The count had 111 species, one less than last year. We have had a higher species total for 6 years since l997 so this count was an average total. Weather this year was good. If you remember, it rained on us last year, so this was a welcome change. We had 22 people in the field counting.
We had 8 species seen that were unusual for our area; A Brewer’s Blackbird, Merlin, Horned Grebe, Black-bellied Whistling Duck, and White ibis. Most unusual was a male Painted Bunting. This is only the 2nd time one has ever been seen on the Augusta CBC. In the midst of over 800 ring-billed Gulls, we found 1 Herring Gull, unusual inland. The Black-bellied Whistling Duck has been in the Augusta area 2-3 years now but this is the first year one was found on the Augusta CBC. One was seen count week last year. It was also unusual that we had 134 Western Sandpipers at Horse Creek Waste Water Treatment Plant and this was a high count for them. We also saw 3 Fox Sparrows, always a good sighting and found 2 Barn Owls.
There were 6 species that were the highest counts ever for that species. These include 209 Black Vultures, 154 Turkey Vultures, 1,322 Ring-billed Gulls, 54 Red-headed Woodpeckers, 78 Red-bellied Woodpeckers, and 31 Downy Woodpeckers.
There were also 8 species who had low counts. These include 32 N. Shovelers, 9 Green-winged Teal, 1 King Rail, 1 Blue-headed Vireo, 1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, 1 Marsh Wren and 1 Dark-eyed Junco. Much of this is due to the practice of haing airboats come into the constructed wetlands in late fall to knock down the grasses to discourage blackbird use. Flocks in the millions which once flew into and out of the wetlands at dawn and dusk were a hazard to aircraft at the nearby airport. Rails are not a hazard but their numbers have been reduced from over 300 in 2005 to l King, 2 Virginia and 0 Soras this year. Duck numbers have also been affected,. Thanks to all who came out and helped on this bird count.
Anne Waters, compiler
The count had 83 species which is about average. One of the lowest counts was in 2009 with only 74 species and the highest was in 2006 and 2010 with 88 species. We had 20 people counting which provided fairly good coverage of the circle.
We found several excellent birds this year: a Grasshopper Sparrow, a Wilson’s Snipe and a Hairy Woodpecker.
More ducks are being found on the Aiken count now on ponds and lakes such as on golf courses and in housing areas. This year we had Wood Ducks, Green-winged Teal, Buffleheads, Ring-necked Ducks, and Hooded Mergansers. There was also a record high of 269 Canada Geese. A Double-crested Cormorant was also found at Wexford Mill.
The count had the highest number of Great-horned Owls ever recorded with 8 being seen or heard. Only 1 Rusty Blackbird and 1 Fish Crow were found. 16 Loggerhead Shrikes was a really good count for this bird that is said to be declining in the US. Also good finds were the 3 Brown Creepers, 3 Winter Wrens, 7 Wild Turkey in a cotton field and 10 Bob White Quail.
The most numerous species was the Chipping Sparrow at 432 and we only counted 225 Am. Robins. We usually see a lot more Robins.
Thanks to all who came out and counted birds on Christmas Eve.
Anne Waters.
The Jan 14th field led by Anne and Lois began cold with a low of approximately 24 degrees so we were bundled up when the 17 of us met before 9am at the Laurel Hill Wildlife Drive at Savannah NWR on AC hwy 170. A large group had gathered in the entrance area and we had views of a female or immature Rose-breasted/Black-headed Grosbeak that had been here several days but it was quite shy. What makes identification even more difficult is that these 2 species are known to interbreed. Some got photos so the identity may be determined later.
Also at this area we saw Redstarts, a Northern Waterthrush and House Wren. A Wilson’s Warbler was also seen by the other group but we didn’t find it.
Driving the Wildlife Drive we saw a lot of ducks: Green & blue-winged Teal, Hooded Mergansers, Ring-necked Duck, L. Scaup, Buffleheads, Ruddy Ducks, N. Shovelers, Gadwall and 1 Am. Wigeon. In muddy areas there were Dunlin, Dowitchers, Snipe, and Greater Yellowlegs. New for some in the group were Glossy Ibis mixed in with the White ibis.
