Included on this page are some other spots available to local birders. If Franklin Bird Club members post a report for the area, you’ll also find it below with the most recent listed first.
June 21, 2016 along the Blue Ridge Parkway
Leaders: John and Cathy Sill
Ellen Shelton reports:
What a lovely morning to have a bird walk on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Eleven of us joined John and Cathy Sill for a drive up to Devil’s Courthouse, with a few stops along the way. At 5720’ elevation, this area is home to many species that we are not likely to see in Franklin. Not surprising for this time of year, many of the birds that we heard remained elusive and out of sight behind the thick foliage just off the pathways, but we did have good looks at Chestnut-sided Warblers, Canada Warblers, Red-breasted Nuthatch, and others. Along the trail up and down from the top of Devil’s Courthouse we were serenaded by a Winter Wren, which was one of the highlights of the day. Back at the parking lot we scanned the rock face for Peregrine Falcons, and tried hard to make a small rock into a falcon. We were about to leave when Jim heard a Peregrine call, and we all watched a pair soar by and at least one of them land on the cliff face where we had distant but clear views for quite awhile. Definitely another highlight of the day!
Our total count for the morning was 28 species identified by sight and/or sound. These were Turkey Vulture, Red-shouldered Hawk, Broad-winged Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Peregrine Falcon, Mourning Dove, Blue-headed Vireo, American Crow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Black-capped Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Winter Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet, American Robin, Veery, Gray Catbird, Cedar Waxwing, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Canada Warbler, Indigo Bunting, Eastern Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, and Pine Siskin.
Thanks, Cathy and John, for leading us on this very nice day of birding!
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2/2016 Lake Junaluska Report:
We finally made it to Lake Junaluska on Saturday, Feb. 20–and under the leadership of John and Cathy Sill we had a great morning of birding. THANKS, THANKS, & MORE THANKS to John and Cathy! The day was rather overcast, temps were mild, the water in the Lake was down, but we managed to have great views of about 32 species–our first and most exciting sight being that of TWO Bald Eagles who perched for our scopes and cameras and then flew back and forth over the lake. What a show!!! The other species were the following: Canada Geese, Mute Swans, Mallards, a Canvasback, Redheads, Ring-necked Ducks, Lesser Scaup, Buffleheads, Hooded Mergansers, Ruddy Ducks, Pied-billed Grebes, Turkey Vultures, Am.Coots, Killdeer, Mourning Doves, Red-bellied and Downy Wdps., Blue Jays, Am.Crows, Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, Carolina Wrens, E.Bluebirds, Eur.Starling, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Dark-eyed Junco, Song Sparrows, E.Towhee, N.Cardinals, House Finch, and Am.Goldfinches. I hope I haven’t left any others out–if anyone remembers another species, just send a reply. Thanks again to the Sills as well as to all who participated–and to Ruth who sent us her pictures of the Eagles!–Paula Gorgoglione
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Aug., 2015 Local birder, Chris Bogardus, sends word:
“Jackson Park in Hendersonville North Carolina is a MAJOR WARBLER TRAP this time of year, till the end of October. I can almost guarantee that any birder going there will see more fall migrants in one hour than they have seen all summer long.
Directions: From downtown Hendersonville, take 4thAvenue east, directly into the park. Parking is available at the visitor center on the left at the top of the hill. From Four Seasons Blvd (US-64), turn on Harris Street at the sign for Jackson Park. When Harris Street dead ends, turn left into the park.
And here is a website:
http://ncbirdingtrail.org/sites/2012/8/1/jackson-park.html
It is amazing, the place fills up with Redstarts, and birders with cameras the size of fenceposts.”
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June 18 Jason Love at Gibson Bottoms.
There were 6 of us who spent a lovely morning at this beautiful site: Kristin, Ann, Renee,
George, David and Jean. As usual with Jason, we saw and learned about
butterflies, snails, beetles and other creatures as well as birds. We also saw
the rare Fraser’s Loosestrife – in bloom. As we walked, George checked the nest
boxes along the edge of the field and we were able to see a variety of different
nests. Here’s the list of birds: Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed
Hawk, Mourning Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker,
White-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, American Crow, Tree Swallow, Carolina Chickadee,
Tufted Titmouse, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Carolina Wren, Eastern Bluebird, Wood
Thrush, American Robin, Brown Thrasher, Yellow-breasted Chat, Eastern Towhee,
Field Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Indigo Bunting, Red-winged
Blackbird, American Goldfinch.
