Hello, this is a September 16 update of the Carolina Rare Bird Alert featuring birding news from North and South Carolina sponsored by the Carolina Bird Club. Highlights on this report include:

BROWN NODDIES
SABINE'S GULL
BRIDLED TERNS
PARASITIC JAEGER
BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS
RED-NECKED PHALAROPES
WILSON'S PHALAROPES
AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS
GRAY KINGBIRD
LARK SPARROW
OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER
SNOW GOOSE

Recent tropical weather systems moving north out of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico have been responsible for seabird displacement and shorebird fallouts from the mountains to the sea in the Carolinas. A BROWN NODDY was found in Bluffton, SC on 9-8 after the passage of Hurricane Frances. Today, 9-16, a BROWN NODDY was a flyby at Bald Head Island, NC. On 9-9 a BRIDLED TERN was at Lake Wylie south of Charlotte, NC, and a BRIDLED TERN was over the ocean at Pine Knoll Shores, NC also on 9-9.

An adult SABINE'S GULL visited Lake Junaluska in western NC for a couple of hours on 9-8.

A sub-adult PARASITIC JAEGER was far inland at Lake Norman north of Charlotte, NC on 9-11.

A tremendous fallout of shorebirds occurred in Hendersonville, NC on 9-8. An estimated 1500 shorebirds on Hooper Lane included WILSON'S PHALAROPES, MARBLED GODWITS, BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS, AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS, STILT SANDPIPERS, SANDERLINGS, and many more shorebirds commonly seen inland.

Thousands of shorebirds, waders, and waterfowl were at the Savannah Spoil site in SC on Sept. 12. Among the most notable species and numbers were 45 RED-NECKED PHALAROPES, 15 WILSON'S PHALAROPES, hundreds of AMERICAN AVOCETS, 2 ROSEATE SPOONBILLS, 3 REDDISH EGRETS, and 5 BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCKS. Later that same day, 3 BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS and one AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER were found at the Nimmer Turf Farm near Ridgeland, SC.

A GRAY KINGBIRD was seen in Columbia , SC on 9-6 and again on 9-12. Look along White House Rd. near Heathwood Hall Episcopal School and the Columbia wastewater treatment plant.

A BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER was present 9-14 in Winston-Salem, NC at the Archie Elledge sewage treatment plant.

A LARK SPARROW was seen briefly at Fort Macon SP in NC on 9-10.

Very rare along the coast, an OLIVE -SIDED FLYCATCHER visited Manteo, NC for a day on 9-14.

A SNOW GOOSE was seen in Gaston County, NC on 9-15. Look along Sparrow Dairy Rd. The goose was with Canada geese.

Thanks this week to John Fussell. Nathan Dias, Hop Hopkins, Jonathan Mayes, Jeff Lewis, and C. Huffstickler for their calls and reports. Some of this information was gleaned from Carolinabirds.

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