A visit to the furnace called North Carolina

[chipperatl]

First off "Y'all" need to turn that thermostat down!!!  My birding buddy couldn't take that crazy heat that was there last week.  Best we managed was about 1 mile in 1 hour before it was time to head back to the truck.  At one point it was so hot he wouldn't even get out of the truck.  Thick, black fur on a Lab don't mix with the climate there.  

Trip Report

Detailed Blog Post

Cliff Notes version

• Lifer Swainson's Warbler - audio only after Hercules downed all the water within 30 minutes of the walk.  
• Dipped on Gray Kingbird - but managed audio and video of Lifer Clapper Rail, and male Painted Bunting also a Lifer.
• Good timing allowed me to see Sam Cooper grab another birder and book to where he had re-found the Gray Kingbird.  I followed and managed to snag Lifer #4 of the trip.
• Lifer Mississippi Kite seen flying with best looks at Swallow-tailed Kite.  Shortly followed by Lifer Northern Bobwhite (audio only), and Cattle Egrets flying in the distance.  Best looks at a White-eyed Vireo and first look at a male Blue Grosbeak.  Better looks later in the day at Cattle Egrets.
• Mississippi Kites flying over where I was staying, just as a storm was heading in.  

Boastful photos

[Charlie Spencer]

12 hours ago, chipperatl said:

First off "Y'all" need to turn that thermostat down!!!  My birding buddy couldn't take that crazy heat that was there last week.  Best we managed was about 1 mile in 1 hour before it was time to head back to the truck.  At one point it was so hot he wouldn't even get out of the truck.  Thick, black fur on a Lab don't mix with the climate there.  

Well, duh!  You don't start your checklists at these times around these parts, especially in the swamps of Brunswick County.  By then, we're already finished and back in the A/C.  Silly Wolverine.

Nice stuff, particularly the Clapper, kingbird, and the kites.  Fort Fisher's a great area.

Edited June 7, 2022 by Charlie Spencer

[chipperatl]

4 hours ago, Charlie Spencer said:

Well, duh!  You don't start your checklists at these times around these parts, especially in the swamps of Brunswick County.  By then, we're already finished and back in the A/C.  Silly Wolverine.

Nice stuff, particularly the Clapper, kingbird, and the kites.  Fort Fisher's a great area.

I think most of those were Incidentais, except the Governor’s Road and Lee Bucks Road on the 1st.  Had to time those for the Kites showing up.  Even still at 8 a.m. my little buddy was struggling.  We had fun though, and birding was all a bonus for the real reason we were there.  

[The Bird Nuts]

Great birds and photos!!

You bring your dog birding?  I'm curious, do the birds react differently to a dog than to a human?  I haven't done a lot of birding with my dogs because I'm afraid they'll ruin it!

Edited June 8, 2022 by The Bird Nuts

[Charlie Spencer]

8 hours ago, The Bird Nuts said:

I haven't done a lot of birding with my dogs because I'm afraid they'll ruin it!

I tried once or twice.  My terrier just wants to keep moving, tugging at the leash so I can't keep the binos steady, sniffing in pursuit of The Next Great Fragrance.  I gave up taking glasses or camera when I walk her, and have accepted that anything I submit will be as 'Incidental'.

Edited June 8, 2022 by Charlie Spencer

[chipperatl]

9 hours ago, The Bird Nuts said:

Great birds and photos!!

You bring your dog birding?  I'm curious, do the birds react differently to a dog than to a human?  I haven't done a lot of birding with my dogs because I'm afraid they'll ruin it!

Thanks.  My game plan with my dog is during prime migration, or when going slow and focusing is important, he stays home.  When it is traveling around for quick stop and scans I bring him.  I also bring him if I am going out in the evening.  He needs the walk time also.  He has improved immensely though, so maybe eventually he can come with me more.  About 75% of the time when I say “Stop”, he will stop pulling and come back to me.  The other 25% of the time the camera/bins get yanked away from my eyes.  

I think the reason the Clapper Rail popped up in to view is because he was with me.  When I do take him, I don’t see the birds reacting any differently to him than to me.  

[Seanbirds]

I bring my cats birding in my yard and all the Brown Thrashers pop out to yell at them ?

 

I've actually gotten some really good photo opportunities that way ?

[The Bird Nuts]

2 hours ago, chipperatl said:

Thanks.  My game plan with my dog is during prime migration, or when going slow and focusing is important, he stays home.  When it is traveling around for quick stop and scans I bring him.  I also bring him if I am going out in the evening.  He needs the walk time also.  He has improved immensely though, so maybe eventually he can come with me more.  About 75% of the time when I say “Stop”, he will stop pulling and come back to me.  The other 25% of the time the camera/bins get yanked away from my eyes.  

I think the reason the Clapper Rail popped up in to view is because he was with me.  When I do take him, I don’t see the birds reacting any differently to him than to me.  

Yeah, I guess there is a benefit to bringing a dog with you, besides the company.  It's the yanking that's the problem for me.

2 hours ago, Charlie Spencer said:

I tried once or twice.  My terrier just wants to keep moving, tugging at the leash so I can't keep the binos steady, sniffing in pursuit of The Next Great Fragrance.  I gave up taking glasses or camera when I walk her, and have accepted that anything I submit will be as 'Incidental'.

 I wish they could just stop thinking about "The Next Great Fragrance" for a minute! ?

I might try birding more with my Boston.  She's lightweight and pretty good at following commands (learning them is another story!).

[chipperatl]

6 minutes ago, The Bird Nuts said:

Yeah, I guess there is a benefit to bringing a dog with you, besides the company.  It's the yanking that's the problem for me.

