Don’t worry, PUFIs won’t harm you. They won’t even take you up to the mothership to probe and prod you and send you home with nothing but a vague recollection of bluish lights and otherworldly mutterings. PUFI is simply bird-nerd speak for purple finch.

This “sparrow dipped in raspberry juice,” as described by Roger Tory Peterson, nests primarily in coniferous and mixed woodlands across Canada from British Columbia to Newfoundland and down both coasts to California in the west and New England to Minnesota and West Virginia in the east.

The purple finch is an erratic short-distance migrant, generally following the availability of cone crops. Conventional thinking is that the finches that breed farther south like New England and California, etc. remain in the same region year round, while the more northerly nesters are the ones likely to show up at our feeders and feeders across the South to the Mexican border in the winter.

The PUFI is sparrow-sized (5 to 6 inches) and weighs about 1 to 1.5 ounces. The male is the raspberry dipped one. It has a reddish (raspberry) head and breast with red mixed with brown on the back. It also shows red along the sides of the breast with a whitish belly. The male shows a dark ear patch under the red and also a dark malar (throat) streak. Females are brown and white with dark coarse streaking on breast and flanks. They show a whitish eye stripe, dark ear patch and dark malar. Both sexes have deeply notched tails.

There are two subspecies of purple finches — eastern, Carpodacus purpureus and western, Carpodacus p. californicus. The primary measurable difference between the two is that the western PUFI has a longer tail and shorter wings. In the field, the eastern PUFI male is brighter (rosier) and the eastern female is crisply brown and white with distinct dark streaking on the breast while the western female has a greenish-yellow tinge and more faded-looking breast streaks. There are also slight differences in the vocalizations.

The bird in this area most likely to be confused with the purple finch is the house finch. The house finch, which was originally a western species, was introduced to the east in the 1940s when a few captive birds were released on Long Island. They are now quite common from Canada to Louisiana. And if you see a reddish finch at your feeders in the summer it almost certainly is a house finch, as they nest in the area.

The red of the male house finch ranges from orange to reddish-orange — it’s not the rosy (raspberry) of the purple finch. The red of the house finch is not as extensive on the back of the head as it is on the purple finch, plus the house finch lacks the dark face pattern of the purple finch and it has heavily streaked flanks not present on the male purple finch.

The female house finch has a plain brown or grayish-brown head, lacking the bold face pattern of the female purple finch. And it has blurry streaks on a dingy breast unlike the contrast of the dark streaks on the white breast of the purple finch.

House finches appear to supplant purple finches where the two species are found together. Purple finch populations don’t appear to be in peril but their numbers do appear to be dropping in the East as house finch numbers increase.

There are “murders” of crows and “gaggles” of geese and a group of finches is known as a “charm,” “company” or “trembling.” My charm of around 20 PUFIs really set my feeders trembling with all their company.

Don Hendershot can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Tis the season to be counting.

The National Audubon Society’s century-old citizen-science prototype — the Christmas Bird Count (CBC) — began Dec. 14 and will run through Jan. 5, 2011. Area birders will join forces with counters across the state and nation and around the world gathering data that allows scientists to study long-term population trends of bird species.

Balsam CBC

The local Balsam CBC, which includes Waynesville and its surroundings, will be held New Year’s Day. According to count originator and compiler, Bob Olthoff, the Balsam CBC originated in 2003. Last year’s count had to be cancelled because of nasty weather, so this will be the eighth Balsam CBC.

All CBCs are set up the same way. A count circle 15 miles in diameter is established and birders attempt to identify and count every species of bird encountered on count day. Once a circle is established, the idea is to maintain (for scientific data consistency) that particular circle as long as possible.

The Los Angeles CBC, established in the 1930s, claims to be the longest running CBC in the country. Some birders are up in the pre-dawn blackness or count into the night to try and locate owls and other nocturnal species.

The center of the Balsam CBC circle is near Barber’s Orchard. It extends eastward to just across the Old Asheville Highway and the Mountain Research Station (Test Farm.) It extends westward to Balsam Mountain Preserve in Jackson County. And it runs from Cataloochee Ranch and Soco Gap in the north to Lake Logan in the south.

The Balsam circle — like most count circles — is further subdivided into sections, and different groups of birders are responsible for the different sections. The two most productive sections in the Balsam circle, according to Olthoff, are the Lake Logan section — which includes the Mountain Research Station — and the Lake Junaluska section.

Hits and misses

Birders are always looking for that rare find. While CBCs are confined to one winter’s day with common winter residents making up the bulk of species, rarities are often discovered.

“A yellow-headed blackbird has got to be the best bird we’ve had so far,” Olthoff said.

