Date: 10/3/26 5:23 am From: Kent Fiala (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: eBird hotspot "About" pages
Last Spring, eBird introduced a wonderful and much-requested new feature, community-sourced hotspot descriptions. You can now find practical information about eBird hotspots online in eBird. Information includes How to plan your visit to the hotspot, how to bird the hotspot, and other general information about the hotspot. To find this information, open the hotspot's web page like always, and click on the new "About" link in the left-hand panel on a computer, or in the "Hotspot Navigation" pull-down on mobile.
But there's a catch: community-sourced means that the information is provided by the community, and that is you. If you look at the page for your favorite hotspot and find information lacking, then you need to write it. Share your local knowledge. Any logged-in eBirder can contribute content. On the About page, just click on the Suggest Content button, and begin editing. (If it's a hotspot with no information at all, you'll first need to set the Language to English before you can edit.) At the top of the edit page is a link labeled "Instructions" that takes you to a page talking about what to write here.
If you submitted more than 100 complete checklists in the previous calendar year, your edits are accepted immediately. Otherwise they are queued for review. A lot of Carolina hotspots have already been written up but I'd like to see a lot more. I'm posting this in hopes of encouraging more participation. It isn't necessary to produce a scholarly essay, even just a quick sketch of key information is helpful.
Here are two examples of hotspot write-ups. One illustrates a carefully researched, well-written report, and one is a quickly dashed-off sketch of just basic, but important, information. Both kinds of write-up have their place and are valuable.
Date: 10/2/26 5:32 pm From: Susan Campbell <susan...> Subject: Free birding weekend in Charleston with the ABA!
Carolinabirders-- a terrific opportunity next month!
ABA Community Weekend in Charleston, South Carolina
Join the American Birding Association for a full weekend of birding, community, and celebration in and around Charleston, South Carolina, Nov. 21–22, 2026! All bird walks and talks are free and open to the public, but registration is required. Some locations may charge an access fee.
Date: 10/2/26 7:27 am From: Frank Enders (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: Shrike @ 3115 Ridgecrest Road, Halifax
10 AM flew north to powerline serving a house off the road. Perhaps it had been there when I biked by at 9.
Have seen 3 Shrikes in last month, 1 of three was here; none, for example in usual spots north of Enfield, west side of Justice Branch Road, nor most reliable spot east of Darlington substation. We will see how (expected) low the population locally will be, next summer. Shame I could not rake in money using a betting app—how low will shrikes go(?!).
BTW, in winter, with snow on ground, a red fox sunned itself last winter on south side of 20' hill, east of the substation, almost exactly where shrikes have been evident for decades.
Frank Enders
Frank Enders, Halifax, NC
I do not have time for e-mail. Nor, I think, do you. Try calling 252-308-3443---good luck with that.
Date: 9/30/26 10:38 am From: Carolina Bird Club Web Editor (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: Christmas Bird Counts in the Carolinas
Christmas Bird Count season is coming around. As always, you can find a list of counts in the Carolinas at:
Carolina Bird Club members who are registered as count compilers can log in and enter their count dates. Otherwise, please send count information to the CBC Web Editor at <webeditor...> <mailto:<webeditor...>.
Jeff Wallace Carolina Bird Club Web Editor Greenville, SC
Date: 9/28/26 3:26 am From: Steve Thomas (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: Rose-breasted Grosbeak feeding behavior
Birders,
Here in northeastern SC, we had our first Rose-breasted Grosbeak of the season on September 16th. It was a female. This bird, of a species I associate with seed eating, was feeding enthusiastically on a mass of caterpillars that had been feeding on the leaves of a Sweet Gum tree. It left the site a couple of times to return at least 3 times to feast until all of the caterpillars were eaten. Upon finishing, it searched carefully to make sure it had missed none and then left for good.
I was happy to get some iPhone quality pictures of the event. We had another female Rose-breasted Grosbeak yesterday, and it fed on sunflower seeds as expected.
On Sun, Sep 27, 2026 at 7:54 PM Bill Rhodes <carolinabirds...> wrote:
> I had one too at Eno River SP. Great birds.
>
> On Sun, Sep 27, 2026, 18:50 Helen Kalevas <carolinabirds...> wrote:
>
>> I had a first year male at my feeder near Hillsborough, NC yesterday. FB
>> memories brought up a picture I took of one that same day last year.
>> Helen
>>
>> On Sun, Sep 27, 2026 at 9:12 AM <scaudell...> wrote:
>>
>>> She was on my feeder this morning. I feed a mix that is mostly black
>>> oil sunflower seeds.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Sharyn Caudell
>>>
>>
On Sun, Sep 27, 2026, 18:50 Helen Kalevas <carolinabirds...> wrote:
> I had a first year male at my feeder near Hillsborough, NC yesterday. FB
> memories brought up a picture I took of one that same day last year.
