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2010:

July 17, 2010: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC and Scissor-tailed flycatchers at Gunter Rd., Piedmont, SC

June 19, 2010: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

May 15, 2010: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

May 8, 2010: [Trip Report] Blue Wall Heritage Preserve & FENCE, Landrum, SC

April 24, 2010: [Trip Report] Landsford Canal State Park, Catawba, SC

April 17, 2010: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

April 17, 2010: [Spring NAMC Results (excel)] The Greenville County 2010 Spring Migration Count was held on Saturday, April 17 which coincided with the monthly GCBC walk at Lake Conestee . Weather conditions were ideal this year with a low of 59F and high of 82F under mostly clear skies and light wind. Nine parties/areas were covered by 30 participants. The club found 105 species and 3542 individuals. A lot of reports on the Carolina Birds listserve indicate that the migration is later than normal this year which may help account for our somewhat low species count. Also the mid April count date is really too early for most spring migrants. We may want to move our count day closer to the end of April next year.

• 2009(4/18) 115sp
• 2008(4/26) 123sp
• 2007(5/12) 109sp
• 2006(5/13) 117sp
• 2005(5/14) 101sp

The high species count was 76 by Jeff Catlin. The team of Simon Harvey, Jerry Johnson and J.B. Hines were a close second with 73 species. New species(since 2005) added to this years list were Eurasian Collared-Dove (Chris & Noah Clack) and American Kestrel (John Grego). Other notable birds were Osprey(3), Common Raven(4), Swainson's Warbler(1), and Loggerhead Shrike(1). Some misses were Northern Bobwhite, Eastern Screech-Owl and shorebirds in general. Many thanks to everyone who participated. Great job!!! The excel attachment contains the species list.

J.B. Hines

February 20, 2010: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

February 7, 2010: [Trip Report] Lakes of Northern Greenville County, SC

January 16, 2010: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

January 2, 2010: [CBC Results] North Greenville Christmas Bird Count:

Wow!!! I am really impressed with this years CBC results. We set a new record high for species with 85 which beats the previous high of 83 on the 2004 count. This year's count has to be one of the worst as far as weather conditions with the temp. hanging around 26 and very windy conditions. We have now completed 6 counts in our N. Gnvl. circle area and the experience of our count teams is really paying off. I expect this count circle will break 90 species in the near future.

For the second year the team effort award goes to section 2A (Shelby Birch, Merikay Pirrone & Donnie Coody with 56 species. Four teams had very similar species counts ranging from 47-50 so I guess second place should be mutually shared.

We did not find any true rarities, but exceptional finds were the 2 Rufous Hummingbirds and the only Purple Finches at Harry Davis' feeders. New species for the count circle were N Pintail and L. Scaup(Jerry Johnson, Steve Patterson and Debra Deschamps), Loggerhead Shrike(Simon Harvey, Linda Sharp, David Kirk and JB Hines), Fish Crow( Merikay, Shelby & Donnie), and Common Raven(Jeff Catlin and Alan Whitaker). Other species seen singly(only 1 each for the count) were Am. Pipit, N Harrier, Am Woodcock, G-h Owl, Barred Owl, R-b Nuthatch and Winter Wren. If anyone else has a feeder watch, field count or any count week reports, please send them to me. Corrections to my list are welcome. Many thanks to everyone who braved the adverse conditions to participate in this years count and a special thank you to Donnie Coody for his help with organizing our cbc's.

-- J.B. Hines, compiler

2009:

December 19, 2009: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

December 11 - 13, 2009: [Trip Report] Piers near Myrtle Beach, Huntington Beach State Park, Santee Coastal Reserve WMA, Georgetown waste water Treatment Plant, SC. Species Report (Excel file).

November 21, 2009: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

November 14, 2009: [Trip Report] Cowan's Ford Wildlife Refuge and Carolina Raptor Center, Huntersville, Mecklenburg County, NC

November 7, 2009: [Trip Report] Townville, Anderson County, SC

October 17, 2009: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

October 10, 2009: [Trip Report] Cottonwood Trail, Spartanburg, SC

September 26, 2009: [Trip Report] Lake Issaqueena and the Nine Times Tract, Pickens County, SC

September 19, 2009: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

September 19, 2009: [NAMC Official Report Excel File] Greenville County Fall Migration Count, Greenville County, SC

Thanks to everyone who participated in this years fall migration count on September 19, 2009. Count totals were considerably reduced due to the rainy weather. Six field parties(14 participants) managed a very respectable count of 92 species and 3858 individuals.