The yellow-headed blackbird was discovered during the 2006 count at the Mountain Research Station in a mixed flock of blackbirds, cowbirds and starlings. Thanks to a digital camera carried by Wayne Forsythe, the bird was photographed so there could be no question about the ID.

The yellow-headed blackbird generally nests from western and central Canada, east to the Great Lakes and south to northern Baja, Calif., and Arizona. It is a neotropical migrant and winters from the southwestern U.S. to Costa Rica. The bird is a bit of a wanderer and is found as a rare spring and fall migrant throughout the eastern U.S.

According to Olthoff, the last seven counts have produced five species of warblers. Yellow-rumped warblers overwinter in the area and have been on every count but the other four species are rare finds in the mountains in the winter. They include common yellowthroat, orange-crowned, pine and palm warblers.

But misses can sometimes be as intriguing as rarities. “In ’07, we didn’t have a single robin or cedar waxwing,” Olthoff said. He said that other counts in the area had similar results that year, “they either missed completely or had substantially reduced numbers.”

Olthoff said the average number of species recorded on the Balsam CBC is 73. “We’ve had 77 on two different counts and 63 on our first count, was the fewest,” he said.

Other mountain counts

Olthoff — who has participated in at least 100 CBCs, most in his native New Jersey — noted that 73 species was a good total for mountain CBCs in North Carolina. He attributed the number to diverse habitat. He said that having Lake Junaluska, Lake Logan and the Waynesville reservoir in the mix added waterfowl species that other mountain counts might not have. It’s not uncommon for the Balsam count to produce 10-12 species of waterfowl. A mixture of farmland, urban and suburban landscape and forests ensure that the count is representative of the types of habitat found in the area.

Other mountain CBCs aren’t as fortunate to have as many diverse habitats. Species’ numbers may decline from year to year, but the commitment and enthusiasm of the counters don’t. The Highlands Plateau Audubon Chapter had its CBC on Dec. 17. The Highlands count was also cancelled last year due to weather, and compiler Brock Hutchins said that while this year’s conditions were less than optimal, four brave souls bucked the elements to carry on the CBC tradition. Hutchins said that Cynthia Strain, Avery Doubleday, Mike Kaiser and he spent the morning surveying as much of the circle as they could.

“The back roads were still covered with ice and slush,” Hutchins said, but the group managed to record 37 species and 522 total birds.

Strain said that some of the roads in her section were “solid ice,” but said they were happy to record belted kingfisher, winter wren and brown thrasher.

Curtis Smalling is Audubon North Carolina’s Important Bird Area Coordinator and compiler for the Grandfather Mountain CBC.  

“This is one of the highest average elevation count circles in the mountains, and we often see frozen ponds and lakes, as well as snow and wind,” he said.  “Because of the high elevations and extreme weather we usually only average about 45 species, which is often the lowest species total in the state. But we take pride in the fact that we still get out there and see what is around.”

Why count birdies when it’s cold outside?

Olthoff said that the citizen-science aspect resonates with him.

“It’s important,” he said. “By keeping consistent data year after year it’s possible to get an idea about overall population trends.”

He believes that CBC data has helped document increases in eastern populations of hooded mergansers while noting decreases in American kestrels.

Olthoff also believes that because CBCs are so open and encourage everyone to participate that they are great ways to get people involved in the natural environment.

“The Balsam CBC is a great way to greet the New Year,” he said.

Olthoff believes the CBC offers a great way for people to become educated about and become involved in protecting the local environment.

Strain agreed and said that newcomers shouldn’t be intimidated.

“There’s always something you can do,” she said, “you can drive, you can record species, you can count – and the whole time you’re learning.”

Plus it’s a good time.

“The camaraderie and support are great,” Olthoff said.

The Balsam count ends with dinner at Bocelli's in Waynesville where counters tally their checklists and swap lies about the day’s events.

It may not be the best science, but it’s the best aspect of science where citizens get to participate in a meaningful way. Anyone who would like to participate in this year’s Balsam CBC can call Bob Olthoff at 828.506.9308 or email him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

A recent program brought together business owners and outdoor enthusiasts who shared a common desire — to promote birding while also taking advantage of its potential economic impact

Rob Hawk, the new Jackson and Swain County extension director for the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service, presented a program on birder friendly businesses and communities at the Balsam Mountain Inn last Thursday, Dec. 9. Participants included interested citizens, community organizers and businessmen and women.

“It was a good program. I think it was a good way to get resources moving in the right direction,” said Andy Zivinsky and Diane Cutler, owners of Bryson City Bicycles.