> Helen
>
> On Sun, Sep 27, 2026 at 9:12 AM <scaudell...> wrote:
>
>> She was on my feeder this morning. I feed a mix that is mostly black oil
>> sunflower seeds.
>>
>>
>>
>> Sharyn Caudell
>>
>
Date: 9/24/26 1:15 am From: Frank Enders (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: 6 Wood Storks and 25 Common Egrets at Mill Swamp Road bridge 9/23/26
North of Ridgecrest Road in Halifax County, NC on 9/24 there were 2 egrets.
After a rainy period, on 9/23/26 from 3-4PM I was surprised to see Wood Storks on the west side of the bridge, where a beaverdam has created several pools/puddles. Birds on both up and downstream sides, a total of about 6 Wood Storks (Wood Ibis) and some 25 American (Common) Egrets. By 4:30 the birds moved upstream.
This beaverdam is about 80 feet from the bridge and off and on I have noticed a river otter in the stream/pools and on the banks.
About a week ago the otter caught 3-4 fish in about 10 minutes doing repeated arched-back dives in a muddy pool/puddle. One can see haul-out spots ("slides") and otter's trail over the dam.
For some years, with less drought, there is a marsh/pond on the west (southbound) side of I-95, between the weigh station and Fishing Creek where, in late summer Wood Storks are usual visitors, along with other waders and Wood Ducks at the south end of Halifax County, but there has been almost no water there this drought-stricken year. This site is perhaps a mile north of the turf farm on NC 33.
Frank Enders
________________________________
From: <carolinabirds-request...> <carolinabirds-request...> on behalf of Loren Hintz <carolinabirds...>
Sent: Thursday, August 20, 2026 11:25 AM
To: <carolinabirds...> <carolinabirds...>; <carolinabirds-request...> <carolinabirds-request...>
Subject: Re: carolinabirds Digest Wed, 19 Aug 2026 (1/1
Date: 9/22/26 12:19 pm From: Harry LeGrand (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: Filling in "high count" holes on the Birds of North Carolina website
will have noticed that for many species and provinces, such as Pied-billed Grebe, Wood Duck, and many other common species,I do not have anything after "Peak counts:". This is because I could not locate such notably high counts in Chat Briefs or other available sites. I suspect before eBird came along, most peak (daily) counts were made by multiple parties on Spring Bird Counts or Christmas Bird Counts, and there is not an easy way to glean 75 years of Chats to locate high counts.
But, this morning, I mentioned a need for me to fill in these blanks on the website, and Michael Fogleman came through again! A week or two ago, he generated eBird maps for all NC species (as did one or two others of you), and Tom Howard (the BNC webmaster) posted them a few days ago. A few species maps are missing (see below). Today, Michael sent me, Tom, and David Campbell two* csv files that contain the top 10 all-time daily counts for each of the 500+ species, as generated from eBird data!! And, he ALSO sent us a csv file for SC's species as well. * Now, this listserve does NOT allow attachments, and so we cannot attach these csv files, Excel files, Word files, jpg files, etc. *Thus, please reply to me and I can forward them on to you, already converted to Excel format. (Each is about 650 KB in size.)*
If you are curious, the all-time high count in NC for Wood Duck (on a single eBird list) is 1570, Orton Pond, Brunswick County, 12 January 2022. And the alltime high count for any species in NC (on an eBird list only) is 1,000,000 Red-winged Blackbirds. I do know for sure that in the last century, there were higher one-day counts for Common Grackles, maybe Red-winged Blackbird, and probably Starlings.
I have a few other computer tasks to do, but hopefully in a week or two I can start filling in the high counts for these species in the 3 provinces. Certainly, some will remain blank, as the generated file is just the top 10 for the state, and in some cases these might all be in in the Coastal Plain, for example.
Harry LeGrand Birds of North Carolina website
PS -- species with missing maps: Passenger Pigeon, Lesser Nighthawk, Cypseloides swift, Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Gyrfalcon, Carolina Parakeet, Pine Grosbeak, Long-eared Owl, and Black Rail. The last was removed as the eBird data were very incomplete. The rail and owl are Sensitive Species and thus eBird data for mapping are not available. I HAVE gone through the Chat database on the Carolina Bird Club website to create an Excel file, plus the info on the species accounts, to provide Tom and Michael with the necessary county and last year date for nearly all of the others. But, the trick is to produce these 9 maps in a format that either matches or is similar enough to the existing eBird maps. That will likely be difficult, but any kind of county map would be helpful as soon as feasible.