On a hardwood hammock there was a Blue-headed Vireo and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. We finished the drive with 4 Bald Eagles, always a good find.
After a quick lunch we went to the beach on Tybee Island. It had warmed up and was quite comfortable. On the rock jetty we watched Oystercatchers, Ruddy Turnstones, and Purple Sandpipers. On the beach we had Black Skimmer, Royal & Forster’s Terns, Herring, Greater- and Lesser-Black-backed Gulls among more common species. Out in the calm ocean there were some Red-throated Loons, Northern Gannets and Red-breasted Mergansers. Lois found a Clouded Skipper butterfly warming up in the sun, surprising considering last night’s freeze and the fact that it’s January.
We did not find the Snow Bunting that was seen here this morning but had an excellent day with 78 total species. Some of the group stayed in Savannah but our group of 6 drove home after a nice seafood dinner. Great day.
We are thinking of having an early June field trip to the refuge. Let me know how you would feel about doing that.
Anne Waters
We had really nice sunny weather for our field trip to Merry Ponds. Temperatures ranged from about 45 to 68 degrees. 15 people, including 3 children, came for the field trip. It’s always fun to show birds to the next generation and hopefully get them interested in birding.
Our main thrust today was to see ducks. They now allow duck hunting in Merry so there were no ducks on one of the expressway ponds but they had flown over to other ponds and we ended up finding 9 different species of ducks: Gadwall, Wigeon, Ring-necked, L. Scaup, Hooded Mergansers, Ruddy Duck, Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, Mallard, and Canvasback . It’s interesting that the Black-bellied Whistling Ducks who have been mainly seen in Phinizy Swamp have spread over into Merry Ponds.
It was fun to see 9 Common Gallinules and 7 Belted Kingfishers was a high count for them. We had a large flock of Ring-billed Gulls and 4 species of shorebirds: Wilson’s Snipe, Least Sandpiper, Killdeer and Geater Yellowlegs. We found 3 adult Black-crowned Night Herons in their usual wintering pond. And several raptors were very impressive. The first, an immature Bald Eagle, soared overhead giving us great views and a chance for several in our group to get excellent photos of him. Also an Osprey was seen several times soaring.
There was also a Cooper’s Hawk who was hunting in front of our car flying down the clay road. He sat up on low limbs several times but we never saw him catch anything. An American Kestrel sat up on a snag giving us scope views of this small falcon. There was also a Loggerhead Shrike seen on the wire at our field trip meeting place on Walton Way.
In all we had a total of 51 species. Come join us on our next field trip. You never know what you might see. Anne Waters
The Field Trip began with clouds and a forecast of rain but the clouds quickly blew away and the sun came out for a beautiful day. 15 people looked for ducks. We walked the boardwalk and then drove around all of the constructed wetland ponds. It’s nice to be able to access these back ponds in a vehicle.
We ended up seeing 7 species of ducks: Mallard, Blue-winged & Green-winged Teal, N. Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup and Bufflehead. We also saw Common Gallinules on the ponds. One Wilson’s Snipe was seen flying across the swamp. There were 8 White Ibis who have wintered here this year, something they don’t usually do.
We noticed that the Great Egrets have their frilly breeding plumes already. A Barred Owl called and a magnificent Pileated Woodpecker flew across. We saw Red-tailed hawks and Northern Harriers. A pair of Red-shouldered Hawks are building a nest in Butler Creek Swamp near the boardwalk. It’s in clear view now but will be well hidden once the trees leaf out.
It was nice to see a flock of 25 Rusty Blackbirds as well as wintering Palm Warblers, Savannah Sparrows, and Golden-crowned Kinglet.
In all we saw 43 species of birds while looking for ducks. The weather was spring-like and Red Maple trees are in bloom now and are beautiful.
We will visit Phinizy Swamp again next Saturday on an all walking tour so come join us and see what we can find.
Anne Waters