Zivinsky said that most of the clientele at Bryson City Bicycles were outdoor enthusiasts and that he believes many would enjoy learning about birding opportunities in the area.

“We’re both birders and we’re outdoors a lot, and I feel like we could point interested bikers in the right direction.”

He said they had even considered outfitting bikes with birding gear or a place to carry birding gear. Zivinsky said that there were great Forest Service roads out there for birding and that biking would be a great way to cover them.

“It’s a lot easier than walking,” he said.

The program

The Birder Friendly Business & Birder Friendly Community programs were created and designed to work in tandem with the North Carolina Birding Trail. Work on the NCBT began in 2003. The trail is presented in a series of three trail guides — the Coastal Guide, The Piedmont Guide and the Mountain Guide.

These guides are great ways for local birders and tourists to find great birding opportunities across the state, from the Outer Banks to the mountaintops of Western North Carolina. The guides provide maps, site descriptions, species list and nearby accommodations and attractions.

Part of the mission of the NCBT is, “To conserve and enhance North Carolina’s bird habitat by promoting sustainable bird-watching activities, economic opportunities and conservation education.” The Birder Friendly programs were designed to help fulfill that mission.

Lena Gallitano, who is retired from N.C. State University, and Dr. Stacy Tomas of N.C. State developed the program and taught training seminars across the state until their funding ran out in 2008. Hawk co-facilitated some of the programs in the western part of the state with Gallitano.

Gallitano said she was happy that Hawk had decided to continue to work to expand the birder friendly concept in the mountains. She said she felt like the mountain region had embraced the concept better than other areas of the state.

Hawk said that while he was introduced to the birder friendly concept in his old role as community resource development agent, he thought it was a perfect fit for his new position as Extension Director in Jackson and Swain counties. He said that he hopes the program allows people to look at the landscape in a different way and learn to appreciate and understand the resources that are already here.

Gallitano and Hawk both noted that while the program was geared to mesh with the birding trail the overarching theme of the program is nature tourism in general and birding in particular. Gallitano said that the NCBT guide series is probably the most extensive list of public and private sites across the state for wildlife watching.

And Hawk said that his role as Extension Director was to encourage the wise use and the appreciation of all the natural resources across the region.

Putting the theory into practice

David Stubbs, the owner of The Waynesville Inn, was also present at last Thursday’s meeting. Stubbs said he was interested in attending the program to help the Inn focus its marketing strategy.

“We are trying to cater to people who are already interested in the natural beauty of the area and want to sustain that, and birding fits nicely into that concept,” said Stubbs.

He said Hawk’s program helped him learn about who birders are and what their needs and wants are and how to meet them. He said the Inn was currently working on it’s marketing and packages for next season and that the birding community was already a part of that dialogue.

He said that planning was in its “infancy stage,” but that guests might see some sort of birder packages and programs.

Why entice birders?

• A 2007 National Survey on Recreation and the Environment noted that 81.1 million Americans participate in some form of birding activity.

• A 2006 U.S. Fish & Wildlife study reported that Americans spent nearly $45 billion in 2006 on bird-related activities.

• A 2006 U.S. Census Bureau survey noted that 71 million people spent more than $44 billion across the country in activities related to feeding and/or watching birds and other wildlife.

• North Carolina reported that 2.6 million wildlife watchers in the state spent $916 million.

• According to a North Dakota Division of Tourism report more than 22 million Americans travel each year to observe, photograph and/or study birds. More than $38 billion are spent each year in these endeavors. The report notes that bird-based tourism in Texas and Florida generates approximately $540 million and $943 million, respectively, each year.

• A study done on the economic impact of the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail in 1999 noted that birders spent an average of $78.50 per person per day while on the trail.

Fall migration is heating up

It looks like last week’s long-billed curlew was a harbinger of things to come. A quick perusal of the Carolinas Birding List at http://www.birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CARO.html#1283714291 showed fall migrants popping up all across the Carolinas.

I guess as far as real rarities go the Say’s phoebe at Bald Head Island in Brunswick County just south of Wilmington tops the list. But nearby fall migrant hotspots are producing good birds. Some good finds for Ernie Hollingsworth of Hendersonville at Jackson Park last Sunday included, among others, yellow-bellied flycatcher, blue-winged warbler, Cape May warbler and Wilson’s warbler. Ron Clark of Kings Mountain was also at Jackson Park last Sunday and his sightings included blue-gray gnatcatcher, Swainson’s thrush, magnolia warbler, Cape May and two Baltimore orioles. Simon Thompson of Asheville also reported Cape Mays from his yard.