Date: 9/21/26 12:55 pm From: \<hilton...>\ (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: Hilton :and North (01 Sep 2026) Early September Birdiness, Near And Far
“This Week at Hilton Pond North” saw a flurry of birdiness highlighted by the 700-mile recovery of a migrant Purple Finch. There was also a late fledging of Carolina Wren chicks, the return of some feeder species, a special Ruby-throated Hummingbird, and a very large raptor added to our “Yard List.” We reveal a rarely seen structure on a Chinese Mantid, plus a moth that startles potential predators with bright colors. All this and our usual banding and recapture tallies are in photo essay #46 at https://www.hiltonpondnorth.org/twahpn-20260901.html
After reading, give a listen to our “This Week” deep dive podcast via Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Happy Nature Watching!
BILL
========
Dr. BILL HILTON JR.
"Operation RubyThroat: The Hummingbird Project”
â„… Hilton Pond North: Blue Ridge Birds & Nature
2918 Silas Creek Road
Lansing NC 28643
(803)684-5852
The mission of Hilton Pond North is "to conserve plants, animals, habitats, and other natural components of the Blue Ridge Region of the eastern United States through observation, scientific study, and education for students of all ages.
"Never trust a person too lazy to get up for sunrise or too busy to watch the sunset." BHjr.
Date: 9/17/26 11:35 am From: Harry LeGrand (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: Re: The eBird county maps have now been added to the species accounts on the Birds of NC website
Folks,
Chris Hill in South Carolina checked out some of the NC maps, and he DID
notice that the Long-eared Owl map is missing. As there have been no name
changes, that wasn't the issue. So, I called up Long-eared Owl in eBird
Explore -- Long-eared Owl, all years, and location = North Carolina. Yes,
there are quite a few purple rectangles for quad-type mapping accuracy, but
there are no pins and thus no data showing. The pins DO show in Canada, and
thus the species in the USA is considered as a Sensitive Species, and the
mapping and data information are listed here for a S.S -- I underlined the
one that matters for viewing the map:
-
Hidden from checklist views, except to observers on the checklist
-
Hidden from all site-level output (e.g., Hotspot Explorer, bar charts
for hotspots)
-
*Shown only at grid-cell level (400 km2 accuracy) on eBird species maps *
-
Shown at region-level output (e.g., Region Explorer, Illustrated
Checklists) with checklist details (date, location, observer, checklist
link) omitted
-
Included in listing totals (e.g., Top 100), but never shown as "most
recent addition"
-
Shown in Media Search with checklist details (date, location, observer,
checklist link) omitted and only for regions larger than a hotspot
-
Specifically marked as Sensitive wherever the species name is displayed
in output and location-level data has been removed, such as on the Region
Explorer or Illustrated Checklist pages
---------
I already know that Black Rail has been considered in the USA as a
Sensitive Species for eBird mapping of data, and though the eBird map does
show on the website, it is badly incorrect, showing a grand total of one
record, for Carteret County, in 2018!
I checked a few other potentially sensitive species -- thankfully, Snowy
Owl and Yellow Rail DO show I think all legit records on the map on the
species accounts.
I will work with Tom and Michael to see what we can do to show eBird maps
for Long-eared Owl and Black Rail. NOTE: Both species contain purple
rectangle/polygon maps on eBird, and I hope that somehow those maps could
be "copied" and pasted to the species accounts. Sadly, the Carolinabirds
listserve does not allow embedded copy-and-paste screenshots from websites
in the posts here. I will have to send them to Tom and Michael to see what
can be done.
Are there other species on the websites without maps, or maps clearly
incorrect? Chris has uncovered the Sensitive Species issue.
Harry LeGrand
On Thu, Sep 17, 2026 at 12:26 PM Harry LeGrand <hlegrandjr...> wrote:
> Folks,
>
> Great news! Tom Howard and Michael Fogleman have been working together to
> get the eBird county maps for each of the roughly 500 species onto the
> species account pages on the Birds of North Carolina website:
>
> https://ncbirds.carolinabirdclub.org/index.php >
> As you can see, each map shows red dots for accepted records on eBird,
> different colors for the counties depending on recency of the last
> observation (by year on some maps but by decade on others), and other
> information in the line just below the species name.
>
> Now, these maps were only posted about 30-45 minutes ago, so I/we can only
> hope that there is a map for each of the roughly 500 species, as Tom and
> Michael had to match up the names each was using so that the eBird
> scientific names matched the ones on the website. I still expect that
> there COULD be a mismatch. *If you DO see a map missing, or incorrect,
> let us know.*
>
> Most importantly, Tom and Michael are working to figure out the best way,
> and frequency, to update the maps so that they are not static/stagnant. It
> may be that the maps are updated quarterly in a year, or every 6 months,
> for example. So, you won't likely be seeing new counties showing up on the
> maps for a while; certainly, do not expect a new county to turn from white
> to dark blue once a species is accepted by an eBird reviewer.