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June 9, 2016 at Cabin Flats Rd. in Balsam
Leader: Larry Thompson
Ellen Shelton reports: We had a lovely morning walk with Larry Thompson in the Balsam area on Thursday. Twenty-one of us from Franklin and the Balsam/Sylva area joined Larry to walk along Cabin Flats Road. Larry pointed out many wildflowers as well as birds. Over a couple of hours we identified a total of twenty-nine species. With the fairly dense leaf canopy at this time of year more of the birds were heard than seen. The birds we identified were: Mourning Dove, Chimney Swift, N Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue-headed Vireo, Blue Jay, Common Raven, Barn Swallow, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Carolina Wren, Am Robin, Wood Thrush, Veery, Cedar Waxwing, N Parula, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Black and White Warbler, Ovenbird, Scarlet Tanager, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, E Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, House Finch, and American Goldfinch.
Thanks, Larry, for leading us on this very pleasant walk!
June 6, 2015 Larry Thompson at Cabin Flats Rd in Balsam.
Ellen Shelton reports: Saturday morning was a great day for a bird walk with Larry Thompson on Cabin Flats Rd in Balsam. It was well worth the drive to be able to walk with Larry and have him identify so many of the trees and wildflowers, as well as the birds. Six of us joined him, and together we identified the following birds: Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Eastern Wood-pewee, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue-headed Vireo, Blue Jay, White-breasted Nuthatch, Carolina Wren, Am Robin, Wood Thrush, Veery, Gray Catbird, Cedar Waxwing, Chestnut-sided, Black-throated Blue, Blackburnian, Worm-eating, Black and White, and Hooded Warblers, Ovenbird, Scarlet Tanager, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Eastern Towhee, Song Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, and Am Goldfinch. We all had particularly good looks at the Worm-eating Warbler signing, which was a special treat. Thanks for the fun morning, Larry!
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May 27, 2016 8:00 am Walnut Gap Walk
Leaders: Jim and Ellen Shelton
Ellen reports: Jim and I would like to thank everyone who came up to our house this morning for the bird walk. We always enjoy having the bird club up here, and are happy to share our higher elevation birds with you! Despite the rain that developed before the morning was over, we had a total of 19 birders and 35 species.
We were joined by John and Cathy, Michael and Renee, Paula, Pat, Sue B, Ned, Eric and Sue, B.J.,Dick, Tom and Jane, Suzanne, Rita, and Jean.
We were happy to have good looks at the Canada warbler, blackburnian warbler, and ovenbird, and even had a ruffed grouse fly across the road in front of the lead car, so a quick look at that for a few of us.
The birds that we saw/heard this morning were: broad-winged hawk, ruffed grouse, mourning dove, ruby-throated hummingbird, red-bellied, downy, and pileated woodpecker, red-eyed and blue-headed vireo, Am crow, tufted titmouse, Carolina chickadee, white-breasted nuthatch, Am robin, wood thrush, veery, gray catbird, N parula, chestnut-sided, black-throated blue, blackburnian, black and white, and Canada warbler, Am redstart, ovenbird, scarlet tanager, rose-breasted grosbeak, indigo bunting, Eastern towhee, field, chipping, and song sparrow, dark-eyed junco, pine siskin, and American goldfinch.
Join us back on the Greenway this coming Wednesday, at Big Bear, to see what we can find together!
May 29, 2015 Jim and Ellen Shelton near Walnut Creek.
