Spring Count 2008
<>Pied-billed Grebe 1
Double-cr. Cormorant 5
Great Blue Heron 9
Green Heron 2
Canada Goose 155
Wood Duck 2
Mallard 10
Bufflehead 1
Black Vulture 1
Turkey vulture 44
Northern Harrier 1
Cooper’s Hawk 1
Red-sh. Hawk 5
Broad-winged Hawk 2
Red-tailed Hawk 6
Ruffed Grouse 1
Wild Turkey 15
American Coot 3
Killdeer 7
Solitary Sandpiper 1
Spotted Sandpiper 4
Rock Dove 3
Mourning Dove 88
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1
Great Horned Owl 1
Barred Owl 1
Whip-poor-will 2
Chimney Swift 32
Ruby-thr. Hummingbird 34
Belted Kingfisher 4
Red-bellied Woodpecker 24
Downy Woodpecker 15
Hairy Woodpecker 5
Northern Flicker 7
Pileated Woodpecker 10
Eastern Wood-Pewee 1
Acadian Flycatcher 1
Willow Flycatcher 1
Eastern Phoebe 27
Gt. Crested Flycatcher 9
Eastern Kingbird 4
Purple Martin 34
Tree Swallow 126
N. Rough-w. Swallow 26
Barn Swallow 98
Blue Jay 63
American Crow 275
Common Raven 2
Carolina Chickadee 89
Tufted Titmouse 77
Red-breasted Nuthatch 5
White-breasted Nuthatch 23
Brown Creeper 2
Carolina Wren 64
House Wren 41
Winter Wren 5
Golden-crowned Kinglet 12
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 9
Eastern Bluebird 70
Swainson’s Thrush 1
Wood Thrush 21
American Robin 171
Gray Catbird 29
Northern Mockingbird 45
Brown Thrasher 37
Cedar Waxwing 6
European Starling 128
White-eyed Vireo 12
Blue-headed Vireo 17
Red-eyed Vireo 25
Northern Parula 25
Yellow Warbler 6
Chestnut-sided Warbler 4
Cape May Warbler 12
Black-thr. Blue Warbler 4
Yellow-rumped Warbler 2
Black-thr. Green Warbler 7
Blackburnian Warbler 2
Yellow-throated Warbler 6
Pine Warbler 1
Palm Warbler 5
Blackpoll Warbler 1
Cerulean Warbler 1
Black-and-white Warbler 9
American Redstart 2
Worm-eating Warbler 1
Swainson’s Warbler 1
Ovenbird 13
Louisiana Waterthrush 6
Kentucky Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 26
Hooded Warbler 27
Canada Warbler 1
Yellow-breasted Chat 4
Scarlet Tanager 3
Northern Cardinal 144
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 12
Blue Grosbeak 4
Indigo Bunting 42
Eastern Towhee 112
Chipping Sparrow 41
Field Sparrow 16
Song Sparrow 168
Swanp Sparrow 1
White-throated Sparrow 14
White-crowned Sparrow 1
Dark-eyed Junco 18
Bobolink 18
Red-winged Blackbird 192
Eastern Meadowlark 28
Common Grackle 107
Brown-headed Cowbird 21
Orchard Oriole 2
Baltimore Oriole 1
<>House Finch 25
Pine Siskin 49
American Goldfinch 181
House Sparrow 10
Total Species 119
Area: Transylvania County
22 People in 8 Field Parties
45 Hours (17 on foot, 28 in car)
225 Miles (13 on foot, 212 in car)
8 people at 7 different feeders
40 feeder-hours total
Hours 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Weather ranged from 50 to 65 deg. F
Winds heavy, beginning at 8 a.m.
Rain heavy by 11 a.m. at higher elevations, varied at lower
elevations beginning in early afternoon.
30 Participants
Dennis and Kathryn Allen
Marvin and Michele Barg
Kathy Bartt
Dorothy Bauer
Pat Blaine
Dick Blee
Pat Bohan
John Devlin
Ruth and Don Duncan
Elizabeth Galloway
Jeanne Grimmenga
Mike Judd
Ludwig and Louise Kempe
Ruth Klock
Chris and Sally Macmillan
Betty McIlwain
Carolyn and Rick Mills
Norma and Bill Siebenheller
Marv Skogland
Connie Updike
Barbara Williams
Sam Woodruff
Camille Ziegler
Compiler’s Comments: Despite heavy
winds on the count day, and early rain on the Parkway which hit the
lower areas in the afternoon, the 30 participants in the 2008
Transylvania Spring Count managed to come up with one of the highest
species totals recorded here – 119. Only twice before has this been
exceeded (120 once, 123 once) Of course the adverse weather conditions
kept the individual numbers low for many species, but overall we were
satisfied with our efforts.
Some of the more interesting finds were late-lingering species such
as pied-billed grebe, double-crested cormorant, bufflehead,
ruby-crowned kinglet, swamp sparrow, and white-crowned sparrow. Large
numbers of pine siskins remained, fueling hopes that some may stay to
breed in the county as they have done in the past. Warbler species were
well represented, with cerulean, Swainson’s and Kentucky warblers found
at expected spots. That a few must-have birds were missed – peregrine
falcon, veery, American kestrel, for example – can be blamed on the
weather, as we know they are here. Norma Siebenheller