>
> Lastly, remember tha*n** these maps contain ONLY records that have been
> posted on eBird lists*. They are not going to be complete, as many
> records for the 20th Century will likely be missing. Thus, refer to the
> text account, especially, to see all known records for a rare or very rare
> bird.
>
> Harry LeGrand
> Raleigh, author/editor of the Birds of North Carolina website
>
Date: 9/17/26 9:26 am From: Harry LeGrand (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: The eBird county maps have now been added to the species accounts on the Birds of NC website
Folks,
Great news! Tom Howard and Michael Fogleman have been working together to get the eBird county maps for each of the roughly 500 species onto the species account pages on the Birds of North Carolina website:
As you can see, each map shows red dots for accepted records on eBird, different colors for the counties depending on recency of the last observation (by year on some maps but by decade on others), and other information in the line just below the species name.
Now, these maps were only posted about 30-45 minutes ago, so I/we can only hope that there is a map for each of the roughly 500 species, as Tom and Michael had to match up the names each was using so that the eBird scientific names matched the ones on the website. I still expect that there COULD be a mismatch. *If you DO see a map missing, or incorrect, let us know.*
Most importantly, Tom and Michael are working to figure out the best way, and frequency, to update the maps so that they are not static/stagnant. It may be that the maps are updated quarterly in a year, or every 6 months, for example. So, you won't likely be seeing new counties showing up on the maps for a while; certainly, do not expect a new county to turn from white to dark blue once a species is accepted by an eBird reviewer.
Lastly, remember tha*n** these maps contain ONLY records that have been posted on eBird lists*. They are not going to be complete, as many records for the 20th Century will likely be missing. Thus, refer to the text account, especially, to see all known records for a rare or very rare bird.
Harry LeGrand Raleigh, author/editor of the Birds of North Carolina website
Date: 9/16/26 12:07 pm From: Harry LeGrand (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: Raulston Arboretum butterflies in Raleigh under "bacon" conditions -- Sept. 16
Folks,
Raulston's butterfly population in west Raleigh, Wake County, continues fairly strong, but the species diversity keeps dwindling owing to lack of southerly winds and major rainfall and disturbance events. Raleigh did have close to 0.4-0.5" inches of rain Saturday and into early Sunday, but the continued clear skies, very low humidity, etc., on Mon, Tues, and today have pretty much negated that soil moisture, and the drought continues, with no end in sight.
Here are the wimpy totals, despite plenty of nectar plants:
Pipevine Swallowtail 9 Black Swallowtail 1 male Sleepy Orange 28 Cloudless Sulphur 10 Cabbage White 15 Variegated Fritillary 2 - the ONLY brushfoot species today! Silver-spotted Skipper 6 Horace's Duskywing 1 Common Checkered-Skipper 10 Fiery Skipper 75 Eufala Skipper * 3 *usually just one or two at most Clouded Skipper 4
That's all, folks! I really doubt the garden will see a Gulf Fritillary, Long-tailed Skipper, and a few other usual late summer and fall visitors this year. Ocolas are still essentially missing. Surprised not to see Monarch, Buckeye, and maybe a lady.
Harry LeGrand Raleigh
PS - Though the temp was only about 78-81 degrees, the humidity was VERY low, and the place today was unwalkable without a lot of sunscreen or long sleeves and long pants. Continued lack of clouds, this being likely the sunniest year (= lowest amount of cloud cover) in recent memory here.
Date: 9/11/26 7:14 am From: Harry LeGrand (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: Re: A message from Sam Cooper to fill out a form, without an explanation -- scam/virus?
Someone e-mailed me personally and told me-- "I received the same email and
am 99% sure it's a scam. I forwarded a copy to Sam so he would know that
his email has been hacked".
Harry
On Fri, Sep 11, 2026 at 9:29 AM Harry LeGrand <hlegrandjr...> wrote:
> Did other folks get such a message earlier today? Without text to let
> folks know WHAT the survey is about, I treated this as a scam and dangerous
> to click on such a link. I have gotten a virus before by clicking on a
> message like that that is generic.
>
> Any more information, Sam, or others?
>
> Harry LeGrand
> Raleigh
>
Date: 9/11/26 6:30 am From: Harry LeGrand (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: A message from Sam Cooper to fill out a form, without an explanation -- scam/virus?
Did other folks get such a message earlier today? Without text to let folks know WHAT the survey is about, I treated this as a scam and dangerous to click on such a link. I have gotten a virus before by clicking on a message like that that is generic.