Ellen reports: Jim and I were happy to have 20 eager birders from the general Franklin area join us this morning for some higher elevation birding in our neighborhood. We are at about 4300′ so the bird life here includes some species that are not seen as regularly along the Greenway in Franklin. This morning our group saw/heard the following 33 species: Broad-winged Hawk, Wild Turkey, Mourning Dove, Ruby-th Hummingbird, Red-bellied and Downy Woodpecker, E Wood-pewee, Red-eyed and Blue-headed Vireo, Am Crow, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, E Bluebird, Am Robin, Veery, Gray Catbird, Cedar Waxwing, N Parula, Black-th Blue Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Back and White Warbler, American Redstart, Ovenbird, Canada Warbler, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, E Towhee, Field, Chipping, and Song Sparrow, Pine Siskin, and Am Goldfinch. Thanks to everyone who came up to our house for the bird walk. We enjoyed having all of you, and hope you all join us in Franklin for the next Greenway walk on Wed. morning.
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May 14, 2015 Jack Johnston at Queen Branch (off Hwy 28, 7 miles north of Sanderstown Rd on the left) Jean Hunnicutt reports: Thursday was a beautiful day for watching birds – and flowers and trees and whatever else came to Jack’s mind. There were 9 of us who saw and/or heard the following: Mourning Dove, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Acadian Flycatcher, Eastern Phoebe, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, American Crow, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Chickadee, Carolina Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Eastern Bluebird, American Robin, Wood Thrush, Gray Catbird, Cedar Waxwing, Northern Parula, Magnolia Warbler, Pine Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, Ovenbird, Hooded Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, Northern Cardinal, Indigo Bunting, Blue Grosbeak, Eastern Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Orchard Oriole, American Goldfinch.
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May 9, 2015 John and Cathy Sill in the Standing Indian area.
Romney Bathurst reports: It was a near perfect day for birding – calm winds, early fog, clearing, and an enthusiastic group of 25+ from both Franklin and Highlands. Best of all, our leaders, John and Cathy Sill, were able to help us identify, by both sight and ear, 38 species, including some really “good” birds! First and most unusual was the Golden-winged/Chestnut-sided Hybrid seen by all. With luck, John got a photo of this bird so that we may be more certain of the hybrid factors: it had pale yellow wing bars, a dull golden cap, a clear breast with no chestnut sides, and a very heavily streaked back with yellow and a bit of olivey green, brown and white. Others may be able to add further descriptive features. T’was a puzzlement! We all had outstanding views of a male Magnolia Warbler in prime breeding plumage, truly eye-candy. Also in that category would have to be the male Scarlet Tanager seen so well overhead on Standing Indian Rd., with two females in attendance! Other highlights included several more warbler species, a male Indigo Bunting, and a Least Flycatcher building a very well hidden nest. Please see the list attached – corrections and additions are welcomed! Thanks to John and Cathy for sharing their expertise with us on a super morning of birding!
4/26/14 Paula Reports: This is the LATEST–our report on this morning’s walk with John and Cathy Sill at the Standing Indian area. It was like a morning in paradise–the air was cool and fresh, the skies were deep blue, and the birds were singing. We saw/heard 46 species. Of special note were Solitary Sandpipers in flight, a Least Flycatcher heard, as well as wonderful views of the Chestnut-sided Warblers, the Golden-winged Warblers, the Blackburnian Warblers, the American Redstarts, and the Ovenbirds. However, all the other “finds” were great and they were the following: Turkey Vultures, Red-tailed Hawk (seen from the car), Mourning Doves, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Red-bellied and Downy Wdps., N.Flicker, Pileated Wdp., Blue-headed Vireos, Blue Jays, Am.Crows, Barn Swallows, Tufted Titmice, Carolina Chickadees, White-breasted Nuthatch, Carolina Wrens, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Am.Robins, Wood Thrush, Veery, Gray Catbird, Brown Thrasher, N. Parula, Worm-eating Warbler(heard), Black and White Warbler, Hooded Warblers, Black-throated Blue Warblers, Common Yellowthroat(heard), Scarlet Tanagers, N.Cardinals, E.Towhees, Dark-eyed Juncos, White-throated Sparrow, Song Sparrows, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Red-winged Blackbirds, and American Goldfinches. Many thanks to John and Cathy Sill for leading this special event and thanks to all our fellow birders (about 20) who participated.
