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Pectorals and swallows



Thanks to Dan Kaplan's posting on Friday I got my first long-distance
migrants of the year a bit earlier than usual.  Since we do not have any
martin colonies nearby that I know of, my first migrants are usually
shorebirds, and I usually find them at the NCSU Dairy Farm.  Dan's 3
Pectoral Sandpipers put on a good show near the pond Friday evening before
moving to one of the pastures near the Air Quality Educational Unit.

Happy with the sandpipers, I thought I'd push my luck and try for some
swallows at Lake Wheeler.  I found a fair sized flock of Tree Swallows
which I thought was pretty neat until Sunday when Tracy and I were on the
north shore of Lake Ontario looking for owls.  We spotted 4 Tree Swallows
circling over the icy slush.  Sure puts my local spring arrival in
perspective to find the same species several hundred miles to the north a
few days later.

Although off-topic, I can't help but crow about the results of the owl
search, 15 owls of 4 species in 4 hours on Amherst Island, Ontario.  We had
1 Snowy, 5 Boreal, 4 Saw-whet and 5 Long-eared (probably more Long-eared
but they moved around a bit).  I had no idea the Boreal and Saw-what were
as tame as the fieldbooks indicate.  You can literally walk within 3 feet
of the owl and not know it is there unless you are looking for the little
brown bumps on the branches.  If anyone is going to be in Ontario in the
next few weeks let me know and I'll put you in touch with the gentleman
that led our small group.

Have a great week,
Steve Shultz
Cary, NC
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