The mass exodus has begun and within the next month somewhere between 9,000 and 12,000 broad-winged hawks will soar over Caesars Head State Park in South Carolina. Wing Nuts, a self-named group of volunteers who count migrating raptors at Caesars Head each year are already there getting cricks in their necks and are always happy to share with visiting birders and/or interested sightseers.

Caesar’s Head State Park is located on U.S. 276 in South Carolina just below the North Carolina border. To contact Caesar’s Head to see what’s flying call 864.836.6115.

A great place to get a look at migrating passerines (songbirds) is Ridge Junction Overlook near the entrance to Mount Mitchell State Park at milepost 385 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Ridge Junction is unique because, much like a hawk watch, you can bring a chair and get comfy at the overlook and wait for migrants to come through the pass up and over the parkway.

To get to Jackson Park from Waynesville take Exit 49 B off of I-26 East. Continue on U.S. 64 West towards downtown Hendersonville, go through the traffic light at end of exit ramp onto Four Seasons Boulevard (U.S. 64) for 1.6 miles (passing four more traffic lights). After a wetland area on the left, turn left at the fifth traffic light (Harris Street). Go 0.2 mile to stop sign at end of street. Turn left onto E. 4th Avenue, enter park and follow road to administration building (red-brick house on left) and parking.

And don’t forget that migrant waterfowl will begin gracing Lake Junaluska any day now. It’ll be mid-October before large numbers begin passing through but wandering herons and/or egrets, terns and gulls could appear now as well as a teal or two.

Don Hendershot can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Are you a fledgling birder? Would you like to learn more about the feathered flocks that visit your feeder and grace your yard?

Join Simon Thompson at the North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville on Wednesday, Aug. 4, at 8:15 a.m. for a very informative and personal “Introduction to Bird Watching.” The two-hour program costs $15 for Arboretum members and $19 for non-members. You may register online at http://ow.ly/2ezx5 or by phone at 828.665.2492.

Thompson is one of the foremost birding experts in the Carolinas and has gained national and international recognition through his Ventures Birding Tours. He is also co-owner of Asheville’s Wild Birds Unlimited. To learn more about Thompson and Ventures and Wild Birds Unlimited go to www.birdventures.com or drop by Wild Birds Unlimited at 1997 Hendersonville Road in Asheville.

Thompson brings his same enthusiasm for birding and joy of sharing whether he is pointing out a cinnamon-breasted warbler on the Cape of South Africa to someone with 600 species on his life-list or explaining the difference between a song sparrow and a chipping sparrow to a beginner on the grounds of the North Carolina Arboretum.

Thompson emphasized that the program is geared for beginners and said it would begin with a walk around Arboretum grounds. “We’ll walk around the grounds where we’ll likely see chipping sparrows, bluebirds and robins,” he said, “but, of course, we’ll keep our eyes open for whatever we might find.”

He said emphasis would be put on shape, size, habits and habitat. “But we’ll also listen,” Thompson said, to see if participants can learn about songs and calls.

According to Thompson the second part of the workshop would be inside and would be a little more formal. Thompson will delve into the world of optics and field guides discussing the pros and cons of the myriad of choices and helping workshop participants learn how to choose which products are best suited to their needs.

This program is a great place to start if you are a novice birder interested in getting a good start on techniques and equipment that will make it easier for you to get a grasp on this truly accessible and thoroughly enjoyable hobby of bird watching. I have often seen beginning birders go home crestfallen from a “bird walk” or “birding program” where the majority of participants were accomplished birders and no one had the time to stop and point out the robin or towhee that was singing.

You don’t walk out on a golf course for the first time and shoot a 75. You don’t walk out into your backyard for the first time and know all the species of birds that can be seen or heard. You have to learn. You have to learn technique and you have to learn skill and you need the proper equipment.

Don Hendershot can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Bird’s the word

North Carolina’s state parks and Audubon North Carolina have joined together to celebrate the “Year of the Birds” in 2010.

Birds grab our attention. Just ask my wife, who discovered, unexpectedly, the other afternoon that the Carolina wren that nests in her clothespin basket every spring also roosts there in cold weather. I’m sure if someone took the time to translate her hastily shouted expletive it would be, “My goodness, you surprised me! I didn’t expect to find such a beautiful fluttery creature in my basket this time of year.” And nothing says spring quite like the first shiny black, white and crimson rose-breasted grosbeak that shows up at our feeder on that sunny April morning.

In fact, a 2009 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service report estimated one of every five Americans is a “bird-watcher,” defined as someone who took a trip of at least one mile for the primary purpose of observing birds, or someone who closely observed and tried to identify birds around their home. These enthusiasts contributed $36 billion to the national economy in 2006, according to the report.