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May 5 Jack Johnston at Needmore.
Kathy Petteruti reports: 10 Birders 1 Broad-winged Hawk 1 Spotted Sandpiper 1 Mourning Dove 1 Downy Woodpecker 1 Pileated Woodpecker 1 Acadian Flycatcher 1 Eastern Phoebe 1 White-eyed Vireo 1 Blue-headed Vireo 1 Red-eyed Vireo 1 Blue Jay 1 American Crow 1 Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1 Carolina Chickadee 1 Tufted Titmouse 1 White-breasted Nuthatch 1 Carolina Wren 1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1 Eastern Bluebird 1 Northern Parula 1 Black-throated Green Warbler 1 Yellow-throated Warbler 1 Louisiana Waterthrush 1 Common Yellowthroat 1 Hooded Warbler 1 Yellow-breasted Chat 1 Eastern Towhee 1 Scarlet Tanager 1 Northern Cardinal 1 Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1 Indigo Bunting 1 American Goldfinch.
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Coweeta Hydrologic Research Lab
Leader: David Hinton
June 28, 2014: The home life of the Black-throated Blue Warbler is being studied at the Coweeta Hydrologic Research Lab in the shadow of Albert Mountain and Pickens Nose. Joanna Hatt and her staff from the University of Georgia at Athens are conducting the research. They have located over 20 active Black-throated Blue nests and are monitoring them seven days a week. Joanna led a group of nine birders from the Franklin Bird Club through her study area on Saturday morning June 28th.
Jason Love, a staff member of the Coweeta Lab, welcomed the Bird Club group. He told the birders the lab was established in 1934 to study the impact of mountain forestry practices on water quality and quantity. Coweeta Lab is operated by the Forest Service through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It collaborates with the University of Georgia and other environmental organizations to make its findings available to land managers and users across the country. The Lab covers 5,400 acres in Southwestern Macon County.
While Joanna was leading the group through her study area, 33 species of birds were identified.
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GIBSON BOTTOMS
Karen Lawrence says:
05/29/2014 at 3:36 pm Edit
Jason Love led Tom, Elena, Al, David, and Karen through the Gibson Bottoms property Thursday morning. It was a wonderful nature rambling where we listened and looked for birds, learned about some of the plant species, insects, and amphibians and reptiles. Plants inspected were the Shingle Oak, only found in bottomlands, 2 species of Wingstem in the aster family, the Catalpa Tree, which Sphinx Moths enjoy, Post Oak, Paw Paw being the host of the Zebra Swallowtail, and several invasive species such as Japanese Stiltgrass. We were shown Fraser’s Loosetrife which enjoys disturbed areas. Six species of salamanders have been found here.
Now for the birds…Canada Geese, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Mourning Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy WP, Northern Flicker, Eastern Phoebe, American Crow, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCH!, House Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Eastern Bluebird, American Robin, Wood Thrush, Northern Parula, Yellow Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, Northern Cardinal, Indigo Bunting, Eastern Towhee, Field Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, and American Goldfinch, a total of 31 species.
Thanks to Jason for a enlightening morning!
Paula Gorgoglione says:
Jason Love lead 9 birders on a wonderful walk around LTLT’s GIBSON BOTTOMS. We saw 36 species of birds as well as lots of wildflowers, butterflies, etc. The birds we saw/heard were Wood Ducks, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Mourning Doves, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Chimney Swifts, Red-bellied and Downy Wdp., N.Flicker, Pileated Wdp., E.Phoebe, E.Kingbird, Blue Jays, Am.Crows, N.Rough-winged Swallows, Tree Swallows, Barn Swallows, T. Titmice, C.Chickadees, C. Wrens, E.Bluebirds, Am.Robins, Gray Catbird, Cedar Waxwings, Common Yellowthroats, Yellow-breasted Chats, Scarlet Tanager, N.Cardinals, Indigo Buntings, great sightings of a Male and Female Blue Grosbeak, E.Towhees, Field Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Orchard Oriole, and Am.Goldfinches. Thanks to Jason Love and all our fellow birds for a great morning!!!!
from George Kaye:
Gibson Bottoms is a great place to bird! It is a property of the Little Tennessee Land Trust, open to the public. It is about 10 minutes north of downtown Franklin.
