Outing #23 - Mid-Pines Road and Nearby Inwood Road

11/13/2016

Last winter there were several sightings of a Peregrine Falcon (#186 on the Wake County frequency list) along Mid-Pines Road. I went there three times over the course of a week hoping to see it, but was never successful. However, he's back this fall, so I joined a group of much more experienced birders to see if we could locate him. Turns out, I probably didn't need the help...at least for the falcon. It was perched out in the open in a naked tree, and stayed in place for at least 30 minutes while we looked around at other birds!  But those friends were very helpful in helping me find the other THREE species that I spotted on the day for the Wake County Project list.

The photo at left was taken through my spotting scope using a PhoneSkope attachment and then blown up a bit, so the quality isn't great. But that is a Peregrine Falcon!  To find the location, turn onto Mid-Pines road from Lake Wheeler, pass the pond, the tree-lined creek, and then the 90 degree turn with open fields on all sides. Just beyond the turn you will see a little building with a red roof on the lefthand side of the road.  We were there about 8:20 in the morning and the falcon stayed around until perhaps 9 AM.

131)  Peregrine Falcon

There were a lot of birds to see along Mid-Pines road in addition to the falcon. It was a particularly good day for raptors, as we saw an American Kestrel, Cooper's Hawk, three Red Tailed Hawks, and two Red Shouldered Hawks. In addition to these birds, we also saw at least two Rusty Blackbirds (#140) out in the fields to the east of the road. I would have never gotten these without help from my birding friends.

132) Rusty Blackbird

Next we traveled to nearby Inwood Road to see if we might spot anything new.  I saw my first Dark Eyed Juncos of the season there, along with about 25 Killdeer. Probably the best bird we saw in this area (actually along Chi Road just off of Inwood Rd) was a Loggerhead Shrike (see photo at left). It stayed on the sign long enough for me to set up my scope, attach my PhoneSkope, and snap several photos.  It is a new species for the Wake County Project List.

133) Loggerhead Shrike

Later, along the same road, we saw a hawk chasing after some birds that turned out to be a Sharp Shinned Hawk (#115). This is only the second or third time that I've been able to confirm one of these, and once again I may not have been successful without the help of my birding companions. I have not seen one since I started the Wake County Project, so it is also a new one for the list.

134)  Sharp Shinned Hawk

I checked the BirdsEye App and it looks like the two best places to go this coming weekend if I want a chance at new birds would be Umstead Big Lake (American Wigeon, American Black Duck, Red Breasted Nuthatch) and Lake Crabtree County Park (Common Loon, Least Sandpiper, Wilson's Snipe, Herring Gull, and Blue Headed Vireo). However, a friend of mine has invited me to Horseshoe Farm Preserve where there is a chance to see Vesper and Lincoln's sparrows.  Both would be new for my lifelist, and probably hard for me to identify without a little expert help. If I see either of them, I'll let you know next time!