But for many around the world, across the country and here in the Old North State whose avocation is protecting and preserving our natural environment, this palpable connection between man and bird means much more than a business opportunity.

Chris Canfield, executive director of Audubon North Carolina, talked about the creation of “Year of the Birds.”

“Our partnership with N.C. State Parks began when I was asked to speak to a gathering of superintendents. I asked staff here to analyze what parklands overlapped with our Important Bird Areas program. As it turned out, about 100,000 acres of the parks, more than half of the park holdings at the time were in IBAs or potential IBAs. Lew Ledford [Lewis Ledford, director North Carolina state parks] and I put our heads together and realized we had so many common goals — expanding parks, heightening environmental awareness among the public, documenting the value of parklands for birds and other wildlife. So we committed to working together. The NC Birding Trail was one excellent outcome that grew, in part, out of that commitment. The Year of the Birds is the latest public expression of the power of both parks and birds to connect people to nature. For me, and I know for many others, noticing the birds inhabiting an area is central to my understanding of that place. Our state parks hold some of the most cherished landscapes in North Carolina, and they provide wonderful venues for the public to explore nature, including looking for the birds emblematic of each location.”

For more information regarding the Year of the Birds go to http://nc.audubon.org/news-events/north-carolina-state-parks-declares-2010-year-birds.

To find out about Year of the Birds programs in your area contact Curtis Smalling, important bird areas coordinator and mountain program manager at Audubon North Carolina, by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone at 828.265.0198.

Don Hendershot can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Birrrrrding the big chill

The annual Balsam Christmas Bird Count was scheduled for last Saturday (Jan. 2). However, scary weather conditions — snow, high winds and temperatures in the low teens — especially in the northern count area, caused the count to be canceled.

My birding partner, Bobby Wood, had already made the trip over from Stecoah and I had been up for a couple of hours trying to rouse some owls before we received the news. The truck was loaded and we were in birding mode so we decided to enjoy Mother Nature’s cool offering and kick around the count circle for a while on our own.

We decided to start our morning at Lake Junaluska. The closer we got to the lake, the harder the snow was falling. The roads had a light dusting that rose and swirled at the beckoning of the north wind.

We glassed the back of the lake from the pull-off along U.S. 19. A few coots were present along with some Lake J mallards, a couple of ruddy ducks, some of the feral Canada geese and some hooded mergansers. We flushed a great blue heron from the tall grasses along the wetlands, at our second stop. We watched through our binoculars as the big blue-gray bird launched with deliberate wing beats and cut a swath through the falling snow as it lumbered across the lake.

The lake was productive, as usual, providing 14 species of gulls and waterfowl. The best finds were a lone canvasback that’s been hanging out at the lake for a while, a horned grebe and a pair of lesser scaup. Of course the colorful hooded mergansers and dapper buffleheads are always a treat to see. Plus it seemed uniquely apropos to watch ducks bobbing in the snow on a Christmas count.

We left Lake Junaluska for the Waynesville watershed. The windswept reservoir was the antithesis of Lake J, not a bird to be seen. We cruised the roads around the watershed where we found hermit thrush, white-crowned sparrow, golden-crowned kinglet, hairy woodpecker and red-breasted nuthatch among others. The winter wonderland mystique was reinforced in the watershed as we stood in a small clearing, drenched in sunlight, looking past the occasional snowflake at the dazzling white peaks above us.

We made a few other stops before wrapping up between 1:30 and 2 p.m. We wound up with a respectable winter’s morn birding total of 44 species.

While the official count was canceled this year, I want to thank the town of Waynesville and local farmer Jim Francis for once again supporting the Christmas Bird Count by allowing access to their properties. We’ll see you guys again next year.

Don Hendershot can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

There are almost as many reasons for watching birds as there are birders. Whether you are a backyard birder content to fill the feeders and occasionally glance out the window to see who’s flitting about or a hardcore lister, traveling the globe to tick off as many lifers as possible, there’s no denying the attraction of these amazing creatures.

For the past four years — five years total, if you count the magical, muddy, mystery tour in Louisiana back in 2002 — the devout, the convinced, the skeptical and the curious have slogged and paddled across the swamps of the Southeast in search of “Elvis.” That’s the code name given the ivory-billed woodpecker by searchers in Arkansas in 2004. Feeling constrained by the foot-sucking muck and the capricious currents of bayous, sloughs and slow southern rivers, searchers decided to take the high road during this year’s quixotic quest for the elusive Elvis.

My brother and I conducted our annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) at Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Monroe, La., last Friday, Feb. 15. While we didn’t set any records, we had a good count. We bested last year’s total of 57 species by three and because of mechanical problems — a dead battery — we didn’t make it to the piney woods.