Outing #25 - Horse Shoe Farm Preserve & Mid-Pines Road

1/21/2017

I've been in chase mode lately, trying to find the limited numbers of new bird species that I don't yet have for my Wake County Project list. Many of these species are only reported at one or two locations in the county, and often many days apart from each other. I've only been able to bird once a week or so, and a number of my trips have failed to produce new species, but I now have two new finds to report: one from Mid-Pines Road on Jan. 21st, and another from Horse Shoe Farm Preserve on Feb 15th.

Canada Geese Leaving Yates Mill Pond to Forage

Back in late January, I started hearing rumors about four Ross's Geese (#201 on the Wake County frequency list) down around Yates Mill County Park and the Mid-Pines Road area. We don't get many opportunities to see birds this rare - I've only seen two so far that are 200th or later on the frequency list. The Ross's Geese had been seen several times, and one birder reported on eBird that he saw them out on the Yates Mill pond just after the park opened in the morning at 8 AM. That sounded like perhaps the easiest way to see them, so I headed over to the park, was on the bridge by 8:10 AM, but couldn't tell if the Ross's Geese were there or not. As you can see from the photo at left, it was really foggy that morning and there were portions of the pond that I couldn't see. I waited almost an hour for most of the Canada Geese to leave for their morning foraging, and eventually the fog lifted enough for me to see that the Ross's Geese were definitely not on the lake. They must have slept somewhere else that night. So I decided to make my way to Mid-Pines Road to see if they were there.

As I drove up Lake Wheeler Road and prepared to turn on Mid Pines Road, I saw a large flock of Canada Geese to the right, out on the fields just off the road. The land is high next to the road, and then falls away, so some of the geese were visible, but many others were mostly out of sight from the road. I parked near the intersection, got my spotting scope out, and found the highest spot I could to observe them from. It took about three minutes of scanning before I saw the first one, and then a second white goose out among the flock of Canadas. They quickly plodded up the hill to give a nice view of their features. I'd planned to take a photo, but by the time I got the phone adapter set up and attached, they and several of the other geese decided to move on to more fertile foraging grounds. But they were great to see, and I wasn't disappointed with the outing.

136)  Ross's Goose

I tried three times after that to find a new species so I would have at least two to report here.  At the close of January, I went to Abbott's Creek Trail chasing after a Lincoln's Sparrow that was reported by a couple of birders, but no luck. Next, I tried for an Orange Crowned Warbler at Lake Betz.  It was seen three days before and three days after I visited, but not the day I was there. Finally, on Feb 12th, I headed to Schenck Forest with some very talented birders, hoping to see something new. Unfortunately, I missed the Herring Gull that flew high overhead while we were at the little lake along Reedy Creek Road.  It was with a group of Ring Billed Gulls, but I never got my bins on it before they were obscured by trees.  Sigh.  The only consolation was that we saw a river otter swimming in the pond - something I don't think I've ever seen here in the US.

On Valentine's Day, a birder friend of mine sent an e-mail with a tip on where I could find a pair of American Wigeons (#150). They had been seen on the pond in the southwest quadrant of Horse Shoe Farm Preserve. I set out the very next morning hoping to see them. The rain started pouring while I was on the road, and it was very wet by the time I arrived. I donned my raincoat, took my scope and binoculars, and headed out. I went all the way to the southwest end of the park, then began working my way back. Toward the southwest end of the pond, I noticed three Canada Geese, and decided to follow a little side trail to get a closer look. Right there, out on the water, were two American Wigeons. They were unmistakeable. Unfortunately, as I prepared to get my scope out for a photo, I must have made too much noise because they both suddenly flushed and disappeared further down the pond. I wasn't able to reacquire them, but I had seen enough to count them.

137)  American Wigeon

Tomorrow the Great Backyard Bird Count begins - February 17-20. I'm hoping to go out at least three times this weekend to do my part. According to the BirdsEye App, there are eight species that have been spotted in the last 10 days or so that would be new for my list. They are: Common Raven (#170) at Abbott's Creek Trail, Horned Lark (#162) at Mid Pines Road, Wild Turkey (#156) at North Wake Landfill, American Black Duck (#141) at Umstead Big Lake, Wilson's Snipe (#135) at Lake Johnson, Herring Gull (#112) at Lake Crabtree, Red Breasted Nuthatch (#108) at Brookhaven Nature Park, and Great Egret (#101) at Lake Raleigh or Lake Johnson.