BIRDWATCHING CLASS


March 30, 2024 from 9:00 am to 10:00 am


Limited to 12 Participants Age 8 and Above


Meet at the Carroll Pollinator Garden at 8:45 am


Access to the Archive is shown here



On March 30, Dr. Charles "Chip" Konrad, Director of the Southeast Regional Climate Center, Certified Consulting Meteorologist, Geographer, Professor in the Department of Geography at UNC Chapel Hill, and the Official Birdwatcher of the Cary Tree Archive, will lead a class on birdwatching. Chip has been observing birds in and around the Archive for 30 years. His list of birds spotted there in that time is shown in the chart below.

The class [which will be limited to 12 persons] will include a walk through the Archive. Chip will also discuss various online programs for recording, cataloging, and sharing a birder's sightings.

Participants should dress appropriately for walking through natural areas. Binoculars are recommended but not required. To register please send an email to George@BeautifyCary.org indicating you would like to join the class. The first 12 who register are in, then I'll start a waiting list.



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 FCf FCf 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 U U U U U U U U U U U U

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 Hermit Thrush U U U U U U
51 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker U U U U U U
52 Northern Mockingbird U U U U U U
53 Pine Siskin Uf Uf Uf
54 Field Sparrow U U U U U U
55 Red-breasted Nuthatch U U U U U U
56 Brown Creeper U U U U U U
57 Cedar Waxwing U U U U

SPRING MIGRANTS Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
58 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher FC U
59 Common Yellowthroat U FC
60 White-eyed Vireo U U
61 Blue-headed Vireo U U U
62 Red-eyed Vireo U U U
63 Northern Parula U U
64 Prairie Warbler U U
65 Black and White Warbler U U
66 Yellow Warbler U U
67 American Redstart U U
68 Rose Breasted Grosbeak U U
69 Indigo Bunting R
70 Blackpoll Warbler R
71 Baltimore Oriole R

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