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5 minutes ago, HamRHead said:

Red-cockaded Woodpecker from last Saturday. We saw two and possibly a third. Their range is limited to the southeast. RCWs are somewhat endangered. They are the only woodpecker to nest in live trees and they only nest in Longleaf pines. The pines have to be about eighty years old before they are large enough for nesting purposes. In years past, many Longleaf pines were harvested and replaced with fast growing Loblolly pines. More recently, steps have been taken to restore Longleaf pine habitat. Much of this has been done on military bases. Locally we have a few colonies on the Fort Gordon Army base. This is also the first banded bird I have seen. Virtually all RCWs are banded. The photos aren’t great but good enough for ID. As always, woohoo!

SWEET!!!  Were you at Gordon?  I'll understand if you don't feel comfortable disclosing the location.

I keep meaning to get over Ft. Jackson; I still have a fort map with the restricted 'RCW' areas marked on it.  Military posts often have large areas where operations are restricted or prohibited due to wildlife.  Posts in the southeast track birds, tortoises, gators, among others.

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9 minutes ago, Charlie Spencer said:

SWEET!!!  Were you at Gordon?  I'll understand if you don't feel comfortable disclosing the location.

I keep meaning to get over Ft. Jackson; I still have a fort map with the restricted 'RCW' areas marked on it.  Military posts often have large areas where operations are restricted or prohibited due to wildlife.  Posts in the southeast track birds, tortoises, gators, among others.

Yes, Fort Gordon. It is listed on eBird as a restricted area but I think that may be because the general public cannot just walk on base and go birding. In the company of an enlisted friend it was not a problem. Okefenokee has them too.

Edited by HamRHead
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7 minutes ago, HamRHead said:

Yes, Fort Gordon. It is listed on eBird as a restricted area but I think that may be because the general public cannot just walk on base an go birding. In the company of an enlisted friend it was not a problem. Okefenokee has them too.

My military retiree ID card takes care of access.  There are portions of Fort Jackson that are allocated to the National Guard, and those areas are much quieter during the week than the areas used for basic training.   I just have to get off my butt.

Fort Stewart, near Savannah, used to be a piece of cake to drive through because of a major state highway, but that was pre-9/11.  Great wetlands but I haven't had a reason to be there in a couple of decades.

Edited by Charlie Spencer
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1 hour ago, HamRHead said:

Yes, Fort Gordon. It is listed on eBird as a restricted area but I think that may be because the general public cannot just walk on base and go birding. In the company of an enlisted friend it was not a problem. Okefenokee has them too.

I keep meaning to go on Gordon to get those. I mean, I'm an active duty soldier's wife, so access isn't a thing. I just don't know exactly where to go, and would feel more comfortable going with someone who knows where they are.

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1 minute ago, meghann said:

I keep meaning to go on Gordon to get those. I mean, I'm an active duty soldier's wife, so access isn't a thing. I just don't know exactly where to go, and would feel more comfortable going with someone who knows where they are.

You definitely have to go find them!

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Lifer Redheads!  I was running to the grocery and took a detour past a nearby farm pond I check on frequently.  I took a couple of quick photos and recorded them in eBird as Scaup species / Incidental.  Then I looked at the photos today!  My first lifer of 2019.  The same pond gave me Ruddy Ducks 16 months ago, Snow Goose two years ago, and Northern Rough-Winged Swallow almost three years ago.

640

Edited by Charlie Spencer
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Lockwood Folly, southeastern NC, last weekend.  The neighborhood my parents live in fronts on the river, with a couple of public piers that make for good birding at low tide.  I only had about 30 minutes but they were worthwhile.  I've had five lifers total between the two piers over the years.

185. American Oystercatcher (heavily cropped)

image.png.56628ccb5d5e2f9c2a0c505a435df384.png

186. Dunlin (also cropped)

image.png.af20efce66c911d099b3ca898f08ea89.png

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I almost went a year without seeing any life birds. Last week I got #530 Common Poorwill a few minutes from my apartment (Copperas Cove, TX) and today I braved 30+ mph winds to see if I could find anything interesting at some cattle ponds in Belton. Found a handful of American Golden-Plovers, a long overdue lifebird for me, #531.

Unfortunately, due to the weather, I wasn't able to get great pics.

rCFk7Dm.jpg

Edited by Liam
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2 minutes ago, HamRHead said:

Five Lifers from this weekend--Edisto Beach State Park and adjacent Botany Bay Heritage Preserve and WMA.

Whimbrel, Black-bellied Plover, Black Scoter, Red Knot, and Wilson's Plover.

Nice weekend! I still don't have Whimbrel or Red Knot. 

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3 minutes ago, meghann said:

Nice weekend! I still don't have Whimbrel or Red Knot. 

I saw eight Whimbrels on Sunday and twenty to thirty Red Knots. If you go looking for them you have to visit Botany Bay Heritage Preserve:

https://www.scpictureproject.org/charleston-county/botany-bay.html

Be sure to go to the beach at low tide. It disappears at high tide.

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