Date: 9/10/26 12:51 pm From: ncsealord (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: Carolina Bird Club Bonus Trip - West Coast Pelagic Cruise May 2027
The CBC is happy to announce the offering of a "big bonus trip" visiting the offshore waters of California, Oregon, and Washington in search of pelagic birds, marine mammals, and more. It has been a couple of years since we've been able to offer an out-of-the-Carolinas trip, and we are excited to offer something we have not done before.
Cruise from Los Angeles to Vancouver aboard a 113,000 gross ton, 951-foot cruise ship, the perfect platform for viewing (even scoping!) albatross, petrels, shearwaters, alcids, whales and more. Want to see pelagic birds but don't like small boats? This is the trip for you.
Date: 9/10/26 12:40 pm From: ncsealord (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: Carolina Bird Club Bonus Trip - Outer Banks in December 2026
Hello-
While it's still pool floatie and sunscreen time, it's not too early to think about winter birding! The CBC offers a "bonus field trip" (bonus being that it is outside of our regular seasonal meetings) in December to the NC Outer Banks. Read below for more information. You must be a member to attend, but may join at the time you register if not currently a member in good standing.
The CBC Outer Banks Trip December 12 - 13, 2026
Widely considered at the top of the list for early winter birding sites in North Carolina, the Outer Banks of Dare County are home to thousands of wintering swans, ducks, geese, shorebirds, waders, gulls, and more. Join members of the Carolina Bird Club as we explore the Bodie Island lighthouse area, Oregon Inlet, Pea Island NWR, the ocean beaches of Hatteras and Bodie Islands and other "hotspots".
The trip will focus on waterfowl and shorebird identification as well as building a broad trip list including everything from grebes to sparrows. Saturday will be devoted to birding along the immediate coast. Sunday will include a stop at Alligator River NWR.
Detailed information including directions, lodging choices, dining opportunities and more will be provided to registrants. Birds that you can expect to see include loons, numbers of Tundra Swans and Snow Geese, most of the dabbling ducks that winter in eastern North Carolina, chances to see sea ducks including all three American scoters, gulls, wintering passerines, and winter shorebirds including American Avocet, Purple Sandpiper, and Long-billed Dowitcher. Alligator River NWR may provide an opportunity to see Black Bear, raptors, shorebirds (if water levels are right) and numbers of Tundra Swan and waterfowl.
Logistics: The fee for this field trip is $75, and advance registration is required. Participation is limited to 12. Participants are responsible for lodging and meals. A number of motels, hotels, and other types of lodging are available in Nags Head north through Kitty Hawk. We will attempt to carpool in order to reduce the number of vehicles caravanning to the birding sites. Spotting scopes are useful if you have one. Dress for the weather and in layers. If we are enjoying a warm early winter, mosquito repellant may be useful.
Difficulty: This trip involves multiple consecutive hours of standing, walking on uneven or sandy surfaces, and extended exposure to the elements. I would describe the trip as "moderate" from a physical activity perspective.
Registration: To register for this field trip contact Steve Shultz at <ncsealord...> or (919) 608-2069. Upon confirmation of your slot on the trip you will be sent a registration form/waiver that can be submitted with your trip fee. Note that there is a modest fee to walk out on Jennette's Pier.
Date: 9/10/26 8:18 am From: Harry LeGrand (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: The breeding abundance county maps have been returned to the Birds of North Carolina website
Folks,
The Birds of NC webmaster, Tom Howard, has taken the file that Kent Fiala, the Carolina Bird Club webmaster, was able to save when the BNC website went down over a month ago. This file contained hopefully all of the red-dot maps for each species that breeds in NC. Thus, you can now see each of the 180-200 maps of the species that breed or have bred in the state.
Now, for the caveats. We seem to have lost the files that allowed me to edit these maps, such as adding a county to the map, or changing the breeding abundance level. Recall that these abundance levels are ones that I assigned a decade or two ago, based solely on my experience with the breeding ranges of the species and how common or rare each is across the state. So, the size of the red dots have always been rough approximations. As a result, *these maps are now static, as of around 2024, and cannot or will not likely be updated.* At least, the text is updated quarterly. It is hoped that such breeding maps could be replaced by the NC Bird Atlas maps, but it is best not to supersede that important website database; instead, perhaps each species account page might have a link to that species' map on the NC Bird Atlas website. These choices are down the road, as the NC Wildlife Resources Commission is currently editing, vetting, and cleaning up those NC Bird Atlas breeding maps, as certainly there is misleading data on those maps right now.
