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CarolinaBirds for Saturday, August 26, 2006
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Subject: Get Fuzzy
From: Ric Carter <ricc(AT)mindspring.com>
Date: 26 Aug 2006 12:38pm
If you like comic strips, especially the mildly twisted type, you
should be following Get Fuzzy this week.
The cat character tackles the vagaries of birding field guides.
Ric Carter
Garner/Little Washington
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: White-rumped, Sanderling, Black Tern - Falls Lake
From: "Steven Shultz" <SSHULTZ(AT)nc.rr.com>
Date: 26 Aug 2006 12:35pm
Although I suspect I will be cursed upon by folks with browning yards, I've
been eagerly watching the lake level at Falls Lake (Wake/Durham Cty NC)
slowly drop. It finally hit about a foot and a half below normal pool, so I
packed up and headed out this morning to see if I could find anything on its
way through from the arctic. I was happy to find some birds. Not like the
heady days of last August, but some stuff nonetheless. Most of the birds
are on bars and flats in the Ellerbee Creek arm of Falls, upstream of the
I-85 bridge, some were on small islands across from the Hickory Hill boat
ramps. I moved around by Jet Ski, but one could see most of the birds by
kayaking from the boat ramp (maybe 1.5 miles each way?) or walking in along
Ellerbee Creek.
Shorebirds:
White-rumped Sandpiper (1)
Sanderling (3)
Semipalmated Sandpiper ~10
Western Sandpiper (1)
Least Sandpiper ~50
Pectoral Sandpiper ~40
Short-billed Dowitcher ~15
Spotted Sandpiper (3)
Semipalmated Plover ~5
Not Shorebirds:
Black Tern (2)
Caspian Tern (1)
Bald Eagle (2)
Also stopped by Lake Wheeler on the way home. They should probably rename
this one the Lake Wheeler Wastewater Settling Pond, as the bacterial levels
are in excess of the "safe" levels for like the fourth time this year.
Fortunately the shorebirds don't seem to care...
Pectoral
Least
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Semipalmated Plover
Greater Yellowlegs
Short-billed Dowitcher (5)
Best,
Steve Shultz
Apex, NC
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Subject: Evergreen Nature Preserve Charlotte 8/26
From: "Larry" <Larry(AT)lbarden.com>
Date: 26 Aug 2006 1:37pm
ENP yielded two migrants this morning, an Eastern Kingbird in the Sheffield
Opening and a flyover Nighthawk, in addition to 31 of the usual suspects.
Cheers,
Larry
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Subject: Re: hummer happenings in NC
From: Susan Campbell <susan(AT)ncaves.com>
Date: 26 Aug 2006 1:44pm
Dear Michael and All,
Indeed you have more hummingbirds there than you think. Most of the
birds that are using your feeders are doing what we call 'trap lining.'
They may cover as much as two miles in a day, going from resource to
resource on their particular 'beat.' And, of course, migration has now
begun for these tiny birds. Adult males are moving south in numbers but
females and young birds have begun to head out as well. So a percentage
of the hummers there each day at your feeders will be from out of the
area too.
The waves of activity through the season that you describe are pretty
typical any place in the Carolinas. And we all can expect more of the
same over the next month from what I am hearing--given the loads of
Ruby-throateds that will be approaching in spurts from points north.
Enjoy!
Susan Campbell
Whispering Pines, NC
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Subject: What am I looking at here?
From: "KC Foggin" <KCFoggin(AT)sc.rr.com>
Date: 26 Aug 2006 2:01pm
I realize the finch is wet but there is an awful lot of pink/red on the chest
and underbelly. Is this skin or is this finch just redder than most and if it
is skin, a problem?
http://www.pbase.com/kcfoggin/image/65785057&exif=Y
KC Foggin
Socastee
Myrtle Beach SC
www.birdforum.net
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Re: Get Fuzzy
From: Les Eastman <les(AT)birdtreks.com>
Date: 26 Aug 2006 2:24pm
Ric Carter wrote:
> If you like comic strips, especially the mildly twisted type, you
> should be following Get Fuzzy this week.
