Compiled and Edited by Bob Zaremba
(First published in The Oriole, Vol. 69, Nos. 3/4, Pp 73-80)

It was an incredible winter season this year. The mild weather in late fall extended in to the beginning of the season, which probably was responsible for many of the reports of the more cold-hardy migrants such as Black-throated Blue Warbler, Ovenbird and Tennessee Warblers remaining in the Piedmont. The weather pattern changed later in the month, and colder weather brought in some very rare winter visitors. The best bird was obviously the Yellow-billed Loon that spent the entire period on Lake Horton in Fayette County. Birders from surrounding states and up and down the East Coast traveled to the site to see the bird. Another great bird located along the coast was a Cinnamon Teal found at the Altamaha Waterfowl Management Area near Darien. Although not normally considered a rarity in the state, the third incredible find was a Swainson’s Thrush that was seen and photographed on the St. Catherines Island CBC. There are very few documented reports of wintering birds anywhere in the U.S., so this is a significant report. The remaining period was highlighted by a better than average winter for finches. The highlight was a report of a Common Redpoll that was photographed at a feeder in Decatur. The overall period was very exciting, with many interesting reports of rarely seen species that hopefully will be documented and submitted to the records committee.

   

GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE – It was a good winter for this species around the state. Walt Chambers and Bill Birkhead had a nice flock of 12 birds on 19 December at ENWR and again a flock of six birds on 21 February. Several birds stayed around the Merry Brothers Brickyard from 1 January until 16 January (Earl Horn, Jim Flynn, Mark Davis). Lake Horton had six birds on 10 February (Mike Ivie). Dan Vickers found a flock of five birds at ELHLAF on 19 February that remained until 2 February (Tim Rose). Back at Merry Brothers Brickyard in Augusta, Calvin Zippler found the three birds back on the ponds on 7 February. Finally, Jim Flynn and Earl Horn found a single bird in Gordon County on 8 February.

SNOW GOOSE – There were many reports of birds around the state, but the largest numbers reported were by Mark Freeman and Chuck Saleeby. Mark found a flock of 15 birds near Athens on 11 December, and Chuck found seven birds at Lake Acworth on 22 February.

ROSS’S GOOSE – Eric Beohm had a flock of seven birds at Lake Horton on 16 Dec, and at least one bird continued through the month (m.ob.). Jim Flynn and Earl Horn found a single bird in Forsyth County on 1 January that was seen sporadically during the month by other observers. Three birds were seen at the Florence Marina on 7 February by Walt Chambers and also on 9 February (Jeff Sewell and Carol Lambert).

TUNDRA SWAN – Two birds were seen at the Merry Brothers Brickyard near Augusta during the winter, as late as 22 February. (Lois Stacey, m.ob.)

GADWALL – Carol Lambert had a high count of 206 birds at ELHLAF on 3 January. Mark Freeman and Carole Ludwig had a very good count of 73 birds at Dyar’s Pasture.

MOTTLED DUCK – Steve Barlow had an excellent count of 16 ducks at the AWMA on December 26. Always a good find away from that location, several of these ducks were seen by Jeff Sewell at Youman’s Pond on January 17.

CINNAMON TEAL – Pierre Howard had another great sighting this season, when he found a male bird at the AWMA on 28 February, which remained for only a few days. This species has been absent from the state for many years, so this sighting was a nice surprise this winter. Many birders made the trip to the coast to see this beautiful duck, which was last seen at least through the end of the month.

NORTHERN PINTAIL – The high count was during the Eufaula CBC at the ENWR on 19 December when Bob Zaremba had more than 200 birds.

CANVASBACK – The high count was from Lake Seminole, where Michael and Eric Beohm found more than 100 birds on 23 January. Elsewhere around the state they were seen in lower numbers, including six at Lake Horton on 30 December (Eric Beohm) and five on 11 February (Pierre Howard) at the same location.

