I broke my own rule about going solo, and allowed Joe Miller from the Raleigh News and Observer and a photographer to tag along. They followed behind me since my little ford ranger was packed to the gills with food, water, bike, scopes and field guides. Though they would likely slow the pace of the day down a little, I figured it would be worth the publicity!
I started before 5am using night vision to view an Eastern Phoebe nesting under my carport. I’ve missed the bird before on the count so I wanted to tally it while I could! I me up with the crew and went to the first stop for night birds. Very quickly we heard all three owls species and both Whip-poor-whills and Chuck-will-widows along Old Beaverdam Road in the north end of Beaverdam Lake.
We made a quick backtrack to Old Weaver Trail to walk some food plots for a dawn flyover American Woodcock! In the distance we heard an early turkey calling from its treetop roost. A quick stop at a beaver lodge produced a sighting of this swimming rodent.
Next stop after dawn is always Sandling Swim beach for gulls, terns and shorebirds, but none were to be found. We tallied some migrants then hit the woods of Woodpecker Ridge. I was glad I had doused my clothes in Permanone because it was tick heaven! We slowly added 50 or so species of birds highlighted by Yellow and Palm Warblers at the peninsula across from Rollingview Marina. Another great surprise for the reporter and photographer behind me was flushing a Turkey off its nest, only a few feet from where we were standing. Add a few frogs and some butterflies and move on.
Driving through Butner I heard both House Sparrow and House Finch. There were a few American Robins in some front yards to round out the “city” birds that are tough to get elsewhere around the lake.
The photographer took a break while we donned our mountain bikes to pedal through the Brickhouse Road Waterfowl Impoundments. Butterflies and dragonfly numbers soared in a hurry, and bird totals went up over 90 species where it would stay idle for a while. Still lacking reptiles I scoured the rip rap dikes and paused to enjoy a Carolina Wren sing. I then noticed about thirty feet away a mammal walking through the woods. I motioned for Joe to take a look at a Bobcat silently walking through the woods. It’s coloration made it disappear in the shaded floodplain. First for my Wildathon, only the second I’d ever seen at Falls Lake and only fourth in my life! I finally got the first reptiles with Yellow-bellied and Painted Turtles on the Flat River. While there I also added Green Treefrogs seen in PVC pipes in the swamp.
I was concerned with not seeing any Bald Eagles at Sandling or Woodpecker Ridge, so we made a quick bike to view the Knapp of Reeds eagle nest, where we saw one adult and two fledglings perched on the nest.
Before leaving the Falls Lake headwaters, I made another quick stop on the Flat River, downstream of Lake Michie Dam, to tally both Selys and Uhlers Sundragon Dragonflies. Scanning the gated road leading to the dam, I spotted a Gray Fox walking our way along the shoulder. I was able to put the spotting scope on it for some great views.
We returned to Sandling Beach but found only Ring-billed Gulls. The photographer re-joined us to check my cover boards for snakes. Good Timing because we quickly found several Ringneck Snakes, Black Racers and Eastern Narrowmouth Toads, which should now be regular under one particular set of boards. Walking the loop trail I flipped some salamander size cover boards and found a first Wildathon record Worm Snake!
Wanting more reptiles and more great photo opportunities, we pressed on to the north end of Beaverdam Lake to check more cover boards. I was very surprised to see a mating pair of Black Racers, but another board contained a Copperhead! Another Wildathon first and the first I have ever found under a cover board! The photographer was delighted and took several shots. He crouched down and zoomed in, but the snake had had enough and made a sudden move in his direction. You want to see a grown man jump, let him think the snake is as close as in the camera frame while he’s zoomed in! These boards weren’t done yet, because yet another new snake to the Wildathon was found, a Rough Earth Snake! Not that impressive looking after the Copperhead, but this 8 inch brown colored snake was only the second I’d ever seen at Falls Lake!
Nearby I walked a short section of rip rap along an old road bed looking for red-banded water snakes. One of the two I’d ever seen was right here, but he would elude me today. As always though other critters show up to steal the show, a young Northern Water Snake, snapping turtle and then a mated pair of Orange Bluet Dragonflies.
The afternoon is driving time to fill in the checklists gaps. I was very happy with what I’d seen so far, but the birds numbers had peaked out, there just weren’t many rarities showing up. To save time I always re-hydrate and re-fuel while driving. This time I had a great idea, I put my 1 liter platypus bladder behind my seat with the nozzle on the seat belt!