Lastly, you should know that Tom Howard *has* been able to upload eBird county distribution maps just to me (and possibly to Kent) for review, and they look great. However, as I perhaps have mentioned here earlier, there are some mismatches in common or scientific names, and I believe some of the maps were thus not able to be uploaded on my Edit view. In addition, there are also issues of not using such eBird maps that are hosted on a personal website, as well as currently not being able to figure out how to update these maps. We don't want static maps, even though they could probably be regenerated completely at the end of each season, or end of each year, for example. So -- for now -- you will *not *be seeing the eBird maps on the species accounts. NOTE: Several individuals did post to carolinabirds listserve active links to these maps.
Date: 9/8/26 4:53 am From: Robert McLean (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: Re: Hilton Pond North (16 Aug 2026) Chinese Praying Mantids: Tan or Green . . . And Predatory
Exceptional observations and work you are doing, Dr. Hilton.
Taylor McLean
Baltimore, MD
Sent from my iPhone
> On Sep 7, 2026, at 9:23 PM, <carolinabirds...> wrote:
>
> “This Week at Hilton Pond North” we explore the life of the Chinese Mantid, an oversized non-native insect with an overblown reputation as a control for garden pests. Along the way we mention mantid interaction with bats, Monarch caterpillars, and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and discuss late-nesting Carolina Wrens, a molting Northern Cardinal, and a new species for our “Bird Yard List.” (Don't forget to check our tally of birds banded!) All this and more in photo essay #45 at https://www.hiltonpondnorth.org/twahpn-20260816.html >
> After viewing, please give a listen to our latest “Deep Dive” podcast via Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
>
> Happy Nature Watching—and Listening!
>
> BILL
>
> ========
>
> Dr. BILL HILTON JR.
> "Operation RubyThroat: The Hummingbird Project”
> â„… Hilton Pond North: Blue Ridge Birds & Nature
> 2918 Silas Creek Road
> Lansing NC 28643
> (803)684-5852
>
> The mission of Hilton Pond North is "to conserve plants, animals, habitats, and other natural components of the Blue Ridge Region of the eastern United States through observation, scientific study, and education for students of all ages.
>
> "Never trust a person too lazy to get up for sunrise or too busy to watch the sunset." BHjr.
>
> ============
>
Date: 9/7/26 6:24 pm From: \<hilton...>\ (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: Hilton Pond North (16 Aug 2026) Chinese Praying Mantids: Tan or Green . . . And Predatory
“This Week at Hilton Pond North” we explore the life of the Chinese Mantid, an oversized non-native insect with an overblown reputation as a control for garden pests. Along the way we mention mantid interaction with bats, Monarch caterpillars, and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and discuss late-nesting Carolina Wrens, a molting Northern Cardinal, and a new species for our “Bird Yard List.” (Don't forget to check our tally of birds banded!) All this and more in photo essay #45 at https://www.hiltonpondnorth.org/twahpn-20260816.html

After viewing, please give a listen to our latest “Deep Dive” podcast via Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Happy Nature Watching—and Listening!
BILL
========
Dr. BILL HILTON JR.
"Operation RubyThroat: The Hummingbird Project”
â„… Hilton Pond North: Blue Ridge Birds & Nature
2918 Silas Creek Road
Lansing NC 28643
(803)684-5852
The mission of Hilton Pond North is "to conserve plants, animals, habitats, and other natural components of the Blue Ridge Region of the eastern United States through observation, scientific study, and education for students of all ages.
"Never trust a person too lazy to get up for sunrise or too busy to watch the sunset." BHjr.
Date: 9/6/26 3:00 pm From: Brian Pendergraft (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: Decent Early September Yard List
Hey everyone! Dang it's good to see the calendar move over to September! I just came inside and the dew point is dropping a bit as well.
Many of you know, I bird the front yard in the morning, and the backyard in the afternoon. It's a sun thing seeking out the warblers, and I have to play with my deer in the morning. Oatmeal (pie bald white deer) continues to be a part of the family. Five years old now!
I had the following highlights today:
BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER (considerably early for my yard - typically mid/late September) CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER (early but not by much here) AMERICAN REDSTART -3 birds and not surprising BLUE-WINGED WARBLER - (the first time I've seen it here in both August and September)
A Yellow-billed Cuckoo was seen also around a caterpillar nest. I have a Yellow-throated Vireo and an Acadian Flycatcher who try to out sing/call one another. Really cool.
My first "greenish/yellow" Scarlet Tanager was here today, and the Red-eyed Vireos are hammering my magnolia berries. Damn it's good to get past August!
It may be worth it to go to your favorite spots tomorrow/Tuesday, with this wind change.
I will probably update this on a yearly basis (soon after the turn of the
year), so that the maps are based on whole years. I already deal with the
eBird database for my "Bird Finder" site that I've shared here in the past.