REDHEAD – There were many reports from around the state. The highest count was an incredible 204 in Rome on 12 February by Marion Dobbs. Mark Freeman and Carole Ludwig had a good count of 57 in Putnam County on 31 January. Eric Beohm found 40 birds in Spaulding County on 18 February. Carol Lambert found 26 birds at ELHLAF on 4 February.

LESSER SCAUP – Paul Sykes had a very high count of 2,670 birds at Cumberland Island on 26 January.

SURF SCOTER – There were a few reports from around the state this period. Gene Keferl had four birds at Jekyll Island on 16 December. Pam and Denny McClure found three birds at West Point Dam on January 17. Two birds at Plant Scherer were seen by m.ob. during the month of December.

WHITE-WINGED SCOTER – Since this species is usually more difficult to find, two to three birds off Jekyll Island from 16 December to 18 February were a good find (Gene Keferl, m.ob.).

BLACK SCOTER – Gene Keferl had a good high count of 125 birds at Jekyll Island on 16 December.

LONG-TAILED DUCK – This species is rarely seen in Georgia and usually in singles or pairs, so a count of four or five birds at Merry Brothers Brickyards was an excellent count by Mark Davis. Another good count was between one and three birds seen at West Point Dam on 11 January to 16 January (Paul Miliotis, Eric Beohm).

COMMON GOLDENEYE – There were many reports from around the state. The highest counts came from West Point Dam, where Paul Miliotis and Eric Beohm had a flock of 40 birds on 26 January and David Heyden had 30 birds on 13 February. Jim Flynn found four birds at Carter’s Lake on 12 December. Single birds were spread around the state, one at ELHLAF on 13 January (Carol Lambert), one at SCSP on 10 January (Chris Lambert), one in Forsyth County on 1 January (Mark Davis, Sterling Blanchard), one back at ELHLAF on 15 February (Andy Boyce).

YELLOW-BILLED LOON – There is little doubt that the best bird of the season, if not the year, was the bird found on Lake Horton near Fayetteville on 29 December by Eric Beohm. The bird was seen by observers from all over the state through the end of the period. This report is the first for the state, as well as the only report for the entire Southeast. Many observers were able to photograph the bird and document the record. Hopefully the details will be written up for an article in a future Oriole.

RED-THROATED LOON – The only inland reports of this species were from West Point Dam on 4 February (Tony Leukering and Nancy Gobris) and on 18 February (Walt Chambers), where one bird was reported.

PACIFIC LOON – Paul Champlin had a good report from Clark Hill Reservoir of one or possibly two birds on 18 January. Hopefully, Paul will write up the report and submit it to the rare bird committee with the details of the sighting.

HORNED GREBE – The highest count of 70 birds was from West Point Dam, submitted by Jeff Sewell and Bill Lotz on 1 February.

RED-NECKED GREBE – The only report was a single bird seen by Michael Beohm on the Cumberland Island CBC on 19 December. The bird was well described and will hopefully be submitted to the records committee for review.

EARED GREBE – A single bird found by Carol Lambert on 5 December at ELHLAF remained until the end of February. Eric Beohm reported a record high count of 23 on 20 December from Lake Juliette, and hopefully it will be written up in an article for publication in the Oriole. The previous record was 11 from the same location.

AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN – Doris Cohrs found two birds in Doboy Sound on 20 & 26 January. Pierre Howard found a high count of 15 birds at the AWMA on 28 February.

AMERICAN BITTERN – Michael Bell and Chris Borg found a single bird at the Bradley Unit of ENWR on 7 February.

GREAT EGRET – Owen Kinney reported finding a single bird on the Floyd County CBC on 14 December, which was rare for the CBC area.

TRICOLORED HERON – Jack Dozier and John Murphy found a single bird at the sod farm in Perry on 4 January.