The first quick stop was at Camp Kanata for Eastern Meadowlarks and a few more odes and leps. Next was onto the boundary pond at BW Wells for Eastern Newt salamanders. Northern two-lined Salamanders were right were I’ve always found them in the Shinleaf Recreation Area along the Falls Lake trail. I checked several bluebird boxes at the Highway 50 Recreation Area for Flying Squirrels, but they must have been in natural cavities because of the hot temperatures. Another quick stop at the Beaverdam Swim Beach produced my most reliable mammal, a meadow vole, scurrying through the brush.
The sun started getting lower, and I headed back up to the north end of the lake. A quick scan of the lake at Hickory Hill Boat added Caspian Terns and Bonaparte’s Gull. A lone Spotted Sandpiper walked along the lake shore, and a nice surprise flyover Bank Swallow brought my bird list over 100 species!
The photographer ran along with us on mountain bikes to get some “action” shots in the Flat River Waterfowl Impoundments. As the sun set he left us and started yelling as a river otter quickly and loudly crossed his path. It was long gone and I can’t count it from tracks so I was upset to be so close to another new mammal. About 20 minutes later though in the fading light I saw the whiskers and tail of another, or the same River Otter in an impoundment ditch. It looked like a Raccoon it was so big and fuzzy, but it’s sleek and slender body and preference for water made it’s identification secure. The mammals continued to put on a show, the first Whitetail Deer of the day and a rogue Opossum were seen at dusk. Both Eastern Red and Big Brown bats began hawking insects over the swamps and a few species of fireflies started to flash. I think I like Dusk just as much as dawn.
Next, I walked in the swamps of Brickhouse Road for calling frogs and toads and was not let down. At each good “listening stop” we could hear five or six different species calling madly including Green and Gray Treefrogs, and late calling Spring Peepers and American Toads. At another stop at a waterfowl blind the Northern Cricket Frogs were so loud and numerous they were seriously mind numbing and headache inducing.
On somewhat of a curiosity whim, I decided to check the cover boards at Sandling Beach during the night. I only found one snake, but it was a second ever Wildathon record Mole Kingsnake and the 13th reptile for the day! Under the same board was a Five Lined Skink missing a tail and with a wound on its side. I wondered for less than a second about what could have attacked the skink when my curiosity was quenched. The skink moved about two inches and was immediately grabbed and coiled up by the snake who in body was skinnier than the unfortunate skink. Since the photographer was gone, I ran back for my camera to document this critter.
By now it was after midnight and we were getting tired. I made a short walk around the park office gate to hope for a flying squirrel and then said goodbye to the intrepid Joe Miller who kept up with me the entire day! On a last ditch effort for likely the only bird species left possible, I stopped at the Highway 50 Bridge to try out my night vision monocular again. Under the bridge was bird number 104 for the day, a mated pair of Rock Pigeons.
Coyotes had been silent recently and Golden Mouse is a long shot so I decided to call it a day, or night at about 1:00 a.m.
The only record total broke was the twelve species of reptiles seen, but the rest were higher than average for my most productive Wildathon to day. Two new mammals were added to the Wildathon list, and four species of snakes!
Effort totals were 20 total hours; 11 miles on foot; 11 biking miles and 137 driving miles. I consumed three liters of water, two PB&J sandwiches and at least two pounds of candy and energy snacks.
