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
