Rare Birds in Anderson

Rare Birds in Anderson

One Saturday morning when out and about, Mike and I rode to the old Green Pond landing on Lake Hartwell, just to see if anything interesting was out there.  In the midst of about twenty Canada geese was a slightly smaller white goose, which I assumed was either domestic or was a snow goose - an uncommon find.  But while studying its features with binoculars, I realized that it was different than a snow goose--slightly smaller, with a different bill and head shape.  “I think this is a Ross’s goose,” I said after studying the field guide, “but according to the map they’re not supposed to be in this area.”

“Ann,” Mike said, in that patient but maddening tone men sometimes use when talking to their wives, “Birds are wild.  They go where they want to go.  They don’t read the range maps.”  Well, his logic, also maddening even if it made sense, was exactly correct.  So I added Ross’s Goose to my eBird report, and as expected, it flagged as a rare bird for our area.

Since the advent of the internet, finding rare birds has become much easier.  Notable bird observations in the Carolinas can be found each day by accessing carolinabirdclub.org/sightings/.  This website flags the unusual birds that observers have included on lists uploaded to the site eBird.org.  Last December, I checked the list one morning and found that a white pelican had been spotted the day before at the pond in Chris Taylor Memorial Park.  White pelicans, unlike the common brown ones found at our beaches, usually occur much farther west of here. I drove quickly to the park in hopes of getting a glimpse of it.  By that time, however, it had gone on its merry wild way.  

The Townville area, with its extensive fields bordered by thick scrubby woods, is sometimes home to rare birds.  Several years ago a short-eared owl wintered there.  Word spread, and many evenings people showed up to watch this beautiful but far out of range owl that flew out of the nearby woods like clockwork at dusk each evening.  Also, shorebirds that ought to be closer to the coast, such as a pair of black-necked stilts, occasionally stop by the ponds that dot the area.  Sometimes these rarities stay a few days, affording more people the opportunity to see them.

One draw that makes birding interesting is that no one can predict what might be passing through.  While most observations will be of birds that belong here, I’ve learned to be cautiously aware of the possibility of spotting that occasional rare bird.  And I’ve also accepted that “Birds are wild.  They go where they want to go.  They don’t read the range maps.”  True, yes.  But still maddening.