telling this from a Ruby-throat which is the other more common Archilochus hummingbird east of the Mississippi. However, up here in the Piedmont, any hummingbird in the winter is a good hummingbird and worth scrutinizing. Our Carolinas hummingbird bander had already been to band this one and confirmed it as a BCHU. Luckily they only have one hummingbird so there is not confusion.
If you pressed me on the ID points they would be a longer more curved bill, club-shaped primary tips and longer wings compared to the tail. Ruby-throats usually have a more projecting tail, pointier wing tips and a straighter bill. It also exhibited a behavior which is peculiar to BCHU which is a vigorous pumping of the tail when feeding although this one admittedly mostly sat while feeding.
Next stop was the now famous Tony's house of Varied Thrush fame. Tony has been hosting a Varied Thrush for several months now and has basically opened his home (the outside of it) to anyone who wants to visit at any time and day they want. This is exceptional because Tony lives in a suburban area in Cary. I know it would be a hard sell to allow random strangers to come to my neighborhood parking on the street and walking through the yard, mainly because I don't think my neighbors would like it. Tony has a nice set up with a viewing area cordoned off and a guest book to sign. Now that I have lived in NC for over 15 years, I can say "Bless his heart" and I mean it in a good way. Tony is truly the epitome of southern hospitality, making sure to welcome and chat up with his bird gawkers. Sometimes carolinians can say that dripping with sarcasm.
Check out this Wiki entry on the saying:
"Bless your heart" is a phrase that is common in the Southern United States.The phrase has multiple meanings. It can be used as a sincere expression of sympathy or genuine concern. It can be used as a precursor to an insult to soften the blow. It is also sometimes used to mean "you are dumb or otherwise impaired, but you can't help it" by individuals who wish to "be sweet” and do not wish to "act ugly".
In 2016, Nikki Haley, then governor of South Carolina, received extensive press coverage for saying the phrase in response to an attack by presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Speaking about ex-husband Ben Affleck's large back tattoo of a rising phoenix, Jennifer Garner said, "You know what we would say in my hometown about that? 'Bless his heart.'
Pine Siskin - Hordes of siskins have descended on poor Tony's feeders.
Varied Thrush - it took a while but "Sunny" showed up!
I was on such a roll and already 3 for 3 and it was still relatively early so I decided to head over to the Big Lake at Umstead. I did see the Common Goldeneye off way on the other side of the lake but didn't count it as I wanted a decent picture. However, there were other closer birds.
Hairy Woodpecker! Hairy WPs are actually pretty tough to get so I was happy to leave and drive home after this.
Wow! 8 hours of driving and 3 really solid birds to add to the year list. Was it worth it? Depends who you ask, but I think so.
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