Outing #28: Yates Mill, Schenck Forest, and Lake Johnson

5/19/2017

I've been slow to report my most recent bird sightings. My wife and I are prepping for a long stay overseas (see below) and I haven't kept up with reporting as I would like. I also missed seeing any new warblers during migration, but did pick up three new species for the Wake County Project list over the past month.

Wood Duck at Yates Mill County Park

The first outing that produced a new species was a Wake Audubon walk at Yates Mill County Park on April 26th. The photo to the left was taken there. The Wood Duck is not a new species for the Wake County list, but this is the first decent photo I've managed to get of a Wood Duck, and since I don't have any other shots from the visit, I thought I'd include it.

The new bird species that we saw on that outing was one I didn't even know enough to be looking for. It was a Grasshopper Sparrow (#157 on the Wake County frequency list). It was seen along a little access road that runs between a property at 4400 Mid-Pines Road and Yates Mill County Park. It spent a good long time perched on a small bush singing away. The call is very distinctive, but I probably wouldn't have recognized it on my own.

145) Grasshopper Sparrow

Deer at Schenck Forest

Two weeks later I made a trip to Schenck Forest hoping to find some warblers that had so far eluded me. I went a little later in the morning than normal, hoping that they might be a bit more active. I didn't manage to spot any new warblers, but I did see several species that were either new for the calendar year, or that I just do not see very often. These included:  Great Crested Flycatcher, Blue Grosbeak, Summer Tanager, and Ruby Throated Hummingbird. As I was making my way back up the main road that leads out of the forest, I saw a bird that didn't look familiar to me. It had a largish beak, like a female Red Winged Blackbird, but with no striping on the chest, a sort of yellowish-buffy belly, and some dark striping on the head. It turned out to be a female Bobolink (#143 on the frequency list). I would have loved to see a male Bobolink, as this was a lifer for me and the male's color scheme is interesting. But I was pleased to pick up a new bird for the Wake County Project list as well as a new lifer.

146)  Bobolink

I tried three more times to find migrating warblers, once at Umstead Big Lake, once at Lake Lynn Trail, and once at Lake Johnson. I didn't find any new warblers on these three trips, but did manage to see a new species for the Wake County Project list at Lake Johnson.

Snowy Egret at Lake Johnson

One of my birding friends had gotten word that a Snowy Egret had been seen on May 1st at Lake Johnson Park's mudflats. I thought this might be a relatively easy one to see on a quick trip, so I headed out to Lake Johnson around 2 PM to see what I could find.

I didn't know the park very well, so it took some time to figure out how to get in the right position to see the mudflats. But when I did, the Snowy Egret (#176) was right out in the open, walking around and showing off its yellow feet on black legs. I've seen lots of these out in California, but this was my first in Wake County. A nice addition to the Wake County Project list.

147) Snowy Egret

This may be my last post for awhile.  My wife and I will be heading to Thailand for work and will probably not return until July of 2018.  My goal has been to see 180 species over a three year period, and I am currently at the 1 year, 4 month mark with 33 species to go.  Keep an eye out in July or August of 2018 for new posts. The remainder of the project will likely run from August 2018 until the end of March 2020.

Only one bird remains unseen in the Top 100 most commonly reported species in Wake County:  Pine Siskin (#56 on the frequency list).  It has a sporadic winter range and they were scarce here in the county this winter.

I still have 22 species left in the Top 150 that haven't been spotted, though I have tried to see a few of these species more than once:  #101 Great Egret, #113 Scarlet Tanager, #116 - 119 Horned Grebe, Yellow Throated Warbler, Magnolia Warbler; #121-124 Least Sandpiper, Hooded Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush (heard but not seen), Rose Breasted Grosbeak; #127-129 American Pipit, White Crowned Sparrow, Yellow Breasted Chat; #132-135 Swainson's Thrush, Common Loon, Blue Winged Teal, Wilson's Snipe; #137 Blue Headed Vireo, #139 Prothonotary Warbler, #144 Redhead, #146 Canvasback, #148-149 Blackpoll Warbler and Black Throated Green Warbler.  These will be my primary targets when I return from Thailand.