"Duck Day" in Henderson and Buncombe Counties, NC
February 26, 2006

Abbreviation - Location
JU - Lake Junaluska
JL - Lake Julian
OC - Lake Osceola
CC - Crooked Creek pond
FS - Four Seasons Blvd. wetland area

Finding good ducks in the mountains usually means the weather is unfit for any other outdoor activity. Though a bit cool, our duck day outing began under partly cloudy skies and very tolerable temperatures.

Our first stop at Lake Osceola produced a wide variety of waterfowl including good looks at Pied-billed Grebe, Canada Goose, Wood Duck (both sexes), Mallard (both sexes), Gadwall (both sexes), Green-winged Teal (both sexes), Redhead (both sexes), Ring-necked Duck (male), and Ruddy Ducks (two males with one in alternate/breeding plumage and the other in basic plumage) and American Coot. Though not seen, we heard the airy call notes of a Brown Creeper and a singing Pine Warbler while at the lake.

At our next stop, a small pond in the Crooked Creek Subdivision, we picked up American Wigeon (both sexes), and had more looks at Pied-billed Grebe, Ring-necked Duck, Gadwall, and American Coot. Many of us also appreciated viewing a Great Blue Heron; although not rare in the Mountains. We observed our bird 60 plus feet up in the top of a white pine tree.

After leaving Crooked Creek, we meandered over to Four-Seasons Marsh, which was loaded with waterfowl! Everyone enjoyed both binocular and scope views of Northern Pintail (both sexes) and Northern Shoveler (both sexes) along with more great looks at Wood Duck, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, Ring-necked Duck, and American Coot.

We then convened at Lake Julian, which was empty other then the resident geese and ducks and a smattering of American Coot. We enjoyed a wonderful gourmet picnic and recapped the day's sights and sounds.

After lunch, a few of us ventured on to Lake Junaluska to see if it was holding anything new. We were rewarded with Lesser Scaup (both sexes) and Hooded Merganser (both sexes). Also on the lake were more Redhead and Ring-necked Duck. The side by side scope views of Lesser Scaup, Ring-necked Duck, and Redhead were certainly worth the extra drive.

All in all, we ended the day with 49 species including 14 species of duck; a wonderful tally considering we stayed dry and somewhat warm on a February day in the mountains of western North Carolina!

Jonathan Mays