The best bird of the day award goes to Jane Kramer for finding an adult Bald Eagle near Moonville, a first for recent spring or fall counts. High species count goes to the Lake Conestee team of Paul & Barbara Serridge and Sarah & Chip Gilbert with 54sp , Donnie Coody & Shelby Birch with 48sp and Judy & Charles Webb with 45sp. The Webb’s had an amazing 375 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds at their feeders.

Some of our best birds were Blue-winged Teal, Osprey, Great Egrets (3), Veery, and Swainson’s Thrush. Somewhat early were Golden-crowned Kinglet and White-throated Sparrow. The Caesar’s Head Hawkwatch was rained out, so we likely missed 4-5 species normally seen there.

The attached excel file contains the combined data for all of the field parties. If anyone has not submitted data, please do so soon as I need to send the final report to our SC compiler. Let me know if you find any errors in the report or have comments.

Thanks and good birding,
JB Hines

September 12, 2009: [Trip Report] Table Rock State Park, Pickens County, SC

August 29, 2009: [Trip Report] Wilson's Farm, Marietta, SC

August 15, 2009: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

July 18, 2009: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

June 20, 2009: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

May 16, 2009: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

May 9, 2009: [Trip Report] Blue Wall Preserve, Lake Lanier, SC and Foothills Equestrian Nature Center (FENCE), Tryon, NC

April 25, 2009: [Trip Report] Wilson's Farm, Marietta, SC

April 18, 2009: [NAMC Official Report Excel File] Greenville County Spring Migration Count, Greenville County, SC

The Greenville County 2009 Spring Migration Count was held on Saturday, April 18 which coincided with the monthly GCBC walk at Lake Conestee. Fifteen parties/areas were covered by 30 participants. The club found 115 species and 4184 individuals. For comparison, the Spartanburg Co. count on May 9 produced 116 species.

2008_123sp
2007_109sp
2006_117sp
2005_101sp

The high species count was 73, a tie between Jeff Catlin and Paul Serridge's team at Lake Conestee NP.

New species added to this years list were American White Pelican (JB Hines), Philadelphia Vireo (Jerry Johnson & Steve Compton) and Blue-winged Warbler (Paul Serridge and group at Conestee).

Other notable birds were Osprey(2), Peregrin Falcon, Common Raven, Prothonotary Warbler, White-crowned Sparrow and Pine Siskins(99). The misses were E. Collared Dove, Great Horned Owl and Eastern Screech-Owl.

Many thanks to everyone who participated. Great job!!! The excel
attachment contains the species list.

J.B. Hines

April 18, 2009: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

April 11, 2009: [Trip Report] Landsford Canal State Park, Rock Hill, SC

April 4, 2009: [Trip Report] Cottonwood Trail, Spartanburg, SC

March 21, 2009: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

February 21, 2009: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

January 24, 2009: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

January 10, 2009: [Trip Report] Lakes of Northern Greenville County, SC

2008:

December 27, 2008: [CBC Results] North Greenville Christmas Bird Count:

The North Greenville Christmas Bird Count on Saturday, December 27, 2008 produced 81 species, which is the same number as the previous two years. Our highest was 83 species with a low of 80. We have now completed 5 counts in our N. Gnvl. circle area, so some statistical generalizations are becoming apparent. Count day was unusually foggy early and overcast for most of the day which likely reduced our species and totals count. The team effort awards go to section 2A (Shelby Birch, Merikay Pirrone & Donnie Coody with 59 species, second place to section 4A(Cindy & Louis Womble, Simon Harvey and JB Hines) with 58 species and third place to section 6(Hilda & Al Reese, Jane Kramer and Elizabeth Galloway) with 56 species.

