A small group of local area birders visited the Harrison-Burr Property on Saturday, December 2nd to take inventory of birds, specifically waterfowl, for wildlife reporting. This first waterfowl season survey took place last December 2022 and for the second year, the survey originally planned for November was rescheduled due to inclement weather. The weather on the new date did not disappointment. Cool enough for a vest, overcast but no fog. Due to the extreme drought this past summer, the wetlands were dry so attention was turned to the lakes. The fall colors among the foliage created a beautiful backdrop. The hike began at 7:00am and as the group embarked on their route, it wasn’t long before the group spotted a Limpkin; the first for the property. The group detoured off the original route to get a better look and capture photos. In total, 8 Limpkins were documented on the first lake. While observing the Limpkins a Bufflehead was also recorded, another first for the property. Continuing on the welcome detour, the group then turned focus to the second lake where various species of waterfowl were dabbling and feeding. Species documented included American Wigeon, Gadwall, Pintail, Mottled Duck, Blue-wing Teal, Green-wing Teal, Wood Duck, and American Coot. A big round of applause for our birding team who covered just under 3 miles, over the duration of almost 5 hours, recording 57 species. 12 new count species were documented this year, building on the 2022 base year count. New species for this count included: American Wigeon, Barred Owl, Bufflehead, Carolina Chickadee, Great Horned Owl, Least Sandpiper, Limpkin, Mottled Duck, Roseate Spoonbill, White-faced Ibis, White-winged Dove, Yellow-belled Sapsucker.
Limpkin.
Limpkin.