| Myiopsitta monachus | Monk Parakeet | The Monk Parakeet is a native of South America, being found from the southern Amazon Basin to central Argentina, being most numerous probably in northeastern Argentina. There, it inhabits savannas, open forests, thorn forests, and brushy areas, placing their huge and often communal stick nests on telephone poles and other prominent sites. It has been released at several points in the United States in the past few decades and is well established in southern FL. However, it is considered as a pest in many places, as it eats much fruit in orchards and as their nests are often built on power poles. There have been a handful of sightings and photographs of the species in North Carolina, and a small breeding popluation was established in Buncombe in the 1970's. The NC BRC reviewed several reports, including a photograph, in 2012, and under new regulations, added the species to the Accepted List, in a newly created "Introduced" category. | Probable breeder; Introduced | Not Established List | | | SE | G5 | Casual, and apparent former breeder. Up to two were seen in Kill Devil Hills, Dare, 19-28 Sep 2012 (Chat 77:27). Several nests and a pair of adults were seen in Northwest, Brunswick, on 7-8 Jun 2014, and sightings of the pair have continued well into 2015; these birds have been seen by locals in that area for three years (Chat 78:166), and many photographs are posted on the Carolina Bird Club Photo Gallery. However, there seem to have been very few or no reports from the province since then. | Casual visitor, and possible former breeder. A nest-building bird was photographed at Farmington, Davie, on 6 Aug 2008. One was reported at Raleigh on 21 Aug 1975. Two -- presumably escaped birds -- were seen west of Charlotte from 17-23 Jun 2024. | Casual visitor, and accidental breeder. The species bred for several years in Buncombe in the 1970's, and one was seen near Asheville on 27 Aug 1978. Most unusual at such a high elevation were two birds at a nest in Newland (Avery), 16 Feb 2016; residents in the area have observed the birds in that area since Apr 2015 (Chat 80:89). One was seen in Henderson on 29 Aug 2024. | The pair in Brunswick County was fairly reliably seen for well over a year, and this was the best place where a birder could expect to see the species. The Avery birds have been observed by several people in 2016; photographs are on the Carolina Bird Club Photo Gallery. However, reports in the state seem to have disappeared since then, not a real concern owing to its non-native status. | * |
| Grus americana | Whooping Crane | The Whooping Crane is one of the rarest birds in North America and has been listed as Endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service since 1967. (In the Eastern states, including NC, it is listed as Endangered, but as an Experimental Population, Non-Essential; the "E*" in the U.S. Status below signifies this distinction.) Small populations breed only in a small area of northern Canada, and the entire population winters (natively, at least) only along the central coast to TX. In the 2000's, a reintroduced population was established in the Great Lakes area, and birds were taught to follow light aircraft to a wintering area in FL, where they presumably wintered many decades ago. A few of these birds from the "translocated" population have landed in NC, first in the mountains in Macon and a few years later closer to the coast in Jones. Though the species likely occurred in NC several centuries ago, there seems to be no certain documentation of this. However, the NC BRC decided that the species merited a place on the state bird list, in some category. A vote was taken in late 2014, and the verdict placed the species on the relatively new Not Established List, as the birds seen and photographed in the state are not yet from established (and "countable") populations (Chat 79:14) Because the species is Federally Endangered, the Fish and Wildlife Service wants observers to stay a good distance away from such cranes, to avoid flushing them and also to make sure they are not imprinted on humans. | Nonbreeder | Not Established List | | E* | SA | G1 | Accidental migrant/winter visitor, at least currently. Presumed to have wintered in parts of the region, maybe coastally, as late at the 19th Century. From the Whooping Crane operation migration website: "... The last known whooping crane in NC was shot in April 1875 near Wilmington...." The only definite recent record appears to be of 3 individuals photographed in an area of large croplands in Jones, where they overwintered in 2004-2005, and were last seen on 30 Mar 2005 (Chat 69:113-114). | Accidental migrant. Two known records: the flock of 3 that left Jones early in the morning of 30 Mar 2005 were followed by car and were seen around noon flying over Spring Hope (Nash) on that same day. Two were seen near High Rock Lake for two days in mid-May 2005 (Chat 69:113-114). | Accidental migrant. A flock of 8 birds was seen and photographed on the ground near the Little Tennessee River north of Franklin (Macon) from 1-3 Apr 2004 (Chat 68:119). These birds were also from the re-introduced "Eastern" population. | The species is too rare -- with only a few recent records -- to offer finding tips. | 1/2 * |