We did not find any true rarities, but exceptional finds were the male Rufous Hummingbird at Harry Davis' feeders, White-crowned Sparrow (12) found by Doug Allen and the Vesper Sparrow found by Elizabeth Galloway. Other species seen singly(only 1 each for the count) were Am. Black Duck, N Harrier, Cooper's Hawk, E Screech-Owl, , R-b Nuthatch and House Wren. Record high species counts were: C Waxwing 297(193), Mockingbird 115(86), Catbird 4(1), House Sparrow 70(33), Pine Siskin 88(5), Purple Finch 15(13), Fox Sparrow 13(10), White-crowned Sparrow 12(2), Savannah Sparrow 63(12) and E Towhee 121(85).

Many thanks to the 19 participants who helped make this a very productive Christmas Count. The complete list is available in excel, acrobat and word format on our CBC project page.

--- J.B. Hines, compiler

December 20, 2008: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

November 22, 2008: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

November 8, 2008: [Trip Report] Townville area and Beaverdam WMA, Anderson County, SC

October 24 - 26, 2008: [Trip Report] Coastal Birding trip to: Donnelley WMA, Botany Bay Plantation WMA, Dungannon Plantation Heritage Preserve. Species list is available as an Excel file.

October 18, 2008: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

October 11, 2008: [Trip Report] Cottonwood Trail Preserve, Spartanburg, SC

September 27, 2008: [Fall Migration Bird Count - Excel file] Northern Greenville County, SC.: Thanks to everyone who participated in this years fall migration count on September 27, 2008. We had another exceptional count with 107 species(fall record) and 5979 individuals reported. The exceptional day award goes to Jeff Click with Golden-winged, Nashville, and Wilson’s Warbler and Ruffed Grouse. I believe all were seen at Ashmore HP. High species count went to Shelby Birch & Donnie Coody (66sp), J.B. Hines (55sp) and Hilda & Al Reese (53sp).

Some species were found in unusually high numbers this fall, i.e. 204 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, 1234 Chimney Swifts and 107 Gray Catbirds. Some late finds were Green Heron, Great-crested Flycatcher and Eastern Kingbird. Other good finds were Great Egrets (6), American Kestrel, Veery, Swainson’s Thrush and Philadelphia Vireo. The Caesar’s Head Hawkwatch was rained out, so we likely missed 4-5 species normally seen there.

The attached excel file contains the combined data for all of the field parties. If anyone has not submitted data, please do so soon as I need to send the final report to our SC compiler. Let me know if you find any errors in the report or have comments. Thanks and good birding, JB Hines.

September 20, 2008: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

September 13, 2008: [Trip Report] Table Rock State Park, Pickens County, SC

September 6, 2008: [Trip Report] Wilson's Farm, Greenville County, SC

August 23, 2008: [Trip Report] Jackson Park, Hendersonville, NC

August 16, 2008: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

July 19, 2008: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

June 21, 2008: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

June 7, 2008: [Trip Report] Hospital Fields, Brevard, NC and Blue Ridge Parkway, NC

May 24, 2008: [Trip Report] Cottonwood Trail Preserve, Spartanburg, SC

May 17, 2008: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

May 12, 2008: North American Migratory Bird Count.

Summary by J.B. Hines: The Greenville County 2008 Spring Migration Count was held on Saturday, April 26. Eleven different areas were covered by 27 participants. This was easily the best count since 2005 when I became the compiler. The club found 123 species and 5899 individuals.

2007_109sp
2006_117sp
2005_101sp

The high species count was 82 by Jeff Catlin, followed closely with 81 from Shelby Birch and Donnie Coody. Judy and Charles Webb had an exceptional day with 75 species. As is usually the case, every count section had at least one exclusive species.

New species added to this years list were Anhinga and A. Bittern (Paul Serridge and group at Conestee), Blue-winged Teal (Jeff Click), Lesser Scaup (Judy & Charles Webb), a late N. Harrier (Shelby & Donnie), and N. Waterthrush (Jeff Click).

Warblers were in abundance this year with 21 species reported. I believe moving the count date 2 weeks earlier may have helped with count totals. Beginning with last fall’s migration counts, our SC compiler agreed to let each county choose the date, rather than use the traditional 2nd Saturday in May and 3rd Saturday in September.