REDDISH EGRET – This species seems to be increasing in numbers along the coast during the winter. There were a number of reports from many locations. Lydian Thompson had a bird on Cumberland Island on 20 December, as did Iain Stephenson on 18 January. A bird was also seen at Gould’s Inlet by Giff Beaton on 23 December, another was seen on 15 February by Lydia Thompson and finally again on 22 February by Jeff Sewell and Dan Vickers. Jeff also had a single bird on the St. Catherine’s CBC.

CATTLE EGRET – This is another species that appears to be increasing its winter range. There were several reports over the period from all around the state. David Brown found a flock of 30 birds at Montezuma on 6 December. Michael Bell found six birds in Seminole County on 1 January. There were three birds found at Merry Brother’s Brickyard on 1 January by Jim Flynn and Earl Horn. Finally, a flock of 59 birds was found in Seminole County on 23 January by Michael and Eric Beohm.

WHITE IBIS – Jeff Sewell and Dan Vickers had a very high count of 2,000 birds at AWMA on 22 February.

GLOSSY IBIS – Several good counts were reported this period. Walt Chambers had 20 birds at AWMA on 27 December. At the same site, Jeff Sewell and Dan Vickers had a high count of 45 birds on 22 February.

WOOD STORK – Michael Bell found three birds at the Birdsong Nature Center in Grady County on 28 February.

BLACK VULTURE – Earl Horn and Jim Flynn reported a high count of 400 birds on 15 February in Atkinson County.

BALD EAGLE – Carol Lambert had two birds at the Wetlands Center in Clayton County on 9 February. Patrick Leary had two birds at Cumberland Island on 9 December.

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK –Doug and Pam McClure reported a possible bird on 28 December and again on 12 January from Carroll County. Another interesting report was submitted by John Henderson in Walker County on 15 January. This is a rare winter visitor, and the detailed description should be submitted to the records committee for review.

GOLDEN EAGLE – Also from Walker County, two reports on 21 February (Steve Stewart) and 22 February (Steve Barlow) from John’s Mountain Lookout. The birds were well described and should be submitted to the records committee for review.

MERLIN – Several reports were received from around the state. Patrick Leary reported one at Cumberland Island on 9 December. Another bird was reported away from the coast in Decatur County on 8 February (Michael Bell). Michael also found a single bird in Baker County on 18 February.

PEREGRINE FALCON – A single bird was reported on the Marietta CBC on 21 Dec (fide Giff Beaton). Patrick Leary found a bird on Cumberland Island on 9 December.

VIRGINIA RAIL – Joshua Spence found three birds in Murray County on 21 February. Paul Sykes reported finding three birds in Greene County on 6 December and again on 10 January.

SORA – Three birds, rare for the Floyd County CBC area, were found by Debbie Zaremba and Karen Theodorou.

SANDHILL CRANE – Many large movements of birds were noted this period. Eric Beohm counted approximately 1,250 birds over Upson County on 25 December. The previous day, there was another flock of more than 1,250 birds over Cobb County (Bob and Deb Zaremba). A large number of birds continued moving in January, when Marion Dobbs noted 1,300 on 3 January and another 1,600 on 11 January. February passage included multiple reports totaling between 2,600 and 2,900 birds reported across the state between 16 and 23 February. An unusual occurrence was the two birds that spent the winter in Greene County in January and February (Paul Sykes and Alex Curtis).

WILSON’S PLOVER – This species wintered in higher than normal numbers on Jekyll Island. Lydia Thompson and many other observers reported high counts of 35 on January 18, 44 on January 19 and 38 on 21 February.

PIPING PLOVER – Brandon Noel found a high count of 33 birds wintering on Little St. Simons Island on 27 January.

KILLDEER – Paul Sykes had 126 birds in Greene County on 8 February and 22 February.

AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER – A high count of 307 on Little St. Simons Island on 27 January was recorded by Brandon Noel.

AMERICAN AVOCET – Good counts from Jekyll Island included 28 seen on 17 January by Iain Stephenson and 74 on 29 February by Mark Freeman.

