Date: 10/27/25 8:19 am From: Harry LeGrand (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: Re: Ashe Co. gains 12 documented birds this year
Guy,
Excellent work here. I (and I think Steve Shultz) "smell" a major paper
for *The Chat,* in order to get this very valuable data into a
publication. Who might see these tables ten years from now? For example,
the Summary Table for the total 5 counties has columns for the 4 seasons,
but not columns for which of the 5 counties it has been recorded. I think
a table with the species name and the columns for Alleghany, Ashe, Avery,
Watauga, and Wilkes would be very valuable. In addition, such a paper
could/should include annotated notes on the rarer species. If you recall,
there were a good handful of "annotated checklists" of "The Birds of
xxxxxxxx County" published there. Mark Simpson published a few papers on
the "Birds of the xxxxxx Mountains", such as the Brushy Mountains. Heck,
you could even have a 1-2 sentence set of comments on EACH species, as was
done on the Birds of Wake County (Robert Hader) or the Birds of the NC
Sandhills (Jay Carter).
I really want to see your excellent database to get published in some way,
in some form, and I know that Steve (as Chat editor) is often hurting for
major articles (and General Field Notes). I do try to have one of the
seasonal Chat Briefs for the Files done for each quarterly issue.
Harry LeGrand
Raleigh
PS -- Actually, your summary table by the four seasons, as we see in an
attachment, is certainly fine to be published as is. But one with the 5
counties across the top would also be very valuable.
On Sun, Oct 26, 2025 at 10:04 PM <badgerboy...> wrote:
> Just completed the annual updates to the lists of bird reports for the
> counties in NW NC. You can find, read, and download them here
> <https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1GcacgAIoDy2mKcNTQ840cHktUYVEFPtx?usp=drive_link> > (My private google drive). They now include color codes for report status,
> nesting and wintering checks, high counts, and extreme dates. Pink color
> means we need documentation! I put these pdf's on my phone for quick check
> in the field, especially where there is no cell reception.
>
> Leading the way in gains of documented birds was Ashe Co., with 12 new
> ones up to 199 total: Northern Shoveler, Sandhill Crane, Greater
> Yellowlegs, Wood Stork(2021), Common Loon, Saw-whet Owl, Fish Crow,
> Gray-cheeked Thrush, White-winged Crossbill(2002), Prairie Warbler,
> Wilson's Warbler, and Summer Tanager.
>
> Watauga had 5 new: Purple Gallinule, Wood Stork, Scissor-tailed
> Flycatcher, Lapland Longspur, and Lark Sparrow. Watauga moves ahead of
> Wilkes for most species documented (of the 5 NW NC counties) with 250.
>
> Avery gets 2 new: Bonaparte's Gull and Caspian Tern. Now with 217.
>
> Alleghany gets 1 new: American Coot. Now with 196.
>
> Wilkes gets 1 new: Brewer's Blackbird. Now with 249.
>
> New for the entire region were 3 species: Purple Gallinule, Lapland
> Longspur, and Lark Sparrow. Up to 316.
>
> Its great fun birding in NW NC! Guy (McGrane, Boone NC)
>
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