 

He was horrible last year as a < 1year old.  It was fun in the winter though as we would walk along a river, so his enthusiasm to keep going kept me going.  I tried taking him on some trails, but he would get so frustrated at the pace he would start to do "bat out of Hades" runs and just zoom around me and hitting well past the extent of the leash distance.  I think we have an understanding though when we go to a nearby Nature Area.  There is a spot I can let him off leash and he can run around in the water.  He puts up with the stop and looks knowing he will get to do that.  

[lonestranger]

2 minutes ago, The Bird Nuts said:

It's the yanking that's the problem for me.

I suggest trying to exercise your dog a bit before a birding walk. My dog settles down and quits pulling on the leash the longer we walk. If she's had some exercise before the walk, even just a short pre-walk walk, she calms down a lot sooner. Unfortunately, I don't think there's a solution that will stop a dog from finding The Next Great Fagrance and pulling at the camera/binos just when you try to focus on a bird. 

[chipperatl]

My occasional Birding Buddy.  You can see why he no-likey the mid-80's to mid-90's offered up last week.  

[Charlie Spencer]

27 minutes ago, chipperatl said:

You can see why he no-likey the mid-80's to mid-90's offered up last week.  

You do realize there are spots in the coastal southeast that get much warmer than June in the Greater Cape Fear Metropolitan Area, right?  

[chipperatl]

1 minute ago, Charlie Spencer said:

You do realize there are spots in the coastal southeast that get much warmer than June in the Greater Cape Fear Metropolitan Area, right?  

If you were sane people it would be inhabited by only Mad Max extras.  ?. Average high at ILM shows low to mid 80's.  I think we passed 90 4 or 5 days last week (Accuweather showed 100 on the 1st), plus sun.  He can get so hot when in the sun, his fur is almost too hot to touch.  

[Charlie Spencer]

It's not the heat, it's the people who won't shut up about the humidity.

Imagine going through 'boot camp' at the Army's Ft. Jackson or the Marines' Parris Island in July or August.  100F+  and humidity to match.  I laugh every time I see new recruits getting off the plane, talking trash as they cross the tarmac.  They're sweating by the time they get to the terminal

Edited June 8, 2022 by Charlie Spencer

[The Bird Nuts]

1 hour ago, chipperatl said:

My occasional Birding Buddy.  You can see why he no-likey the mid-80's to mid-90's offered up last week.  

He's gorgeous!  I had a black lab mix and she would pant nonstop during the Vermont summers.  After she passed, I said no more medium- to long-haired dogs for me!

[The Bird Nuts]

2 hours ago, lonestranger said:

I suggest trying to exercise your dog a bit before a birding walk. My dog settles down and quits pulling on the leash the longer we walk. If she's had some exercise before the walk, even just a short pre-walk walk, she calms down a lot sooner. Unfortunately, I don't think there's a solution that will stop a dog from finding The Next Great Fagrance and pulling at the camera/binos just when you try to focus on a bird. 

Thanks!  That's not a bad idea.

@chipperatl Sorry about turning this into a thread about birding with dogs!

[blackburnian]

NC is miserable in the summer unless you head up into the mountains or out into the ocean. I pretty much don’t bird for 3 months unless I’m on a pelagic. 

[Kevin]

Y'all are a bunch of wimps, at the moment it is 107, and it is only 1:30. It very well may not rain for two or three months, and it will continue to hit 100 nearly every day until sometime in September(It started breaking triple digits the first week of May.) it will continue to hit 105 and 110 into August, and we will be lucky on the days it drops below 80 for an hour or so. 

Oh yeah, we don't have real "trees" like most of you, but instead overgrown bushes. Anything that is 15 feet is a tree, and if it hits 25 foot is is big, and that is only near water, so there is not exactly lots of shade around, but instead a large ball of fire shining on you. 

[chipperatl]

1 hour ago, Kevin said:

Y'all are a bunch of wimps, at the moment it is 107, and it is only 1:30. It very well may not rain for two or three months, and it will continue to hit 100 nearly every day until sometime in September(It started breaking triple digits the first week of May.) it will continue to hit 105 and 110 into August, and we will be lucky on the days it drops below 80 for an hour or so. 

Oh yeah, we don't have real "trees" like most of you, but instead overgrown bushes. Anything that is 15 feet is a tree, and if it hits 25 foot is is big, and that is only near water, so there is not exactly lots of shade around, but instead a large ball of fire shining on you. 

Have fun birding with that

[lonestranger]

1 hour ago, Kevin said:

Y'all are a bunch of wimps, at the moment it is 107, and it is only 1:30. It very well may not rain for two or three months, and it will continue to hit 100 nearly every day until sometime in September(It started breaking triple digits the first week of May.) it will continue to hit 105 and 110 into August, and we will be lucky on the days it drops below 80 for an hour or so. 

Oh yeah, we don't have real "trees" like most of you, but instead overgrown bushes. Anything that is 15 feet is a tree, and if it hits 25 foot is is big, and that is only near water, so there is not exactly lots of shade around, but instead a large ball of fire shining on you. 

Come up to my neck of the woods in January or February and we'll see who the wimps are. ?   

[Charlie Spencer]

13 hours ago, lonestranger said:

Come up to my neck of the woods in January or February and we'll see who the wimps are. ?   

I'll take my heat, thankyouverymuch.

[Kevin]

2 hours ago, Charlie Spencer said:

I'll take my heat, thankyouverymuch.

Indeed, that 110 yesterday is sounding better by the moment.