SPOTTED SANDPIPER – This species is uncommon in winter along the Chattahoochee River south from Columbus, so single birds at Oxbow Meadows seen by Walt Chambers and two birds at West Point Dam on 1 January by Michael Beohm were good reports.

WHIMBREL – Paul Sykes had a single bird on Cumberland Island on 26 January.

LONG-BILLED CURLEW – Several reports were received from the mid-winter shorebird survey of the Georgia barrier islands. Birds were counted on Little St. Simons Island, Ossabaw, Jekyll and Sapelo Islands on 26 January. Doris Cohrs found a single bird on 20 January at Sapelo Island. Usually the Georgia barrier islands are the only place to find this species; however, Earl Horn reported finding a bird behind the Jekyll Island Visitors Center on 25 January, for an excellent report.

MARBLED GODWIT – Brandon Noel had a high count of 80 birds on Little St. Simons Island on 27 January.

PURPLE SANDPIPER – The beach at Tybee Island is the most reliable spot for this species. Steve Barlow reported 10 birds on 27 December. Jeff Sewell and Dan Vickers had 11 birds at the same location on 21 February. The only report away from Tybee was a bird seen on Cumberland Island on 9 December by Patrick Leary.

STILT SANDPIPER – This species is rare on the coast during winter, so a single bird at AWMA on 22 February seen by Jeff Sewell and Dan Vickers was a good find.

POMARINE JAEGER – This is a rare winter visitor on the coast, so a bird at the north end of Jekyll Island on 23 December was good. (Giff Beaton, et al.)

PARASITIC JAEGER –Giff Beaton reported an excellent high count of five birds on the north end of Jekyll Island on 23 December.

ICELAND GULL – Earl Horn had an excellent find of a bird on Tybee Island on 18 January. This accidental winter visitor was photographed by Earl and later seen again on 20 January by Gene Keferl.

LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL – This species is very rare away from the coast, so two birds at West Point Dam seen by Michael Beohm on 1 January was excellent.

GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL – A high count of 80 birds at Little St. Simons Island was reported by Brandon Noel on 27 January.

GULL-BILLED TERN – A rare wintering bird was seen at AWMA. Originally found by Doris Cohrs and Scott Sumershoe on 15 December, the bird was seen sporadically through the winter in the same location. Gene Keferl located the bird on 19 January. The bird was seen again and photographed on 24 January by Earl Horn, Bob and Deb Zaremba.

RAZORBILL – A possible small number of birds was seen on 23 February (fide Russ Wigh) off the coast. Hopefully, the report will be written up and submitted to the records committee for review.

SHORT-EARED OWL – The species was reported in lower numbers than in previous years, perhaps due to changes in the wintering fields near Cobb. Karen Theodorou and Michelle Sheppard had a good count of three birds at the owl fields on 9 February.

RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD – Two birds were banded this winter. A bird wintering in Marietta was tallied on the Marietta CBC on 21 December (fide Giff Beaton).

BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD – Rusty Trump banded an immature male on 5 December in Roswell.

CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD – There were three birds banded in the state this winter. Rusty Trump banded an adult make in Decatur on 5 December. He also banded another bird in Snellville on 24 January.

RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD – An amazing count of 75 birds were banded in the state this winter (fide Rusty Trump).

SELASPHORUS Species - There were an additional 52 hummingbirds reported in the state that were not banded and could not be definitively identified.

COMMON FLICKER - Michael Bell once again found the red-shafted form in Birdsong on 31 January for the second year in a row.

VERMILION FLYCATCHER – A male seen at Youman’s Pond by Iain Stevenson was only seen on 17 January. Phil Hardy, Clive Rainey and Dot Freeman found a wintering bird in Sumter County on the same date. The bird remained in the same are through 22 February and was seen by many observers.

SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER –Emily Jo Williams had a very nice find of a bird in Putnam County on 29 February for the only report this winter.

WHITE-EYED VIREO – Walt Chambers found this bird, an uncommon winter resident in Columbus, on 16 January.