Sharing it again for those who may have missed it (I've added some features
to it recently, so might be worth a look anyway):
On Sat, Sep 5, 2026 at 4:09 PM Michael Fogleman <fogleman...> wrote:
> Hello friends,
>
> Do you like birds? Do you like maps?? Do you like birds AND maps???
>
> I took a stab at generating my own county maps based on eBird data. I went
> ahead and did it for all US states, not just the Carolinas. You can see the
> results here:
>
> https://www.michaelfogleman.com/ebird-county-maps/ >
> Direct links for NC and SC:
>
> https://www.michaelfogleman.com/ebird-county-maps/nc/ >
> https://www.michaelfogleman.com/ebird-county-maps/sc/ >
> They are color-coded by year (not just decade) and there is also a version
> showing every report as a red dot. This is based on eBird data up to June
> 2026. I could update these periodically. If you think they can be improved
> somehow, let me know.
>
> (The full-size images for some states are still processing & uploading as
> I write this email, but NC and SC are fully complete. All states should be
> done within the next hour or so.)
>
> Enjoy!
>
> Michael Fogleman
> Cary, NC
>
>
Date: 9/5/26 1:13 pm From: Michael Fogleman (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: eBird-based County Maps (for all US states!)
Hello friends,
Do you like birds? Do you like maps?? Do you like birds AND maps???
I took a stab at generating my own county maps based on eBird data. I went ahead and did it for all US states, not just the Carolinas. You can see the results here:
They are color-coded by year (not just decade) and there is also a version showing every report as a red dot. This is based on eBird data up to June 2026. I could update these periodically. If you think they can be improved somehow, let me know.
(The full-size images for some states are still processing & uploading as I write this email, but NC and SC are fully complete. All states should be done within the next hour or so.)
Date: 9/5/26 8:44 am From: Harry LeGrand (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: Re: County Maps
Nathan,
Thanks. I THINK we are on the right track ever since Ivara posted this to
the carolinabirds website on Sept. 1:
---------------------------------------------
After getting the wood-warblers done as an example, I updated the code so
it can run through everything, and they're all up on github
<https://github.com/IJBG/nc-ebird-maps/tree/main/maps> <https://github.com/IJBG/nc-ebird-maps/tree/main/maps>now. One note is that
the eBird data available on GBIF is through 2024, so for the most
up-to-date info I'm waiting for my request to access the latest full eBird
dataset to be approved.
I've got thoughts on how to keep the maps updated with new eBird data or
when someone submits a record on the website, implementation just depends
on what the backend of BNC looks like. Maybe Tom, Kent, Allen and I can
email to discuss and/or find a time to meet.
------------------------
In addition, three other things:
1. Kent was able to recover several maps files; he sent this just to Tom
and me, later on Sept. 1:
---------------------------------
Here is a dump of some files that I was able to recover. Is any of it
useful?
If this link IS still available - it was to me just now -- you can see the
original maps for I think ALL of the breeding species (180-200), but only
25-30% of the original green county maps. But, these old green maps we
HOPE are to be replaced by the ones that Ivara has produced -- assuming you
can see these on her link above.
2. A week ago, Tom Howard e-mailed me that he thinks he can get these new
eBird maps onto the species accounts, but I have not yet heard back yet to
check out or test any maps.
3. Several of us are planning to be on a Zoom call with Scott Anderson (NC
Wildlife) on Friday morning to discuss these maps, as the NC WRC is trying
to finalize the NC Bird Atlas maps -- breeding and wintering -- and hope
that the Birds of NC website maps will help them with this. We ALL want to
see "cleaned up" eBird breeding maps. When you check a map there, for
breeding season, you will run across a lot of black or dark purple blocks
for confirmed or probable breeding, and when you see the data, some say
"carrying food" or "juvenile or immature", when in fact many species are
seen flying with food (Accipiters, for example) out of season, and many
waders and other species have juvenile/immature birds that are seen miles
from where they were actually born.
So -- stay tuned here for updates on having both the county occurrence maps
AND the red-dot breeding county maps added to the BNC website. The maps are
there, they need to be added, and of course once added, the maps --
especially the green county maps -- need to NOT be static but easily
updated.
Harry LeGrand
author/editor, Birds of North Carolina website
On Sat, Sep 5, 2026 at 7:33 AM Nathan Tarr <carolinabirds...> wrote:
> Harry,
> Regarding your question about generating county maps from eBird data, I
> also have some resources that could help. However, Ivara’s maps look great
> and I can’t be of much help in the short term.
>
> I spent the last 4-5 years of my time with the NC Coop Unit and USGS
> National Gap Analysis Program (GAP) developing a process for attributing
> species to polygons. We needed to attribute all U.S. birds, mammals, and
> herps to 12-digit HUCs by integrating expert opinion and observations with
> existing maps, hopefully capturing range shifts over time. We were working
> nationally, but I developed a process that could be adapted and applied to
> any boundary polygons (i.e., counties) and spatial extent.