I was introduced to it during a hike led by Jason Love on May 27. I liked it so much, I said I would return, and I did. Two days ago I took my wife there, and we were the only ones there. It is slightly tricky to find, so if you want to go, call the Little Tennessee at 524-2711 for directions.
I don’t keep bird lists, but I remembered seeing 20 species. Highlights included kingfisher, kingbird, indigo buntings, black and white warbler. I saw numerous sparrows. I did not see the brown-headed nuthatch in the pine trees that we saw on May 27. Most of the birds were seen along the banks of the Little Tennessee River.
You have to realize I was there during my customary late sleeping hours of 10:30 to 1:30. Can you imagine how many birds I would have seen if I got there at normal birding hours of 8am?
I carefully checked the several bird houses along the river. 4 of them had eggs, so we should have baby birds soon.
Do yourself a favor, and go.
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LAKE CHATUGE
Feb. walk at Lake Chatuge with John
Lake Chatuge Walk: Our first birding event of 2014 was a wonderful drive/walk with John Tiernan at Lake Chatuge.
As advertised, we saw 2 Common Loons, 34 Buffleheads, 5 American Coots, 18 Hooded Mergansers, 5 Lesser Scaups, 2 Ring-bill Gulls, 26 Mallards, 14 Canadian Geese, 2 Kildeer and the added bonus of an otter.
Lake Chatuge is a beautiful location with roads circling the lake’s 128 miles of shoreline. This includes areas in both North Carolina and northern Georgia. There are many great lookout spots with ample parking and it provided 13 birders with a great chance to get up close and personal with area water fowl. A spring walk to see migratory birds sounds like a must. Thanks, John, for your time, planning, and expertise!!
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TESSENTEE BOTTOMLAND PRESERVE
May 14, 2016 Tessentee Walk
Leader: Don Hendershot
from Jean Hunnicutt:
We had a good afternoon of birding at Tessentee with Don Hendershot on May 14. On the walk were Sally, Ellen and Jim, Paula, Dick, George, Ned, Tom and Jane, Karen, Gail and Nancy, Linda and Tom, Sam and Monica, and Jean.
We started at 1:00 and the weather was windy, but with the help of Don’s good eyes and ears we were able to see/hear 38 species on a lovely walk around the property: Canada Goose, Mallard, Turkey Vulture, Black Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Mourning Dove, Chimney Swift, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Kingbird, Red-eyed Vireo, White-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, American Crow, N Rough-winged Swallow, Tree Swallow, Barn Swallow, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Chickadee, Carolina Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Eastern Bluebird, European Starling, Cedar Waxwing, Northern Parula, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Northern Cardinal, Indigo Bunting, Eastern Towhee, Field Sparrow, Red-wged Blackbird, Common Grackle, American Goldfinch.
We all agreed we’ll try to talk Don into doing the walk again in the fall.
from Paula Gorgoglione:
As most of you know TESSENTEE BOTTOMLAND PRESERVE is one of our best areas for birding. On Friday, April 27, 11 birders and Jack Johnston walked for about 2 hours and saw/heard 38 species. They were the following: Canada Geese, Wood Ducks, Mourning Doves, Downy Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Pileated Woodpeckers, E. Phoebes, E. Kingbird, Red-eyed and White-eyed Vireos, Am. Crows, N. Rough-winged Swallows, Tree Swallows, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Chickadees, Carolina Wrens, House Wrens, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, E. Bluebird, Eur. Starlings, N. Parula, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Palm Warblers, Pine Warbler, Am. Redstart, Common Yellowthroat, lots of Yellow-breasted Chats, Scarlet Tanager, N. Cardinals, Indigo Buntings, E. Towhees, Field Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows, Swamp Sparrow, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Red-winged Blackbirds, Orchard Oriole, and Am. Goldfinch.
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QUEEN BRANCH
from Angela Martin:
Report from April 24, 2014 at Queen Branch.