WILDATHON 2005 RESULTS
MAMMALS: 10 (2005: 10, 2004: 6, 2003: 11, 2002: 10, 2001: 8)
Whitetail Deer
Grey Fox
BOBCAT
Virginia Opossum
American Beaver
RIVER OTTER
Grey Squirrel
Meadow Vole
Eastern Red Bat
Big Brown Bat
REPTILES: 13 (2005: 9, 2004: 2, 2003: 9, 2002: 11, 2001: 11)
Eastern Fence Lizard
Five-lined Skink
Ground Skink
Southern Ringneck Snake
Black Racer
Northern Water Snake
Painted Turtle
Yellowbelly Slider
Snapping Turtle
WORM SNAKE
CORN SNAKE
ROUGH EARTH SNAKE
COPPERHEAD
AMPHIBIANS: 12 (2005: 10, 2004: 11, 2003: 8, 2002: 13, 2001: 8)
American Toad
Fowler’s Toad
Spring Peeper
Eastern Narrow-mouhted Toad
Northern Cricket Frog
Bullfrog
Green Frog
Southern Leopard Frog
Gray Treefrog
Green Treefrog
Eastern Newt
Northern Two-lined Salamander
BUTTERFLIES: 23 (2005:15, 2004: 1, 2003: 29, 2002: 23, 2001: 23)
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Spicebush Swallowtail
Cabbage White
Clouded Sulphur
Cloudless Sulphur
Orange Sulphur
Sleepy Orange
Pearl Crescent
American Lady
Red Admiral
Common Buckeye
Red-Spotted Purple
Viceroy
Variegated Fritillary
Monarch
Eastern Tailed-Blue
Carolina Satyr
Southern Cloudywing
Least Skipper
Clouded Skipper
Zabulon Skipper
Silver-Spotted Skipper
Common Checkered-skipper
ODONATES: 18 (2005: 19, 2004: 1, 2003: 21, 2002: 25, 2001: 9)
Common Green Darner
Swamp Darner
Uhler’s Sundragon
Selys Sundragon
Eastern Pondhawk
Painted Skimmer
Spangled Skimmer
Slaty Skimmer
Twelve-spotted Skimmer
Common Whitetail
Blue Corporal
Blue Dasher
Eastern Amberwing
Lancet Clubtail
Ashy Clubtail
Stream Cruiser
Orange Bluet
Familiar/Stream Bluet
FIREFLIES: (2005: 0, 2004: 2, 2003: 2, 2002: 5, 2001: 6)
Photinus consimilus
P. marginellus
P. ignitus
P. consanguineus
BIRDS: 104 (2005: 108, 2004: 107, 2003: 96, 2002: 106, 2001: 84)
CORMORANT, Double-crested
HERON, Great Blue
VULTURE, Black
Turkey
GOOSE, Canada
DUCK, Wood
MALLARD
DUCK, American Black
OSPREY
EAGLE, Bald
Red-shouldered
Broad-winged
Red-tailed
TURKEY, Wild
KILLDEER
Spotted
WOODCOCK, American
GULL, Ring-billed
Bonaparte's
TERN, Caspian
PIGEON, Rock
DOVE, Mourning
CUCKOO, Yellow-billed
OWL, Eastern Screech-
Great Horned
Barred
WHIP-POOR-WILL
CHUCK-WILL'S-WIDOW
SWIFT, Chimney
HUMMINGBIRD, Ruby-throated
KINGFISHER, Belted
WOODPECKER, Red-headed
Red-bellied
Downy
Hairy
"Yellow-shafted" FLICKER
Pileated
WOOD-PEWEE, Eastern
FLYCATCHER, Acadian
PHOEBE, Eastern
FLYCATCHER, Great Crested
KINGBIRD, Eastern
VIREO, White-eyed
Blue-headed
Yellow-throated
Red-eyed
JAY, Blue
CROW, American
Fish
MARTIN, Purple
SWALLOW, Tree
N. Rough-winged
Cliff
Barn
Bank
CHICKADEE, Carolina
TITMOUSE, Tufted
NUTHATCH, White-breasted
Brown-headed
WREN, Carolina
GNATCATCHER, Blue-gray
KINGLET, Ruby-crowned
BLUEBIRD, Eastern
Wood
ROBIN, American
CATBIRD, Gray
MOCKINGBIRD, Northern
THRASHER, Brown
STARLING, European
WAXWING, Cedar
N. Parula
Yellow
Black-throated Blue
Yellow-rumped
WARBLER, Yellow-throated
Pine
Prairie
Palm
Black-and-white
American REDSTART
Prothonotary
OVENBIRD
Common YELLOWTHROAT
Hooded
Yellow-breasted CHAT
TANAGER, Summer
Scarlet
TOWHEE, Eastern
SPARROW, Chipping
Field
Swamp
White-throated
BOBOLINK
CARDINAL, Northern
Blue
BUNTING, Indigo
BLACKBIRD, Red-winged
MEADOWLARK, Eastern
GRACKLE, Common
COWBIRD, Brown-headed
ORIOLE, Orchard
FINCH, House
GOLDFINCH, American
SPARROW, House
FISH: 4
Common Carp
Sunfish/Bream
Crappie
Hickory Shad
MOTHS: 0 (2005: 3, 2004: 5)
WILDFLOWERS: (2005: 13, 2004: 12)
Bluets
Blue-eyed Grass
Oxeye Daisy
Verbena sp.
Dandelion
Blackberry
Common Wintercress
White Clover
Evening Primrose
Crossvine
Trumpet Honeysuckle
Japanese Honeysuckle
OTHER
Common Black Ground Beetle
Six-spotted Green Tiger Beetle
Toad Bug
Mydas Fly
Bee mimic Robber Fly
Forest Wolf Spider
Rabid Wolf Spider