Howdy All! WHOOOOPEEEEE! It happened. The world can end now. I *SAW* a Swainson's Warbler! <gleeful jig inserted here...> Many thanks to Lou Shoumette for a successful Swainson's Warbler trip! Other goodies this weekend in North Carolina included Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Bachman's Sparrow, Common Nighthawks doing their fantastic *swooping* display, a Eurasian Collared Dove, 5 calling Black Rails, and 15 singing Chuck-wills-widows. Lou had seen several Swainson's Warblers last year and asked me if I wanted to try to see them this year. Ha! Of course! <grin> I met Lou at 5:15am and we were on the road by 5:30am. We reached Chowan County, NC around 11am. After 2 hrs of searching, we had heard maybe 4 singing birds and caught fleeting glimpses of 2 individuals. Hot, hungry, and tired, we decided to try once more at a low-lying area where we had heard the first bird. I was walking behind the car as Lou was pulling forward to position us a little further down the road. We had heard a bird on the left. Suddenly, a small grayish bird flitted across the road. My pulse and pace both quickened as I saw the bird land not 30 feet away from the car. Lou was already on the bird. A Swainson's Warbler! Finally I got a view--not just any view--a *crippling* view of my nemesis bird. Nothing is so sweet as the satisfaction of nailing a nemesis bird with killer looks. I drank in the experience like someone who's just been hiking for hours in the desert sun and raises a cool bottle of water to his parched lips. I could feel the power of the moment as I had to steady my hands and inhale air in measured breaths. I couldn't believe the bird was just sitting there and singing! It's drab plumage was beautiful to my eyes. I was impressed with how large the bird was for a warbler and the length of it's longish bill. The flat-headed appearance gave it a scrappy-looking jizz. As it sat on a bare branch 15 ft off the ground, it would throw back it's head and belt out it's loud, clear song. It had moved deeper into the woods by the time I loaded my camera with a new roll of film. I shot the whole roll anyway and hope some pics will turn out anyway. They won't be the killer views, but hopefully will at least be identifiable. Now I owed Lou. We had agreed to trade a Swainson's for me if I could find Red-cockaded Woodpeckers for him. To me, I had the easy end of the deal on this one! We drove down to Havelock, NC to hit the Millis Road Savannah in the Croatan National Forest. We arrived around 6pm and pulled off the edge of the road and hiked in the path. We took the left fork. At the next fork in the path, we took the right fork and walked back 2/3 way to the back of the stand of open pinewoods. Soon we found a tree marked with blue paint and wrapped with a pink ribbon--an active nest. We waited and were soon rewarded as we first heard the birds, then saw them as the Woodpeckers came into view. One landed on the tree in front of us as it paused before entering the nest. Duh! I wasn't carrying my camera! Lifer #1 for Lou. We went back to the car for my camera. Half way back we kicked up a sparrow--not just any sparrow--a Bachman's Sparrow. It landed on a bare twig 4 ft off the ground not 30 ft away in good sunlight. It sat there and *posed*, giving me the best view I've ever had of Bachman's Sparrow and Lou's life look...well, it was another *killer* view. I guess it knew I wasn't armed with a camera. Aargh. After retrieving my camera, the Bachman's went into hiding and would only sing occasionally. Meanwhile, another Swainson's Warbler is belting out an evening song from the broad-leafed woods to the East of us. I stood comfortable distance from the Red-cockaded Woodpecker hole and waited. Soon a woodpecker popped out and flew into the trees to the West in direct sun. Missed opportunity. 45 minutes later the camera was very heavy. I told Lou I knew a sure magnet for getting the birds to return. I strapped the camera over my shoulder. As soon as the strap hit the shoulder, I heard the familiar twit-it, twit-ititit. The bird's undulating flight is now in my peripheral view as I'm desperately trying to get my camera back into position. The bird nears the tree and the camera nears my eye. It's gonna be close. I'm focusing on the as the bird lands and flooop! The bird is in the hole. What? It didn't pause AT ALL at the hole! Yikes! Another missed opportunity. About this time, I hear a wild sound. zzzzzzheeeoooooooooooooooooom!!! A looked over at Lou. His eyes were big, too. Pretty soon, we heard the sound again. This time, we saw the sound maker...a Common Nighthawk. Up into the sky above to maybe 100 ft, the Nighthawk would fly and then slowly flutter it's wings, almost hovering. Then it would lock it's wings into a dihedral and tip nose down and plummet toward the earth at a dizzying speed and pull up just over the treetops. zzzzzzheeeoooooooooooooooooom!!! The sound of the air passing the wings was simply remarkable. We watched as maybe half a dozen other Nighthawks displayed similar behavior. Too cool! On the way to dinner, we drove a few streets in Beaufort, NC and finally got the Eurasian Collared Dove in waning light. Another lifer for Lou. Both of us were bushed. We'd been up for 14 hrs and had driven over 450 miles. We discussed going for Black Rail and Chuck-wills-widow over dinner--both life birds for Lou and the Black Rail would be a state bird for me. We finally gummed up enough adrenaline to make the attempt. One of the building blocks for Miller Luck: Maximize your opportunities. We decided to try in the evening for the birds. If we failed, we'd cut out some sleep and opt for try #2 before dawn. But, the night was warm and calm and it was near full moon--perfect Black Rail conditions. We were not disappointed. Heading toward the Ferry Landing from the Thoroughfare Bridge in Cedar Island NWR, at our first stop at 0.5 miles we heard 2 Virginia Rails and 2 Black Rails. At 2.0 miles we heard 2 more Black Rails. At 4.0 miles we heard one Black Rail at close range. With no tape we had very little chance of seeing a bird. But on a long shot we turned the car facing the canal and shown the lights into the swamp. No show. But the didn't stop singing. On toward the ferry, we heard 2 Chuck-wills-widows calling in a small residential area. We backtracked to the entrance of Cedar Island NWR and drove to the first curve and stopped to listen. We heard 13 more singing Chucks! What a day! -Greg Miller Baltimore, MD