COMMON RAVEN –A report of a bird near Blairsville on 29 February by Steve Barlow was unusual away from the normal locations.

PURPLE MARTIN – A bird found by Michael Bell at Birdsong in Decatur County was a good find on 28 January.

TREE SWALLOW – Several reports were received over the period. Two at ELHLAF on 15 February seen by Andy Boyce and two seen on 22 February in Greene County by Paul Sykes were both good reports.

NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW – There were several reports over the period, probably due to the mild winter. One bird was at Sweetwater Creek State Park on 12 December. In Moultrie, Walt Chambers saw a single bird on 25 December. Sandy Pangle had a fantastic find of a bird at Lake Acworth on 10 February. Finally, Paul Sykes found a bird in Greene County on 29 February.

BARN SWALLOW – Anne Waters and Lois Stacey found one bird at Merry Brothers Brickyard on 20 December for a very good winter record.

RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH – Very few reports were received this winter for this irruptive species. Steve Barlow found three at Burrell’s Ford Road on 24 January.

WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH – Giff Beaton and Jim Flynn had a high count of 50 on the Amicalola Falls Christmas Bird Count on 29 December.

SEDGE WREN – Michael Bell reported finding four birds at Birdsong Nature Center in Grady County on 31 January.

BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER – The mild winter produced multiple reports of this species this period. Single birds were seen in Tucker (Jeff Sewell and Carol Lambert), in Greene County (Paul Sykes) and at Oxbow Meadows near Columbus (Walt Chambers). The highest number was from Merry Brothers Brickyard in Augusta, where Calvin Zippler saw four birds on 7 February.

SWAINSON'S THRUSH – Pierre Howard had an incredible find of a bird wintering on St. Catherines Island. The bird was photographed and is one of the very few winter records documented for the U.S. This bird was found on the Christmas Bird Count on 13 December and was seen by many of the participants. The species rarely winters in the U.S., and few are supported by photographs, so this well documented report is exceptional. A staff member at the island reported that the bird had been seen for several weeks and hopefully they will be able to document to the records committee when the bird was last seen.

GRAY CATBIRD – A number of wintering birds were reported around the state. A bird was seen at South Peachtree Creek Nature Park on 20 December and 17 January. Steve Johnson found a bird in Henry County on 1 January. Pierre Howard also had a bird in his Atlanta yard on 18 February.

TENNESSEE WARBLER – There were two reports of the species this winter. Steve Barlow found a bird on the Georgia Tech campus on 11 December. While searching for the Black-throated Blue Warbler, Jim Flynn and Earl Horn found a bird at Oxbow Meadows on 4 January. The bird was seen again by Walt Chambers as late as 9 February.

NORTHERN PARULA – A single bird was seen by Roger Clark in St Marys on 20 December.

BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER – Walt Chambers found an adult male at Oxbow Meadows near Columbus on 7 December. Earl Horn and Jim Flynn found the bird again on 4 January.

YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER – Several birds were found around the state. Walt Chambers had a bird on 21 December at Oxbow Meadows and again on 9 February. Lois Stacey found one at Phinizy Swamp Nature Park near Augusta on 27 December.

PRAIRIE WARBLER – A single bird was found at ENWR on the Christmas Bird Count on 19 December (Bob Zaremba).

BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER – Several birds were seen around the state, one at Oxbow Meadows on 4 January by Jim Flynn and Earl Horn and one at Phinizy Swamp Nature Park on 6 January by Jim Wilson and Georgann Schmalz.

OVENBIRD – Jim Flynn and Giff Beaton found a rare wintering bird on the Amicalola Falls CBC on 29 January, for the first mountain region winter record of this species.

NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH – A bird found at the AWMA on 25 January was an excellent find (Earl Horn, Bob and Deb Zaremba)

WILSON’S WARBLER – There were a few reports of this species over the period. The longest wintering report was a bird found by Karen Theodorou in her Gwinnett yard through at least 21 February. Steve Barlow found a bird on the Georgia Tech campus on 3 & 10 December. At Merry Brothers Brickyard, Calvin Zippler found a bird on 20 December and again on 7 February.

SUMMER TANAGER – A rare sighting by Earl Horn and Jim Flynn of a bird wintering in Thomasville on 17 January was a good report.

BACHMAN’S SPARROW – Michael Bell had an excellent count of seven birds at Ichuaway Plantation in Baker County on 16 February.

CLAY-COLORED SPARROW – A report of a bird from Phinizy Swamp Nature Park on 3 January was very good for the period (Earl Horn, Bob and Deb Zaremba)

VESPER SPARROW – The high count for the period came from Greene County, where Paul Sykes had 42 birds on 10 January.

GRASSHOPPER SPARROW – There were two reports this winter. Michael Bell had two birds at Birdsong Plantation on 28 February, and Bob Zaremba found a single bird on the ENWR CBC on 19 December.

HENSLOW’S SPARROW – There were several reports from Birdsong Plantation this winter. Michael Bell had four birds 20 December and again on 31 January, and one on 28 February. Iain Stephenson found four birds in Paulk’s Pasture on 29 February.

LE CONTE’S SPARROW – The only report this period was a bird found at ENWR on 31 January (Earl Horn, Pierre Howard, Andy Boyce).

LINCOLN’S SPARROW – Carol Lambert had the only report of a bird seen on 16 February at the Wetland Center of the EHLAF in Clayton County

WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW – The best count was 25 seen in Hart County on 8 December by Earl Horn and Jim Flynn.

INDIGO BUNTING – Karen Theodorou found a male bird on 8 December in Lawrenceville.

PAINTED BUNTING – There were several reports of wintering birds this period. Dianne Churchill found two birds on Tybee Island on 18 December. Two reports came from Phinizy Swamp Nature Park, where two birds were seen on 6 January by Jim Wilson and Georgann Schmalz and again on 21 February by Anne Waters.

RUSTY BLACKBIRD – The best count was 200 from Oxbow Meadows on 16 January by Walt Chambers. Paul Sykes had 156 birds in a flock in Greene County on 17 January.

BREWER'S BLACKBIRD – Several counts of 200 birds each were received. Walt Chambers saw one flock at Oxbow Meadows, and another was seen by Dan Jacobson in Murray County.

BALTIMORE ORIOLE – It was a good winter for this species. One bird was found on the Atlanta CBC on 21 December (fide Giff Beaton). Earl Horn and Jim Flynn had a female at Oxbow Meadows on 4 January and another bird in Atkinson County on 15 February. Calvin Zippler found a single bird at Merry Brothers Brickyard in Augusta on 7 February.

PURPLE FINCH – Lynn Schlup had a high count of 57 birds on 21 December in Oconee.

RED CROSSBILL – The only report came from Pine Log WMA on 30 January, where two birds were seen (Bob and Deb Zaremba).

PINE SISKIN – It was a fairly good winter for this irruptive species. Reports started to filter in at the beginning of December. Lynn Schlup reported seeing 20 birds at her feeders in Oconee on 5 December. Mark Davis found 12 birds at CRNRA on 12 December. The farthest south this species was reported was the two birds at Birdsong Plantation on 31 January reported by Michael Bell. The highest counts for the winter came from the mountains, where Tom Striker had a large flock of between 75 and 100 birds in Blue Ridge on 5 February and another flock of 86 birds in Cherry Log on 12 February.

AMERICAN GOLDFINCH – Lynn Schlup saw 370 birds in Oconee on February 20, which is a very high count.

COMMON REDPOLL – Jodi Jones had a wonderful find when she discovered this species coming to her feeder in her Tucker yard. The bird was seen intermittently until 4 February, when it departed. Jodi was able to get photographs of the bird. Hopefully, she will be able to submit the report to the record committee.

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