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Birdspotting in the Archive

Dr. Charles Konrad is the Official Birdspotter of the Cary Tree Archive. He is a professor in the geography department at UNC-Chapel Hill who studies extreme weather and its impacts on society across the southeastern United States. Dr. Konrad has been spotting birds in the Tree Archive's vicinity since the mid 1990’s. With the increasing habitat diversity and tree cover, he has seen a marked increase in the number of bird species over the years. He expects that more bird species will make the Archive their home in the coming years, with the introduction of more native plant and tree species.

The species below were spotted by Dr. Konrad in three decades of observation in the general area of the Archive. He kindly lists the months in which the various species have been spotted, and the frequencies of those observations.

Species names in the chart below are links to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology page for each bird. These pages contain extensive information about the bird and include recordings of its calls and songs. To get more information on each bird, simply click the link on the bird name, and this will take you to the respective bird species webpage on Cornell Lab's All About Birds website. Over the next year, we will be creating a webpage for each bird species that provides, among other things, useful information on observing the bird in the Tree Archive. These pages will be linked to the bird list as they are completed.

American Birding Association
CODE OF BIRDING ETHICS

RELATIVE ABUNDANCE
      C   =  Common (Easily found on any day in the appropriate habitat.)
      FC =  Fairly Common (Usually found on any day with some patience and effort in the appropriate habitat.)
      U   =  Uncommon (Found on some days and may be entirely absent for extended periods.)
      R   =  Rare (Found once or twice every few years.)

DISTINCT CHARACTERISTICS
      o  =  SEEN OVERHEAD – Usually seen flying overhead and not perching in the Archive area.
      f   =  PRESENT IN LARGE FLOCKS – Clustered in small areas and consequently not present on many days.
      n  =  SEEN AT NIGHT.

Thus, FCo means a Fairly Common bird seen overhead.

[Birds are listed below in order of frequency of observation by Dr. Konrad, and not in alphabetical order. To find a bird without scrolling, create a search block on the page using Ctrl + F and type in the species name.]

YEAR ROUND RESIDENTS

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

1

Carolina Wren

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

2

Northern Cardinal

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

3

American Crow

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

4

House Finch

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

5

Carolina Chickadee

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

6

Tufted Titmouse

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

7

Chipping Sparrow

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

8

Song Sparrow

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

9

Eastern Bluebird

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

10

Blue Jay

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

11

Brown-headed Nuthatch

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

12

Mourning Dove

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

13

Pine Warbler

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

14

Red-shouldered Hawk

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

15

Red-bellied Woodpecker

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

16

Downy Woodpecker

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

17

Eastern Towhee

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

18

Northern Flicker

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

19

American Goldfinch

FC

FC

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

FC

FC

20

American Robin

FCf

FCf

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

FC

FCf

21

Brown Thrasher

FC

FC

FC

FC

FC

FC

FC

FC

FC

FC

FC

FC

22

Cooper's Hawk

FC

FC

FC

FC

FC

U

U

U

U

FC

FC

FC

23

White-breasted Nuthatch

FC

FC

FC

FC

FC

FC

U

U

U

U

U

U

24

Mallard Duck

U

FC

FC

FC

FC

FC

FC

FC

FC

FC

FC

FC

25

Common Grackle

Uf

Uf

FCf

FCf

FCf

FCf

FCf

FCf

FCf

FCf

Uf

Uf

26

Brown-headed Cowbird

Uf

Uf

FCf

FC

FC

FC

FC

U

U

U

Uf

Uf

27

Turkey Vulture

FCo

FCo

FCo

FCo

FCo

FCo

FCo

FCo

FCo

FCo

FCo

FCo

28

Barred Owl

Un

Un

Un

Un

Un

Un

Un

Un

Un

Un

Un

Un

29

Red-tailed Hawk

U

U

U

U

U

U

U

U

U

U

U

U

30

Black Vulture

Uo

Uo

Uo

Uo

Uo

Uo

Uo

Uo

Uo

Uo

Uo

Uo

31

Great Blue Heron

Uo

Uo

Uo

Uo

Uo

Uo

Uo

Uo

Uo

Uo

Uo

Uo

SUMMER RESIDENTS

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

32

House Wren

C

C

C

C

33

Gray Catbird

FC

C

C

C

C

C

FC

34

Great Crested Flycatcher

U

C

C

C

C

FC

35

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

U

FC

FC

FC

C

C

36

Fish Crow

U

U

FC

FC

FC

FC

FC

FC

U

37

Chimney Swift

U

FC

FC

FC

FC

U

38

Eastern Kingbird

R

R

WINTER RESIDENTS

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

39

White-throated Sparrow

C

C

C

C

U

U

C

C

40

Yellow-rumped Warbler

C

C

C

C

FC

C

C

41

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

C

C

C

C

U

U

C

C

42

Canada Goose

Co

Co

Co

Uo

Co

43

Eastern Phoebe

FC

FC

FC

FC

U

U

FC

FC

FC

44

Golden-crowned Kinglet

FC

FC

FC

U

U

FC

FC

45

Dark-eyed Junco

FC

FC

FC

U

FC

FC

46

Red-winged Blackbird

Uf

FCf

FCf

Uf

47

Ring-billed Gull

FCo

FCo

FCo

FCo

48

European Starling

Uf

FCf

FCf

49

Bald Eagle

Uo

Uo

Uo

Uo

Uo

Uo

Uo

Uo

50

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

U

U

U

U

U

U

51

Northern Mockingbird

U

U

U

U

U

U

52

Pine Siskin

Uf

Uf

Uf

53

Field Sparrow

U

U

U

U

U

U

54

Red-breasted Nuthatch

U

U

U

U

U

U

55

Brown Creeper

U

U

U

U

U

U

56

Cedar Waxwing

U

U

U

U

SPRING MIGRANTS

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

57

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

FC

U

58

Common Yellowthroat

U

FC

59

White-eyed Vireo

U

U

60

Blue-headed Vireo

U

U

U

61

Red-eyed Vireo

U

U

U

62

Northern Parula

U

U

63

Prairie Warbler

U

U

64

Black and White Warbler

U

U

65

Yellow Warbler

U

U

66

American Redstart

U

U

67

Rose Breasted Grosbeak

U

U

68

Indigo Bunting

R

69

Blackpoll Warbler

R

Additional spottings; First spottings

70	Osprey	by Richard Carroll	Spring 2021
71	Hermit Thrush	by David Lindquist	Spring 2021
72	Northern Rough-winged Swallow	by Richard Carroll	Spring 2021
73	Sharp-shinned Hawk	by Richard Carroll and David Lindquist	Spring 2021
74	Double-crested Cormorant	by David Lindquist, Richard Carroll, and Team Gebeaux (Steven and Kristen)	Spring 2021
75	Summer Tanager	by Team Gebeaux	Spring 2021
76	Green Heron	by Richard Carroll and George McDowell	May 14, 2022