Outing #9 - Lake Lynn Park

05/08/2016

I was reading through the Wake Audubon Meetup notices a few days ago and saw a post that said Lake Lynn Park has had 12 different species of warblers reported in the past couple of weeks. It's still migration season, and since I haven't been to Lake Lynn in awhile, this might be a good time to check it out and see what I can find. A check of the BirdsEye App did not suggest any better venues, so it looks like I will give Lake Lynn a try tomorrow.

05/13/2016

I ended up making three trips to Lake Lynn this week. Two in the morning, and one in the evening. The first outing was on Monday, May 9th, the second was the next evening, and the third was Friday morning on a Wake Audubon Meetup. Monday was by far the best day. I saw several warblers, but also saw two sandpipers, and three different species of heron!  One of these, a Little Blue Heron, was the highlight of the week.

On the Monday visit I added six new species to the Wake County Project list. I arrived around 7:30 AM and was just in time to catch a lot of birds vocalizing before heading off to wherever they go during the day. The most exciting bird of the morning was standing out in the shallows when I first arrived, but like a fool I ignored it for the first 10 or 15 minutes because it sort of reminded me of the Little Egrets that I see everywhere when I work in Thailand. I noticed it, but almost didn't even think about it. However, after I spent some time trying to decide which species of sandpipers were running around on the sand bar, and had a good look at a Belted Kingfisher, I looked at it again, remembered that I was in North Carolina, and started wondering what it might be.

Turns out it was a Little Blue Heron (#175 on the frequency list). See photo at left. "Why" you might ask, "is it not blue?"  The answer is that the juvenile spends its first year as a white heron. In the spring, it begins to darken up. You can see some of that darkening happening along the edge of the wing in the photo. It is also darkening a bit where the throat and chest meet. I did not realize these were so uncommon until I got home and looked it up. I then grabbed my point-and-shoot camera (because my scope is in the shop for repairs) and headed back to make sure I documented the sighting with photos. The heron stayed put long enough for me to get my photos, but when I returned the next evening, it had moved on.

90)  Little Blue Heron

There were two types of swallows at Lake Lynn that day. The Barn Swallow (#66) was new for the project list. I also saw two species of sandpipers which are new for the list, and would see a third one here on Friday as well. The first two were the more common Spotted Sandpiper (#96), and the second was a Solitary Sandpiper (#120). All three of these species, as well as the Little Blue Heron, were seen in the short segment of the Lake Lynn trail between the Glenharden Drive entrance and the northern edge of the lake. Lots of turtles were on view as well, including one very large Snapping Turtle.

91)  Barn Swallow
92)  Spotted Sandpiper
93)  Solitary Sandpiper

Finally, at the northern end of the lake, still on the wooden walkway, I saw four or five warblers total, two of which were new for the Project list. The first was a Northern Parula (#74) and the second was a Yellow Warbler (#125) which I have only seen once before in my life. I got a nice, up close look at it.

94)  Northern Parula
95)  Yellow Warbler

When I returned to Lake Lynn on Tuesday evening, the warbler activity was much more muted. I saw a number of species I've seen before, but only one new one for the project list - Chimney Swift (#45). I did get a really nice, up close look at a Green Heron, who likes a little area south of the Glenharden entrance and west of the wooden walkway.

96)  Chimney Swift

During the Wake Audubon Meetup on Friday, we had two people with very good ears, who were able to identify several species that are not yet on the Wake County Project list by call. Two types of Vireos, a House Wren, and a Black Throated Blue Warbler were all nearby, but not seen by us. Unfortunately, I don't allow myself to count a species for this project unless I actually see it. The only new species that we laid eyes on this morning was, however, a very good one - Semipalmated Sandpiper (#160).  It turned out to be a pretty good week, with three species identified that are 120th or lower on the frequency list. My nemesis bird made an appearance, but I was looking at something else and missed it. For some reason, I have had trouble finding a Red Shouldered Hawk this season.

97) Semipalmated Sandpiper

I also made a short evening trip to the Schenck Forest on my way home from work on Thursday evening. I wanted to see if any migratory birds might be passing through. For the most part, I saw typical birds, but did manage to add one of my favorite woodpeckers to the list - Red Headed Woodpecker (#62).

98)  Red Headed Woodpecker

And then, finally, in a Lowe's Food parking lot where I stopped in to buy some incredibly unhealthy frosted brownies to celebrate the start of the weekend, I heard the call of a Red Shouldered Hawk (#35), and then spotted it perched in a tree.  So the nemesis is now added to the list.

99)  Red Shouldered Hawk

Tomorrow, May 14th, is Global Big Day. Let's hope I manage to pick up at least one new species tomorrow so I can make my 100th bird for the project!