Carolina Bird Club
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To report a rare bird sighting in North or South Carolina, email Taylor Piephoff or call 704-332-2473 and leave a message. |
Hello, this is a Dec. 5 update of the Carolina Rare Bird Alert featuring birding news from North and South Carolina sponsored by the Carolina Bird Club. Highlights on this report include:
CACKLING GEESE
CAVE SWALLOWS
YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD
SNOW BUNTING
LAPLAND LONGSPUR
KING EIDER
COMMON EIDER
EARED GREBE
SANDHILL CRANES
Five CACKLING GEESE have been seen at the Lake Landing section of Lake Mattamuskeet in NC. Access to this area is restricted so refuge personnel will have to OK entry. Birders around Lake Mattamuskeet should check the goose flocks visible from the open refuge roads and public roads whenever they are encountered.
Five CAVE SWALLOWS were seen 12-3 with tree swallows in the fields west of Lake Phelps in eastern NC. Check through the tree swallow flocks anywhere in both Carolinas for CAVE SWALLOWS.
Outer Banks area birds on 12-4 included 2 SNOW BUNTINGS and 1 LAPLAND LONGSPUR on the beach across from South Pond at Pea I. NWR, and a female KING EIDER on the ocean at the same spot. Several dozen AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS have been hanging out at North Pond at least until 11-29.
COMMON EIDERS have been seen at Fort Fisher and Ocean Isle Beach in NC and Huntington Beach SP in SC.
Other birds at Huntington Beach SP recently include an EARED GREBE at Mullet Pond, and a SNOW BUNTING.
Four SANDHILL CRANES are around Mount Pleasant, SC. They were most recently from Patriot's Point on 11-28. Good numbers of WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS and VESPER SPARROWS are around Charleston and Mt. Pleasant, SC this season.
A male YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD continues to appear around the Cherry Hospital grounds in Goldsboro , NC. The bird is moving with the large blackbird flocks in the area so sightings are sporadic.
A RAZORBILL was seen at Emerald Isle, NC on 12-4. The RAZORBILL was at MP 15 where there is a public beach access.
Thanks this week to John Fussell, Nathan Dias, Donald Rote, Eric Dean, Jack Peachey, and Myron Prescott for their calls and reports. Some of the information was gleaned from carolinabirds.