>
> Details are in this preprint:
> https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.14.653500v1. The case
> study is for the Fisher, but I have generated maps of birds in the past as
> well.
> I was set to publish that paper in the Journal of Fisheries and Wildlife
> Management and then revise all the GAP range maps under our new framework,
> but then Trump was elected, the program fell apart, and the journal told me
> they were no longer allowed to publish anything (they were affiliated with
> the FWS).
>
> The framework depends on software (really just a repository of code) that
> I built for curating occurrence records from GBIF and eBird that was
> published by the USGS: https://biss.pensoft.net/article/93823/. It
> probably needs to be updated at this point as no one has been maintaining
> it. Also, the size of the EBD had become a barrier to use nationally, even
> with eBird's auk package.
>
> We (GAP) encountered many issues over the years while trying to
> incorporate and integrate occurrence records, expert opinion, predictive
> models, and historical maps and the framework we were about to adopt
> provided a way to deal with them. I would be happy to talk more about this,
> answer questions etc. if you are interested. I have been slowly working
> on applying the process for some personal projects in my free time (I’m
> doing public health data management at UNC now), but I’d be interested in
> helping with the BNC and Biodiversity Atlas if you want.
>
> Thanks for all your amazing work on the BNC website and everything else
> you contribute to conservation in NC!
>
> Nathan M. Tarr
>
> https://nmtarr.wordpress.ncsu.edu/ >
>
>
Date: 9/5/26 5:01 am From: Desiree Narango (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: Volunteer opportunity: Help VCE scientists survey for fall thrushes!
Hi CarolinaBirds Listserv,
I'm a conservation scientist at the Vermont Center for Ecostudies, where I
study migratory birds, including the rare Bicknell's Thrush. Our recent
research has found that the mid-Atlantic region is an important area for
fall migratory stopover, with nearly all of our tracked birds spending
extensive time here before continuing south.
Last year, we determined that autonomous recording units (ARUs) can be used
successfully to detect Bicknell's Thrush and Gray-cheeked Thrush during
stopover. These are devices that record bird sound which we then analyze
with machine learning to determine which species are in the area. We
recently received funding to increase the number of ARUs surveying for
these species in forests across the region, and this year we'd also like to
pilot recruiting volunteers to deploy devices on private land as well.
The Eastern Shore of NC turns out to be a particularly important area for
this special species, and we'd love to recruit more volunteers from this
area to help us in our research. No bird knowledge required! If you have a
property on the eastern side of NC and you're interested in learning more
about what species of birds call it home, we'd love for you to volunteer.
If you're interested in deploying a device from late sept-late october, or
would like to learn more about the project, please fill out this form at
this link: https://forms.gle/aznZ26hS3GkLnZ9r7
Date: 9/5/26 4:33 am From: Nathan Tarr (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: County Maps
Harry, Regarding your question about generating county maps from eBird data, I also have some resources that could help. However, Ivara’s maps look great and I can’t be of much help in the short term. I spent the last 4-5 years of my time with the NC Coop Unit and USGS National Gap Analysis Program (GAP) developing a process for attributing species to polygons. We needed to attribute all U.S. birds, mammals, and herps to 12-digit HUCs by integrating expert opinion and observations with existing maps, hopefully capturing range shifts over time. We were working nationally, but I developed a process that could be adapted and applied to any boundary polygons (i.e., counties) and spatial extent. Details are in this preprint: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.14.653500v1 . The case study is for the Fisher, but I have generated maps of birds in the past as well. I was set to publish that paper in the Journal of Fisheries and Wildlife Management and then revise all the GAP range maps under our new framework, but then Trump was elected, the program fell apart, and the journal told me they were no longer allowed to publish anything (they were affiliated with the FWS). The framework depends on software (really just a repository of code) that I built for curating occurrence records from GBIF and eBird that was published by the USGS: https://biss.pensoft.net/article/93823/ . It probably needs to be updated at this point as no one has been maintaining it. Also, the size of the EBD had become a barrier to use nationally, even with eBird's auk package. We (GAP) encountered many issues over the years while trying to incorporate and integrate occurrence records, expert opinion, predictive models, and historical maps and the framework we were about to adopt provided a way to deal with them. I would be happy to talk more about this, answer questions etc. if you are interested. I have been slowly working on applying the process for some personal projects in my free time (I’m doing public health data management at UNC now), but I’d be interested in helping with the BNC and Biodiversity Atlas if you want. Thanks for all your amazing work on the BNC website and everything else you contribute to conservation in NC! Nathan M. Tarr https://nmtarr.wordpress.ncsu.edu/
