Friday, August 22, 2014

Take a Deep Breath: Birding in the Great Smokeys

While dawdling in North Carolina I had the great fortune to spend a few days in Waynesville, which is only a delightful 30 minute drive from some excellent birding trails in the Great Smokey Mountains, and equidistant from Asheville NC, one of North America's weirdest and most entertaining places.  Leaving before sun up, there was the predictably thick layer of fog along the mountain road, but even after the sun had its say, the mountains seemed to continue producing their own as the thick trees transpired with the cool morning air. It was beyond lovely, and it felt almost vulgar to zoom my focus in from the scenery and look at the little, mortal things. 


Juncos and Indigo Buntings were among the first birds to great the dawn, as well as Cedar Waxwings and a resident Golden-crowned Kinglet--a bird it felt very strange to see in late June. Because I couldn't find the famous Art Loeb trailhead, which I had driven past, I spent the morning on Black Balsam. It didn't pass through as much pine as Art Loeb, but the habitat was still gorgeous and there was plenty of activity. Chips and squeeks issued forth from the many tangles, while little flashes of yellow were more tantalizing, dare I say titillating, than an all-you-can-eat Thai buffet. 
The Chestnut-sided Warblers, seen the day before on Clingman's Dome, were still present and vocal, and another colorful lover of the elevated brush popped into view as well.  


Almost every eastern Wood Warbler feels like a long-overdue lifer, even though my opportunities for seeing them have been few and far between. It must be the saturation, the fact that so many of these birds' images are used on bird books, posters, club and company insignias, event or festival signs, and so forth. It's very understandable that these colorful fellows are the poster-children for birding paraphernalia, but the side effect is that, for one such as myself, it's like I've been missing a big, obvious, existentially essential aspect of North American birding (and to that point, I guess I have). 
The Hooded Warbler, with its obvious cowl, tries to stay out of the spotlight. The hood also doubles as a veil of anonymity for these birds, who have very controversial stances on Capital Punishment. J.J. Audubon nicknamed them "The Cheerful Executioners."


The Black Balsam trail was also the site of another personal victory, though one with less clear photographic proof. Through the misty morning the simultaneously mournful and delightful call of the Veery echoed forth from the thickly vegetated hillsides, as it had done the day before. This is a common experience any time I've birded near thick woods in the east, but never before had I actually seen the bird. 
Many of them called far from the trail, and the dew-soaked grass had already made my trousers chilled and uncomfortably form-fitting. But one bird called out just close enough to the path, and after some thoroughly saturating bush-crashing and a not inconsiderably amount of pishing (which may have had no effect), I finally stole a glimpse and a poor photo, of this woodland operatic phantom.   


As I mentioned before, one of the main attractions in Carolina was being able to explore beautiful areas without any pressures from time, temperature, or the Border Patrol. Taking scenery shots that really capture the atmosphere and environment of an area is very difficult, unless you're Jen Sanford. It's funny that in retrospect, scene shots such as the one below are pretty ubiquitous for the area. An American Dipper or two on the creek rock would be the only possible improvement.


It was a bit disappointing to miss the higher, thicker pine forest due to my choice of trail, but the alpine meadows and liminal brush between them and the deciduous woods had plenty of good stuff. The birds mentioned earlier made for a wonderful opening, but the last lifer of the day stole the show. Even with the incredibly high standards set by the Wood Warblers, this bird is a real looker. The vast majority of their breeding habitat is far to the north in Canada, but plenty of these birds, like many other Warbler species, stray down from their more northern range and breed along the Appalachians. 


The yellow spectacles and prominent eye, plus the bird's quaint accent and charmingly good manners all make it a winner. But best of all, this bird comes with its own built-in carcanet, a dripping medalion that draws the eyes up to the pure yellow throat and simultaneously down to the breast. Many would-be femme fatales and even ambitious trophy-wives cannot pull off this look, this balance, so well as the scrub-loving Canada Warbler. It's aboot time someone did it right.


I will have another opportunity to bird in this area, on the Tennessee side, next June, but for sake of my sanity and living in the moment, etc., I should say nothing more than that I am looking forward to it tremendously. There was still some birding work to do in Carolina, even after returning from the mountains. A little chunk of territory, Wayne County, needed to get its eBird information on the map.

17 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Gorgeous bird...but why doesn't it have the White-throated Sparrow song???

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    2. White-throated Sparrows are chunkier and have huge lungs. White-throated doesn't get the visual attention though like Oh Canada does.

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    3. NAture does always find a way to balance things out...

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    4. Laurence, your comment about the mismatched songs of the WTSP and CAWA is brilliant. Now I'm frustrated with nature...or Canadians. Or both.

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    5. I'd go with both there Josh. Why is Gunnison's Sage Grouse so bad at breeding? Why does the Canada Warbler not say Canada? Plus, Canadians have such an annoying amount of social stability...

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  2. Laurence, what a treat to bird there! I love the Canada warbler and have seen it a few times here in the Northeast! It is a stunner! However, I have yet to see a Hooded Warbler, so you are one up on me there! I have seen and photographed the elusive Veery though! Nice post!

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    1. Thanks Kathie,

      I think, of the birds you mentioned, you've accomplished the hardest of the three!

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  3. Ah, yes. Not being a coastal bird, the Canada Warbler always eluded us. And now, as Jack said to Kate on Lost, "we have to go back!!" (If I remember correctly, it was because Jack had missed some island endemics upon their first tour). Canada Warbler alone would well justify any future birding trips we make back east, as your lovely photos demonstrate. Glad you had such a pleasant morning to share with us!

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    1. I wish I could keep up with the references, but I'm afraid you've lost me. I might have followed that show if the avifauna were more central. Your explanation makes sense though.

      It's almost eerie to feel so pleased with Canada and Chestnut-sided Warbler, and then to realize that's just the tip of the Warbler iceberg...

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  4. Mighty fine! Migrants and vagrants are fun, but nothing beats seeing a wood warbler where he belongs - on his home turf in the woods. And a Canada on territory at that! Those are some crushing photos of my photo nemesis bird.



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    1. Cheers Josh you said it.
      This wasn't another dull, frumpy vagrant hanging out in a park eucalyptus tree. It was a singing CAWA amidst other gorgeousness.
      gush gush gush gush

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  5. Niiiiice shots. I am a bit warbler starved here in Iowa (not that some of them don't pass through, it's just a pain to go see them).

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    1. It's feast or famine for me I guess, or more like moderate eating and famine, as I only found a half-dozen species in NC.
      You gotta make some time dude!

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  6. Nice shooting, Bro! My warbler photos are usually full-frame vegetation with a small yellow blur.

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    1. Cheers and Chest-bumps Bro,

      It's funny how little birds that are so opposite of Bigfoot can imitate him so well in photos.

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  7. The last (and only) time I was in that region, I wasn't an active birder, so alas what wonders I missed! I did try a bit of owling as I drove from Tennesee to North Carolina through the park one night, but no luck. Last year we were tripping over Veeries they were so plentiful that they were dripping off the trees at the School of Conservation, and this year, many fewer. So nice catch on that.

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