The Near Georgia Report* - www.neargareport.com - by Mark McShane: Swainson's Hawk - Alligator River NWR, East Lake, NC

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Swainson's Hawk - Alligator River NWR, East Lake, NC - 4/13/11

Hi All,

A Swainson's Hawk was reported from Alligator River NWR near East Lake, North Carolina on 4/13.

The post from CarolinaBirds:
https://lists.duke.edu/sympa/arc/carolinabirds/2011-04/msg00229.html

Good Near Georgia Birding!

Mark

2 comments:

AnonymousAugust 29, 2011 at 10:45 AM
Hawkinsville, Georgia 26 Country Club Drive, 31036

Swainson's Hawk in front yard, high in pine tree.
All white legs. Hunting.
1040 est
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Mark McShaneAugust 29, 2011 at 12:44 PM
Dear Anonymous,

Thanks for the post, a Swainson's Hawk in Georgia is a very rare event! Were you able to get any photos of the bird? Please call the GOS Georgia Statewide Rare Bird Alert (RBA) at 770-493-8862 with any further information or sightings!

Mark
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Georgia's first, and arguably the rarest bird to be seen in Georgia in the 21st century, also the most southeastern record for North America! Photo 2/2/08, only the 3rd U.S. record ever outside of south Texas! This immature bird showed up the week of 10/21/07 at the home of Marshall and Laurie Jackson in Dublin, GA, and was banded on the 29th. The hummer was last reported from the site on 4/4/08! The young male acquired much of his adult body plumage before departing! More, and even later, photos can be seen in the Favorite Georgia Birding Photos GREM sections! Photos by Rachel Cass. Click or tap on photo for last report.

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Reporting their location and leg band information, to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and to local department of natural resources wildlife officials is requested. Also, reporting Whooping Crane sightings to various Whooping Crane related organizations via the reporting links on their websites is very important to all of the folks who conduct sustaining efforts to support the potential comeback and recovery of the crane in the wild. More Whooping Cranes may eventually be seen in the Southeast if we all work to recognize and respect their current delicate status and to promote their welfare.

Captain Brooks Good and... Me !

8/7/10, Here is Captain Brooks Good still giddy with excitement after I had just passed on to him the grand sum of all of my seafaring and birding wisdom and knowledge! I thought this might take a while on the way up the Intracoastal Waterway to the Altamaha Sound but it looks like we only made it about 3 feet from the dock before it was all over?! What a fantastic trip and Captain, the thought of mutiny never occurred to any of us, and 4 of our target Long-billed Curlews were found! Click or tap on the photo for Brooks' Coastal Outdoor Adventures & Coastal Cuisine website, highly recommended. Photo by James Fleullan.

Wandering Albatross (WAAL)

Snowy, Tristan, New Zealand, Gibson's, and Amsterdam subspecies
Can wander 500+ miles a day, almost as far as a Georgia birder can!
Up to a 12-foot wingspan
Largest extant bird wingspan
May be almost 4 1/2 feet in length
May live 60 or more years
Eggs hatch after 2 1/2 months
Half of all albatross species nest in New Zealand
All of the great albatross species and subspecies are listed as Threatened by the IUCN, the decline of the great albatrosses is thought to mainly be due to the impact that longline fishing is having on the birds.