Date: March 23, 2003

Time: 7:30-11:00 AM

Baptist Road and Rolling View State Recreation Area

Hickory Hill Boat Ramp just east of I-85

Clear, warm, and calm after heavy rain earlier this week

PELICANIFORMES
Double-crested Cormorant	100	flying, swimming, and perched on snags
CICONIIFORMES
Black Vulture	1	soaring over NC 98
Turkey Vulture	8	first soaring about 9:00
ANSERIFORMES
Canada Goose	1	on a pond on Patterson Road
Wood Duck	2	a pair flying over Rolling View marina
Ring-necked Duck	70	including 48 on a pond on Patterson Road
Lesser Scaup	1	female with ring-necks
unidentified scaup	50	in a distant flock north of Hickory Hill Boat Ramp (many males had very white flanks -- possibly some Greaters)
FALCONIFORMES
Osprey	6	on at least four nests in view from Hickory Hill Boat Ramp
GALLIFORMES
Wild Turkey	5	including 3 hens and 2 toms allowed great views on Baptist Road
CHARADRIIFORMES
Ring-billed Gull	20	scattered
Bonaparte's Gull	20	scattered on the lake near Hickory Hill Boat Ramp
COLUMBIFORMES
Mourning Dove	10	including one calling
PICIFORMES
Red-bellied Woodpecker	1	calling
Northern Flicker	1	calling
PASSERIFORMES
JAY AND CROW FAMILY
American Crow	8	scattered singles
SWALLOW FAMILY
Northern Rough-winged Swallow	1	on power lines in Bell Tower Parking Lot -- very early date!
CHICKADEE FAMILY
Carolina Chickadee	4	including several singing
Tufted Titmouse	6	including several singing
NUTHATCH FAMILY
Brown-headed Nuthatch	6	in small family groups -- noisy
WREN FAMILY
Carolina Wren	4	singing
MIMIC FAMILY
Northern Mockingbird	6	singing
THRUSH FAMILY
American Robin	20	in woods at Rolling View Rec Area
Hermit Thrush	1	flushed from the ground in Rolling View Rec Area
Eastern Bluebird	6	along roads
WOOD-WARBLER FAMILY
Pine Warbler	8	including some nice looks at 2 males chasing each other near a drab female -- also several others singing in pines
CARDINAL FAMILY
Northern Cardinal	4	including several singing
SPARROW FAMILY
Eastern Towhee	1	singing
Dark-eyed Junco	1
White-throated Sparrow	1	singing uncrystallized songs
Chipping Sparrow	1	one singing its mechanical song near a house
FINCH FAMILY
House Finch	3	singing their heads off around the Bell Tower Lot
American Goldfinch	1	singing like a canary and calling right overhead at Rolling View

NOTES

The Rough-winged Swallow, about a month early, might have thought the Bell Tower Lot was a body of water -- their usual habitat!

The Wild Turkeys put on a great show in the morning sunshine. One tom displayed with fanned tail and erect snood to his rival, while three females grazed peacefully 25 m away!

Pine Warblers distracted by chasing each other also provided us with some close-up views.   Others serenaded us with their "musical" trills!

We also had great looks at the flock of Ring-necked Ducks, no doubt on their way northward, and then found at least four occupied Osprey nests in view from Hickory Hill Boat Ramp.

Other animals included three White-tailed Deer watching us while we watched the turkeys.   The pond with the Ring-necked Ducks had about 100 turtles, probably Yellow-bellied Turtles, out for some spring sunshine.   Upland Chorus Frogs and a Pickerel Frog hung out around vernal pools at Rolling View -- but the pools had no signs of salamander eggs or larvae.