>
> The cat character tackles the vagaries of birding field guides.
>
> Ric Carter
> Garner/Little Washington
You can read it online at
http://www.comics.com/comics/getfuzzy/index.html
Les
===========
Les Eastman
mailto:les(AT)birdtreks.com
Havre de Grace, MD
The eagle looked down on the river below
And he wrapped his wings round him and he fell like a stone
And the big salmon fought but the talons held true
And he shuddered as the world turned from silver to blue
Steve Earle
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Sat. afternoon Falls Lake shorebirds
From: "Jacob Socolar" <jsocolar(AT)mail.com>
Date: 26 Aug 2006 7:30pm
After a slow morning around Jordan lake (1 peep, 1 solitary SP, 2 Spotted SP) I
read Steve Shultz's post and went out to falls this afternoon, with the goals of
practicing with the most problematic group of birds for me and possibly of
finding the white-rumped for a lifer. I hiked in from Redwood Road along the
railroad tracks and then hiked out the spit on the south side of Ellerbe creek.
It was fairly easy going to walk out along the shoreline and then along a
series of bars broken by calf-deep water.
I saw every shorebird that Steve mentioned except the, spotteds, the
semipalmated plovers and the white-rumped (I probably saw the W-R too, but
couldn't ID it). I also saw a solitary sandpiper and believe that I had a
couple of distant greater yellowlegs and a couple of stilt sandpipers, but the
latter two species may be artifacts of inexperience.
The going was quite easy; the mud never got worse than ankle-deep and the best
birding was in a place where I didn't need to cross the ellerbe creek trestle (a
sign that I think is new informs us that it is illegal to cross the ellerbe
creek trestle).
Afternoon is best since you start by walking east, but many of the birds circle
around, so a good portion of the birds would probably let a morning birder get
looks in good light.
I didn't try to get good counts, but I had a bunch of Least SP, 10-20
Semipalmateds, 1 Western, several pectorals, 10+ dowitchers, 1 Solitary SP, 1
juvenile sanderling, 2-3 possible adult sanderlings, a few possible yellowlegs
(greater), and a few possible stilt sandpipers. Even though the numbers aren't
huge, the birds are concentrated on a few bars (no bona fide flats out there),
which makes for entertaining viewing.
I'm hoping to get back out there a couple of times before the birds depart, and
I'd be happy if other birders wanted to tag along (= have me tag along with
them). Drop me a line.
Good birding
Jacob Socolar
--
___________________________________________________
Play 100s of games for FREE! http://games.mail.com/
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Subject: Re: What am I looking at here?
From: BILL HILTON JR The Piedmont Naturalist <hilton(AT)hiltonpond.org>
Date: 26 Aug 2006 10:26pm
KC . . .
This is a hatch-year male House Finch undergoing its normal
post-juvenal molt, although it seems a little patchier than usual.
All the red is new feathers, so there is no exposed skin.
I'm catching quite a few young males in this condition these days.
Happy Birding,
BILL
========
>I realize the finch is wet but there is an awful lot of pink/red on
>the chest and underbelly. Is this skin or is this finch just redder
>than most and if it is skin, a problem?
>
>http://www.pbase.com/kcfoggin/image/65785057&exif=Y
>
>KC Foggin
>Socastee
>Myrtle Beach SC
>
>www.birdforum.net
--
BILL HILTON JR., Executive Director
Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History
1432 DeVinney Road, York, South Carolina 29745 USA
hilton(AT)hiltonpond.org, (803) 684-5852, eFax: (503) 218-0845
The mission of Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History is "to
conserve plants, animals, habitats, and other natural components of
the Piedmont Region of the eastern United States through observation,
scientific study, and education for students of all ages." Please
visit our web sites (courtesy of Comporium.net) at
http://www.hiltonpond.org and http://www.rubythroat.org ("Operation
RubyThroat: The Hummingbird Project").
"Never trust a person too lazy to get up for sunrise or too busy to
watch the sunset." BHjr.
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