Outing #5 - Blue Jay Point County Park

2/26/2016

I consulted my BirdsEye App for notable sightings in the area and found only one in Wake County over the past week. A Peregrine Falcon (#186 on the frequency list), probably the same one reported at Lake Raleigh a few weeks ago, was seen on the NC State Centennial Campus flying near the library. Given the relative rarity of this bird, I really should consider going to Lake Raleigh again, hoping to get lucky and see it. However, I've already made two trips to try to catch this bird and haven't been successful. I also just birded Lake Raleigh a couple of weeks ago. So instead, my plan is to spend the morning up in the Falls Lake Area, which does not appear to be heavily birded in February. A check of eBird for February hotspots in the area seem to indicate that Blue Jay Point County Park has the most species during the month, at 55 total over the past ten years. I went there last week, but only to watch birds at the feeders to try to see a Purple Finch (#118). One of the staff people there mentioned the possibility of seeing Barred Owls (#98), which I heard last time but did not see. Other species from the eBird list for the month that I haven't yet seen include Red Headed Woodpecker (#62), Hairy Woodpecker (#64), Pileated Woodpecker (#68), Osprey (#79), and Bonaparte's Gull (#103). I may also stop by the Beaverdam Reservoir Area, which has had 47 species sighted on just three checklists, including Herring Gull (#112), Horned Grebe (#116), Red Breasted Merganser (#126), and American Wigeon (#150).

2/27/2016

Well, it would appear that I should have gone with my gut instead of my head and tried to see the Peregrine Falcon. When I got home from the Falls Lake Area on Saturday, the BirdsEye App had reported the Peregrine Falcon sighted in two places: Lake Raleigh at around 11 AM, and on Mid Pines Road less than an hour before. The Mid Pines Road sighting was from the Wake Audubon Group that I could have joined, but decided not to because I had been out to Mid Pines Road recently. Perhaps it will still be there in coming weeks, but I definitely missed a good opportunity.

Instead, I went to Blue Jay Point County Park hoping to pick up an owl, a Bonaparte's Gull, or a couple of woodpeckers that I don't yet have for my list. At the feeders, I did get to see the Purple Finch again, this time the male as well as two females. One of the females is pictured at left. I hadn't seen a female before, so this was nice to see, and I was happy to get a photo through my scope. The male left the feeder after about 30 seconds, so I wasn't able to get his photo, but the females stayed for awhile. For anyone who needs this bird for a list, I saw them at around 8:30 AM and again when I returned from walking the trails around 10:30 AM. They stayed for two or three minutes each time then moved on.

In total, I saw 20 species at the park, but nothing new for the Wake County Project list. I walked the Azalea Loop until it connected to the Beaver Point Trail, then followed the lakeside trail south to Six Forks Road. The only birds I saw out on the lake by 9 AM were Double Crested Cormorants and Ring Billed Gulls, both of which I've already identified for this project. Maybe I was just unlucky. I have to say the trail was a nice one, very soft underfoot, but the bird activity along the lakeside trail was fairly minimal.

After Blue Jay Point Park, I drove to Beaver Dam Park hoping to see some of the aquatic birds that have sometimes been sighted in the area. But my luck was not in today. I drove around the park, stopping here and there to look out at the lake (where it could be seen), and didn't see anything but cormorants (such as those at left) and gulls. Later, I drove further north, hoping to find some area with a gathering of different birds, but by then it was probably too late in the day, and they had dispersed. I did manage to see four Black Vultures (#69 on the frequency list) working on a deer carcass by the roadside. I hadn't yet identified these for this project, so at least that was a new addition to the list.

61) Black Vulture (#69)


I realize now that I need to make a trip to Falls Lake earlier in the morning and try to find these aquatic birds when they are more clustered together. Hopefully I'll have a chance to give it another try before they begin migrating away for the spring.

I do have three more species to report from last week. Early in the week, I headed to Prairie Ridge Ecostation on my lunch hour hoping once again to see the American Bittern (#155) that was seen there in January. This was my third try but I was unsuccessful. However, while I was there I did see two male Red Winged Blackbirds (#38), which are not uncommon, but which I did not have on my list for this project. I also saw a Red Shouldered Hawk (#35) this week, flying over my home and calling. Again, not an uncommon bird, but one that I did not yet have on the list.

62) Red Winged Blackbird (#38)
63) Red Shouldered Hawk (#35)

My biggest accomplishment of the week occurred on Friday night. I had been wanting to try to see the American Woodcock (#161) in Schenck Forest for the entire week, but between late nights at work and bad weather, I couldn't get out there until Friday. I arrived about 20 minutes before sunset, found a likely place, and waited. Sunset was at 6:06 PM and I began to hear the call of the male Woodcock about 10 minutes later. It sounded like it was maybe 20-30 feet away, but there was no way I could see it in the low light and underbrush. After calling for what seemed like several minutes, it must have flown. Less than a minute later, I saw its outline as it came for a landing at a different spot. Almost immediately it started calling again, then after a time I saw it take off (again, just the silhouette, but I also caught a glimpse of it in flight, and heard a high pitched sound that might have been its wings, or might have been a call. I didn't see it land again, but saw it take off again a few minutes later. So I did manage to see a fairly uncommon bird over the weekend, despite the lack of success at Falls Lake.

64) American Woodcock (#161)

Next weekend I have signed up for a Wake Audubon outing at Lake Crabtree County Park. This past Saturday, a Lesser Black Backed Gull (#182) was sighted there, as it has been off-and-on all winter, along with some other birds I haven't yet seen, such as Osprey (#79), Bonaparte's Gull (#103), Herring Gull (#112), and Greater Scaup (#131).