Of special note were the 3 Prothonotary Warblers found at Lake Conestee NP, Lake Cunningham and Paris Mtn. The misses were E. Collared Dove, C. Nighthawk and Hairy Woodpecker. Not much to complain about, in fact it may take some time to beat this count.

Many thanks to everyone who participated. Great job!!! The attachment lists each section’s effort. As usual, I expect to make some corrections, so let me know. --J.B. Hines

April 19, 2008: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

March 22, 2008: [Trip Report] Cottonwood Trail, Edwin M. Griffin Nature Preserve, Spartanburg, SC

March 15, 2008: Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC - cancelled due to inclement weather

February 29 - March 2, 2008: [Trip Report] SC Coastal Birding Trip

February 16, 2008: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

January 26, 2008: [Trip Report] Lakes of Northern Greenville County, SC

January 19, 2008: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

January 12, 2008: [Trip Report] Dreher Island State Park near Prosperity, SC

2007:

December 15, 2007: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

December 7, 2007: [CBC Instructions] December 29th chosen for GCBC's North Greenville Christmas Bird Count. Everyone is encouraged to participate regardless of skill level! Please see the CBC Instructions for details and be sure to contact JB Hines or Donnie Coody to sign up. Please also visit the CBC project page for more information about the history of the Christmas Bird Count.

November 30 - December 2, 2007: [Trip Report] Huntington Beach State Park and surrounding coastal areas, SC

November 17, 2007: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

November 10, 2007: [Trip Report] Dobbins Farm area, Townville, SC

October 26 - 28, 2007: [Trip Report] Lowcountry SC / Savannah GA

October 20, 2007: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

October 6, 2007: [Trip Report] Cottonwood Trail, Spartanburg County, SC

September 29, 2007: [Trip Report] Table Rock State Park, Pickens County, SC

September 15, 2007: [Fall Migration Bird Count] Northern Greenville County, SC

September 15, 2007: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

September 9, 2007: [Trip Report] Wilson's Farm, Greenville County, SC

August 18, 2007: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

July 21, 2007: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

June 9, 2007: [Trip Report] Stumphouse Mountain, Walhalla, SC

June 2, 2007: [Trip Report] Blue Ridge Parkway, NC

May 19, 2007: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

May 12, 2007: [Trip Report] North American Migratory Bird Count (.pdf file)

April 28 - 29, 2007: [Trip Report] Western North Carolina - Stecoah Gap

March 17, 2007: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

February 17, 2007: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

February 8 - 11, 2007: [Trip Report] Coastal Birding Trip including Huntington Beach State Park, Santee National Wildlife Refuge & ACE Basin.

January 20, 2007: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

January 12, 2007: [Trip Report] Lakes of Northern Greenville County, SC

---

2006:

December 2, 2006: [Trip Report] Lake Conestee Nature Park, Greenville, SC

November 11, 2006: [Trip Report] Townville area, Anderson County, SC

October 27, 2006: [Trip Report] Savannah River Spoil Site, Savannah NWR, Donnelly WMA, Bear Island WMA, Port Royal Boardwalk Park and Bluff Unit of Santee NWR, Lowcountry SC & Savannah, GA

October 7, 2006: [Trip Report] Table Rock State Park, Pickens County, SC

September 16, 2006: Fall Migration Bird Count (.pdf), Greenville County, SC.

September 10, 2006: [Trip Report] Wilson's Farm, Travelers Rest SC

August 26, 2006: [Trip Report] Jackson Park and Hooper's Lane, Hendersonville NC

June 3, 2006: [Trip Report] Blue Ridge Parkway, NC

May 6, 2006: [Trip Report] Blue Wall Preserve, Tryon, NC

April 22, 2006: [Trip Report] Congaree National Park, Lynchburg Savannah Heritage Preserve, SC

February25, 2006: [Trip Report] Roper Mountain Science Center, Greenville, SC

February 10 - 12, 2006: [Trip Report] Huntington Beach State Park, Santee NWR, Donnelly WMA & Bear Island WMA, SC

January 14, 2006: [Trip Report] Lakes of Northern Greenville County, SC