A lovely day for my first visit to the Pee Dee NWR in Richmond/Anson counties, NC. The trip was led by Cassie Willis on behalf of the Sandhills Natural History Society. There was nothing spectacular in the birds we saw. However we had a good time (and educational) working on identification and behavior. A piece of non-bird behavior observed is illustrated in this photo of a praying mantis hanging out at an insect trap.
Later in the year many of the fields we passed will be flooded to attract waterfowl. Access to the refuge land (over 8,000 acres) is limited during hunting seasons.
This time of year produces identification challenges in hatch year birds in various plumage stages and the potential for migrants passing through. Our group was entertained by a flock of birds on the edge of a road. The birds were jumping up to reach seed heads on tall grass at the road side. Initially lighting on the birds was poor and we worked through a variety of species, matching up what we could see of shape, color and behavior. This was a flock of mainly juvenile and female red-winged blackbirds. Another id challenge came from some juvenile great egrets. The juveniles were distinctly smaller than the adult birds and had a different colored bill. We could not discern leg/foot color.
Pee Dee NWR = http://www.fws.gov/peedee/
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