Trip Report

County Birding

Lincoln County

February 10, 2021

Guide: Simon Thompson

Lincoln County is one of the most underbirded counties in North Carolina with barely 200 species recorded. As part of our new “County Birding” series we are exploring several of the “quieter” counties, along with the more popular birding destinations.

For our Lincoln County trip we met at Betty G Ross Community Park, which is a multi-use facility with some large tracts of riparian woodland. We spent about an hour here and managed a healthy list of the more commonly-expected winter species, such as both Golden and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Dark-eyed Junco and White-throated Sparrow. Our next stop was Beatty’s Ford Park, one of the very few access point on Lake Norman where we could look over the lake. Despite the boat traffic we found Horned Grebe and Common Loon, as well as both expected gulls. A nice surprise was an over-wintering Orange-crowned Warbler in a remnant patch of woodland along the shore, along with Brown Creeper and Winter Wren.

Forney Creek Greenway was our third stop in the county and has the potential to be an excellent birding spot. Unfortunately a patch of land adjacent to the Greenway was being destroyed and leveled to be an industrial site – the constant assault on the natural world never stops! Despite this fact, the small lake had over 75 Ring-necked Ducks and several Redhead – great ducks for the county. After hiking the mile and a half in and back, we decided to call it a day and head over to Grand View Farm in nearby Cleveland County to see the ducks. We were not disappointed as one of the small lakes had 7 species of waterfowl, including over 10 Redhead. The immature Red-headed Woodpecker showed for a while and several Wilson’s Snipe flushed from the marshy spot next to the lake.

We didn’t add anything new to the Lincoln County list, but our daily total of 54 was not bad for a mid-winter day. Thanks to all who joined the trip and to Bill for showing us his farm.

County Birding: Lincoln County

February 10, 2021

Lincoln County: 54 Species Encountered

Canada Goose
Mallard
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Bufflehead
Pied-billed Grebe
Horned Grebe
Mourning Dove
Killdeer
Bonaparte’s Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Common Loon
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker

    Hairy Woodpecker
    Pileated Woodpecker
    Northern Flicker
    Eastern Phoebe
    Blue Jay
    American Crow     
    Carolina Chickadee
    Tufted Titmouse
    Golden-crowned Kinglet
    Ruby-crowned Kinglet
    White-breasted Nuthatch
    Brown-headed Nuthatch
    Brown Creeper
    Winter Wren
    Carolina Wren
    European Starling
    Brown Thrasher
    Northern Mockingbird

    Eastern Bluebird
    Hermit Thrush
    American Robin
    House Sparrow
    House Finch
    American Goldfinch
    Chipping Sparrow
    Dark-eyed Junco
    White-throated Sparrow
    Song Sparrow
    Eastern Towhee
    Common Grackle
    Orange-crowned Warbler
    Pine Warbler
    Yellow-rumped Warbler
    Northern Cardinal

 
 

County Birding: Cleveland County

February 10, 2021

Cleveland County: 36 Species Encountered

Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Gadwall
Mallard
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Mourning Dove
Killdeer
Wilson’s Snipe

    Ring-billed Gull
    Double-crested Cormorant
    Great Blue Heron
    Black Vulture
    Turkey Vulture
    Bald Eagle
    Red-headed Woodpecker
    Red-bellied Woodpecker
    Downy Woodpecker
    Loggerhead Shrike
    Blue Jay American Crow

    Carolina Chickadee
    Tufted Titmouse
    Carolina Wren
    European Starling
    Northern Mockingbird
    Eastern Bluebird
    Cedar Waxwing
    House Finch
    Eastern Towhee
    Eastern Meadowlark
    Pine Warbler
    Northern Cardinal