Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge, the 113Th Christmas Bird Count

After chasing this rare visitor, Snowy Owl, I could not wait for this year's Christmas Bird Count, a proud traditional since 1900! I started off my first Christmas Bird Count by joining fellow birders in the early morning of December 14 at Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge, a birding hot spot I have visited often. Our team of four people including Tim Keyes as our team leader,  Beth Roth, Jaynne Reichert and myself, spotted 74 species in seven hours! The most memorable species for me is to see a juvenile Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) fly into Bluebill Pond at around 8:15 AM and three American Wigeons!



After spotting nine Black-faced Spoonbills during my recent visit to Asia, seeing this Roseate Spoonbill taxi and land in front of my eyes is another highlight of this Christmas Bird Count!

Juvenile Roseate Spoonbill (玫瑰琵鷺). Click image to enlarge. 

Pied-billed Grebe (non-breeding), Bluebill Pond, Harris Neck NWR

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Many thanks to Dot Bambach's great effort to organize this event, refuge manage Kimberly Hayes providing us hot chili, home-made cornbread and fruit for lunch, and Jaynne Reichert being such a patient and tireless chauffeur to make our CBC a wonderful day to remember. Finally, my appreciation also goes to our team leaders, Tim Keyes (morning) and Beth Roth (afternoon), we spotted over 70 species,  including my lifer, American Wigeon! Yeah!!

I was glad to photograph this House Finch pair :) 

Final note, I did go down to Jekyll Island Saturday morning to search for this Western Kingbird, which is supposed to be another rare bird in the area. Unfortunately, I did not have the "king's luck" :).. Oh, well, birding is always a miss or hit. But I still managed to get few shots and I was very happy! -- Happy Birding! -- Linda

Results of Team 14A in the alphabetic order: Species total number

American Coot  21

American Crow  15

American Goldfinch  16

American Robin  8

American Wigeon  3

Belted Kingfisher  3

Black Vulture  47

Black-and-white Warbler  1

Blue Jay  1

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  2

Blue-headed Vireo  2

Blue-winged Teal  15

Boat-tailed Grackle  47

Brown-headed Nuthatch  1

Bufflehead  5

Carolina Chickadee  21

Carolina Wren  4

Cedar Waxwing  2

Common Gallinule  3

Common Grackle  12

Common Loon  15     fly over head

Common Yellowthroat  2

Double-crested Cormorant  4

Downy Woodpecker  (male, female) 2

Eastern Bluebird  1

Eastern Phoebe  6

Eastern Towhee  7

Forster's Tern  1

Gadwall  15

Glossy Ibis  1

Golden-crowned Kinglet  2

Great Blue Heron  5

Great Egret  6

Green-winged Teal  75

Hooded Merganser  21

House Finch  5

Killdeer  6

Laughing Gull  1

Least Sandpiper  20

Little Blue Heron  15

Loggerhead Shrike  1

Mourning Dove  7

Northern Cardinal  5

Northern Mockingbird  6

Northern Shoveler  1

Palm Warbler  1

Pied-billed Grebe  5

Pileated Woodpecker  2

Pine Warbler  11

Red-bellied Woodpecker  7

Red-breasted Nuthatch  2

Red-headed Woodpecker  2

Red-shouldered Hawk  2

Red-tailed Hawk  3

Red-winged Blackbird  33

Ring-billed Gull  2

Roseate Spoonbill  1

Ruby-crowned Kinglet  15

Sharp-shinned Hawk  1

Snowy Egret  20

Song Sparrow  14

Swamp Sparrow  19

Tricolored Heron  10

Tufted Titmouse  18

Turkey Vulture  10

White Ibis  33

White-eyed Vireo  1

White-throated Sparrow  3

Wilson's Snipe  15

Wood Duck  25

Wood Stork  1

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker  3

Yellow-rumped Warbler  15

Yellow-throated Warbler  1