Happy birding, all & Thanks again, Jack.
Tufted titmouse, American goldfinch, Yellow-throated warbler, Hooded warbler, American robin, Blue-gray, gnatcatcher, White-eyed vireo, Carolina chickadee, Bluejay, Cardinal, Carolina wren, Northern parula,
American crow, Downy woodpecker, Brown-headed cowbird, Eastern phoebe, Red-bellied woodpecker
Pine warbler, Chipping sparrow,Brown-headed nuthatch, Field sparrow, Yellow-rumped warbler
Northern flicker, Yellow-throated warbler, Palm warbler, Song sparrow, Canada goose, Ruffed-winged swallow
Pileated woodpecker, Worm-eating warbler, Black & white warbler, Mourning dove, Red-eyed vireo
Black-throated green warbler and Eastern bluebird.
Paula Gorgoglione says:
Queen Branch–LTLT property about 9 miles north on Rte. 28–is a great place to go birding. On Wed., April 17, nine of us walked with Jack Johnston and saw or heard 28 species. There were Canada Geese, Wood Duck, Wild Turkey, Broad-winged Hawk, Mourning Doves, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Pileated Woodpeckers, White-eyed Vireos, Red-eyed Vireos, Blue Jays, Am. Crows, Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, Carolina Wrens, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, E. Bluebirds, Hooded Warblers, N. Parulas, Pine Warbler, Yellow-throated Warblers, E. Towhee, Chipping Sparrows, Field Sparrows, N. Cardinals, Red-winged Blackbird, E. Meadowlark, Brown-headed Cowbird, and Am. Goldfinch. A couple of usual species to the found there–the Acadian Flycatcher and the Indigo Buntings–had not returned yet.
Paula Gorgoglione says:
On May 17, there were 13 birders including our leader, Jack Johnston, who counted 34 species at LTLT’s QUEEN BRANCH. This was our list: Wood Ducks including one with eggs in a nesting box, Mourning Doves, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Red-bellied Wdp., Downy Wdp., and Pileated Wdp., great sightings of the Acadian Flycatcher, E. Phoebe, E. Kingbirds, Red-eyed Vireos, White-eyed Vireos, Blue Jays, Am.Crows, Tufted Titmice, C.Chickadees, C. Wrens, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, E.Bluebirds, Gray Catbird, Brown Thrasher, Cedar Waxwings, N.Parulas, Yellow-Throated Warblers, Black and White Warbler, Hooded Warblers, Yellow-breasted Chats, Scarlet Tanager, N.Cardinals, Indigo Buntings, E.Towhee, Field Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows, Brown-headed Cowbird, and Am. Goldfinches. Thanks to Jack Johnston and all who participated!!!!
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NEEDMORE ROAD
Paula Gorgoglione says:
Just a note to let you know what you may have missed this morning if you did not go with Jack Johnston on the Needmore Road Birdwalk. It was a beautiful, cool day with lots of sun and blue skies–as well as the following birds: a soaring adult Bald Eagle, Broad-winged Hawk, Canada Geese, Mallards, Pileated Wdps. E. Phoebes, Red-eyed Vireos, Am. Crows, Tufted Titmice, Carolina Chickadees, Carolina Wrens, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers (even found a nest), Brown Thrasher, N. Parulas, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Black-throated Green Warblers, Yellow-throated Warblers, Louisiana Waterthrush, Common Yellowthroat, Hooded Warbler, N. Cardinals, Song Sparrows, and Am. Goldfinches.
from George Kaye:
Today, I bicycled the length of Needmore Rd. I’d like to suggest it as a great birding place. I only can confirm that I sighted a half dozen species, but that is no surprise since I started at 11am, when the birds are taking their afternoon nap. I heard a lot of birds singing. There were 2 highlights: I saw a ruffed grouse, and saw the flowers of the rare mountain camellia(stewartia.) Since Jack Johnston is having his Stewartia event this week, I knew they would be in bloom. The rhododendrons are in full bloom also.
I would suggest you go after a rain, since the dust thrown up by the passing vehicles can be bad.
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