Trip Report - Blue Ridge Parkway - Spring 2010

Trip Report - Chincoteague, VA - Winter 2010

Trip Report - Monterey and Highland County, VA - Spring 2009

Trip Report - Huntington Beach, SC - Winter 2009

Trip Report - ACE Basin - Spring 2008

Trip Report - Outer Banks - Winter 2008                                             Pictures!

Come Join the Fun!

ASFC offers a wide variety of opportunities to watch birds with fellow Auduboners.

Second-Saturday Birdwalks
These are held most every month in and around Winston-Salem. They are informal outings, starting at 8:00 a.m., April - October, and 9:00 a.m., November - March. Walks generally last a couple of hours. Beginners are invited and welcome. Check the calendar for location.

Extended Field Trips
We hold at least two weekend field trips each year. These usually run over an extended weekend and involve a drive to the mountains or coast. Beginners are always welcome.

Other Outings
We have other day trips from time to time. These are often held on third Saturdays of the month, during peak birding times. Normally day trips out of WS, we encourage and invite experienced birders and beginners.

Blue Ridge Parkway, Watauga County - July 17, 2010: We will look for late-breeding-season birds such as Scarlet Tanagers, Chestnut-sided, Hooded and Black-throated Green Warblers, and higher lelevation residents like Common Ravens and Red-breasted Nuthatches. Best of all, we will escape the Piedmont heat to enjoy the cool beauty of the mountains. Pack a lunch or stop at one of the few area restaurants. Meet at Thruway Shopping Center behind Wachovia at 7:30 a.m. to carpool.Contact Ron Morris to sign up.

Weymouth Woods/Sandhills Game Lands - April 17, 2010: We traveled to the Sandhills and were joined by Wayne Irvin, a W-S native and former President of the Forsyth Bird Club. Our first stop was Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve.  Almost immediately, everybody got good
looks at a beautiful Prairie Warbler and an elegant Red-headed Woodpecker.
Park Superintendent Scott Hartley gave an interesting overview about Weymouth Woods, the Longleaf Pine ecosystem, and how he manages the habitat through controlled burning.  Then we walked some of the trails down to a boardwalk around a creek bottom and saw Prothonotary Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, Black and White Warbler, Great-crested
Flycatcher, Red-eyed Vireo, and more.  We also saw a Cottonmouth (aka Water Moccasin) rearing up and baring his fangs (at a safe distance), a Fox
Squirrel, an Eastern Fence Lizard, a Spring Moth, some butterflies and other
interesting critters and plants.

After a picnic lunch, we drove over to Sandhills Game Land, stopping en
route to get good looks at a Loggerhead Shrike. Brady Beck, the biologist
in charge of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers on the Game Land, told us about how SGL is managed to preserve the Longleaf Pine forest, which has been reduced from its historical size of 90 million acres in the Southeast United States to its current size of only 2-3 million acres.  He also told us about the woodpeckers, their life histories and habits, and how he manages the property to preserve this endangered species.  Brady said that funds for the habitat/species preservation work on the game land comes from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses. So, consider a purchase.

Once on the Game Land, we got great looks at a Bachmann's Sparrow that
perched in one spot and sang for several minutes.  We ended the day by
finding a group of foraging Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, and everyone got good looks at one or more of them. Click here to see the Cottonmouth and other photos.

Greensboro Lakes - February 20, 2010: Nine birders from Forsyth County joined Dennis and Lynn Burnette of Greensboro on a tour of Greensboro's lakes. It did not take us long to find the highlight of the outing - an adult Bald Eagle perched next to its nest next to Lake Brandt. Great Blue Herons flew in, out and around their nearby rookery. There were few ducks on most of the lakes, but we did locate several varieties, including Horned Grebe, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall and Hooded Merganser. After lunch at Ham's, we watched nearly 80 cormorants and other waterfowl on Buffalo Lake and then made a stop at the Bog Garden before heading home. We totaled 43 species, not counting a resident Mute Swan at one small lake. Much thanks to Dennis for organizing and leading the trip on an almost-spring day. Click here to see some photos.

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