There are birding trips, and there are birding trips. Big Days consist of birders (usually experienced birders) tearing across the landscape trying to record as many birds as possible in 24 hours. The pace is frenetic and probably 85 percent of the birds recorded are identified by song; there is no time to be wasted looking for warblers in the tree tops once they’ve been heard.

Some, like Christmas counts, backyard counts and International Migratory Bird Day, are sponsored by major organizations such as Audubon and Partners in Flight. These events are a kind of “citizen science” and data collected helps researchers and biologists monitor population trends.

Some local Audubon chapters and/or local bird clubs schedule regular birding outings. Elisha Mitchell Audubon chapter in Asheville sponsors regular bird trips to Beaver Lake in Asheville on the first Saturday of each month and to Jackson Park in Hendersonville on the second Saturday of each month. These trips are usually led by experienced birders but are much more relaxed than big days or Christmas counts. There may or may not be informal check lists kept and the pace is generally more leisurely.

This past weekend I had the pleasure of participating in an annual birding event that is a hybrid combination of leisurely stroll and hardcore birding. Area naturalist, George Ellison of Bryson City, along with Fred Alsop and Rick Pyeritz, began the event in 1984. This past weekend marked the 17th annual trip.

Participants met, as usual, at Elizabeth Ellison’s studio in downtown Bryson City at 9 a.m. There we signed in, received our marching orders (a quest for 100 species) and a check list.

The morning was spent walking around downtown Bryson City. We were quickly rewarded with a pair of nest-building northern (Baltimore) orioles. A stunning yellow warbler received a rousing ovation from the 20 or so admirers after a virtuoso performance from the top of a maple near the Swain County Administration building.

After a productive stroll around Bryson City, we headed to Collins Creek Picnic area in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We lunched and birded around the picnic area where we added cerulean warbler, blackburnian warbler, black-throated blue warbler and indigo bunting to our list.

After lunch we struck out for the Blue Ridge Parkway. We cruised the Parkway from Cherokee to Hientooga Spur Road, stopping at most of the overlooks along the way. Northern parulas and chestnut-sided warblers greeted us at every stop. At Big Witch Gap overlook we heard the ethereal flute-like vibrato of the veery.

A couple of stops along Heintooga road allowed us to pick up a few of the higher elevation species such as common raven, red-breasted nuthatch and golden-crowned kinglet. Canada warbler and hairy woodpecker were also added to the list at Heintooga.

We left mile-high Heintooga and headed for the lowlands of Ferguson fields along U.S. 19. What, in the past, had been rather extensive wetlands in Ferguson fields has been reduced by land-use modifications and, seemingly, unending drought. Still, there was enough wet habitat to produce solitary sandpipers, wood ducks, little green and great blue herons and northern waterthrush.

The open fields and fence rows also provided good looks at bobolinks, eastern meadowlarks, blue grosbeaks, indigo buntings and orchard orioles. White-crowned sparrows and tree swallows added to the list from Ferguson fields. The tally, after Ferguson fields was 93 species.

Most of the group joined the Ellisons at their home near Bryson City for the swapping of bird stories and a potluck dinner after Saturday’s excursion. One member of the caravan spotted a red-tailed hawk during the drive from Ferguson fields to the Ellisons’. This raised Saturday’s total to 94 species. We had a half-day of birding scheduled for Sunday morning around Nantahala Outdoor Center and along the Nantahala River and six species to go to meet our goal.

A half-day to get six species — piece of cake, right? Wrong. Remember, we needed six new species. When your checklist begins climbing above 80 species, eligible candidates become more and more scarce. There will always be common species that don’t show up. The red-bellied woodpecker is one of the most common in this area. It never appeared for us. The eastern wood pewee is a common forest dweller. It likewise eluded us.

Protocol for the weekend, however, allowed participants to record nocturnal species like owls and nightjars they might encounter Saturday night plus species they might see enroute to Nantahala Sunday morning.

About a dozen dedicated birders showed up at Nantahala Sunday morning and fortunately they had been paying attention the night before and during the drive to Nantahala. Whip-poor-will, red-shouldered hawk, American kestrel, osprey and brown-headed cowbird were added to the list before the walk began Sunday morning. It was a good thing.

Sunday morning was a beautiful morning and birds were everywhere — just not new birds. The area was covered with redstarts and we got wonderful views of a yellow-breasted chat, a species we had heard the day before but didn’t see.

The Sunday morning walk produced only three new species — two Louisiana waterthrush and Kentucky warbler by song alone and one white-throated sparrow. With the five sightings reported earlier, we managed a respectful 102 species.

Under Ellison’s experienced leadership and knowledge of habitat, and with the aid of Pyeritz’s finely tuned ears and the cooperation and attention of participants (many of whom were experienced birders), we reached our goal of 100 species. More importantly, we reached an intuitive goal of camraderie and shared experience with like minded individuals.

(Don Hendershot can be reached at don@smokymountainnews.com)

 

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