Date:         Sun, 29 Jun 2008 12:09:20 -0400
Reply-To:     Ken Blankenship <kenhblankenship@COMCAST.NET>
Sender:       Georgia Birders Online <GABO-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From:         Ken Blankenship <kenhblankenship@COMCAST.NET>
Subject:      Golden-crowned Kinglet, Red Crossbills in Rabun Co.,
              Georgia 6/28/08

Yesterday I made another foray into the mountains of Rabun County, joined
by Jim Hanna and Mark McShane. The primary focus of the day was to try to
locate a Golden-crowned Kinglet (GCKI) in Georgia during the breeding
season. Work by M.W. Oberle, D.M. Forsythe, and J. Chris Haney turned up
summer sightings of this species in Rabun and Union Counties in the 1990s
in mature coniferous forest. In addition, F. Renfrow documented the first
breeding GCKI in South Carolina in the Chattooga Recreation Area in 2003,
adjacent to similar habitat in Georgia. J. Flynn and E. Horn located a GCKI
on 21 May, 2005 in Rabun Co. It is quite possible, even likely, that the
species is breeding locally in Georgia in appropriate habitat.

The habitat along Overflow Creek Rd in Rabun Co. is consistent with the
habitat preferred by several species of northern affinity which have
already been documented breeding in the NE corner of Georgia, including Red-
breasted Nuthatch and Brown Creeper. There are many older stands of white
pine and hemlock as well as mixed deciduous forest; the GCKI nest F.
Renfrow found in SC was 18 meters high in an old growth hemlock. On 11 May,
2008 while searching for Brown Creepers, I had observed a GCKI along
adjacent Billingsley Creek Rd. The calls it was making were very high-
pitched and thin, as usual, but were tiny one-syllable calls, not the
winter "trill." These calls are not unlike the tiny chip notes made by
Carolina Chickadees and, in fact, I had at first dismissed it as that
species until I detected movement and found it was a GCKI foraging high in
the mid-story.

Thus, for our survey yesterday I chose a strategy of driving slowly and
stopping any time a high-pitched chip or call was detected. The song and
calls of GCKI would be played on an iPod, and we would listen for any
response. After locating a few LEAST FLYCATCHERS along Hale Ridge Rd and
Bald Mountain Rd (3 in NC and 2 in GA), we began the survey by driving
south on Hale Ridge Rd. At our first stop in a mixed area with a few
conifers, we detected a very thin "zeet" call several times in response to
the iPod. We were able to identify several chickadees and Tufted Titmice
calling, but this call was different. After several more of these calls and
much effort, we were unable to locate a bird and the calls stopped. We made
many more stops along the road in response to calls that usually proved to
be chickadees and titmice. We found two RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES as well as
other breeding birds including BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER, OVENBIRD, WORM-
EATING WARBLER, HOODED WARBLER, NORTHERN PARULA, LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH,
ACADIAN FLYCATCHER, RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD, and RED-EYED and BLUE-HEADED
VIREOS.

We continued past where Hale Ridge Rd (FS 7) splits off to the SW and
continued south on Overflow Creek Rd (FS 86). Soon, at an elevation of 701
meters, I detected a high-pitched sound that was much longer than any I had
heard so far. We got out, I did not hear it again, and suspected a
titmouse. However, as soon as I played GCKI on the iPod a GOLDEN-CROWNED
KINGLET immediately responded, clearly agitated, and made many "trill"
calls and thin "zeet" chips. At that point, the bird began to sing the full
GCKI song constantly as we finally located it flitting around, moving high
into the canopy, and sometimes foraging. All observers were able to get
great looks at this amazing tiny bird as it sang and sang, and we all
commented on how it would flare its bright orange crown just before
singing. We watched this bird for about 45 minutes, during which time it
eventually calmed down, still singing but less frequently, and began to
relate quite closely to a very large hemlock tree that was far below the
road in a steep ravine with a creek running through it. Though Mark scanned
every visible branch with his scope, we could not locate a nest.
Furthermore, when the bird was foraging it showed no sign of food delivery.
Still, further investigation was needed but the extremely steep and rugged
terrain and a thick understory prevented closer approach; the view into the
branches of the tree was actually better from the higher vantage point of
the roadbed anyway. Needless to say, we were all ecstatic!

After lunch, we stopped by the location on Persimmon Rd where we re-located
the flock of RED CROSSBILLS and several RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS,
feasting on the well-maintained feeders at a residence there. I tried to
talk to the owners to tell them about their special birds and let them know
what folks were doing with binoculars on the roadside by their house, but
no one was home. Heading north from US Hwy 76, continue until you pass Jim
Keener Rd on your left, and the next house on the right with a "10
Commandments" sign at their driveway has the feeders. On a quick trip up
Patterson Gap Rd, we added YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER, found an active ACADIAN
FLYCATCHER nest, and on the way out saw an adult WILD TURKEY walking down
the road with three young of the year!

Ken Blankenship
Marietta, GA (Cobb County)
http://www.wingsoverga.com

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