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Durham migrants, frog tapes, elk and bamboo
- To: Carolinabirds <carolinabirds@acpub.duke.edu>
- Subject: Durham migrants, frog tapes, elk and bamboo
- From: Joshua Stuart Rose <jsr6@duke.edu>
- Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2001 15:52:03 -0400 (EDT)
- In-reply-to: <3AD5A8F8.5E92D815@greenville.infi.net>
- Sender: carolinabirds-owner@acpub.duke.edu
Hi Carolinabirders,
Okay, I'm in a better mood now, I've seen and heard some migrants.
Yesterday I heard a Field Sparrow singing from the 9th street backyard,
a new yard bird. Then, walking down Erwin Road en route to school -
actually right by the big, evil Olive patch - saw two soaring buteos.
These probably weren't migrants; they were both Red-tails, and a pair
nests in this vicinity every year. However, in confirming the second
Red-tail, I glimpsed a smaller, pointer raptor circling above it;
American Kestrel! Then, after turning down Oregon Road, one of the
Red-tails caught my eye again, and I spotted another small raptor, a
Sharp-shinned Hawk, rising from the forest canopy. A few crows flew out
to harass the RT, but the Sharpie rose above the fracas. Hope you
hawkwatchers up in the mountains are on the job... About that same time I
heard my first Prairie Warbler of the year from behind the Devil's Den.
Had to drive in today, so saw nothing. However, on exiting the car, I
heard a Red-eyed Vireo, the first of many. I'm interested that Brian B.
has so many Ovenbirds around Falls Lake; I haven't heard a single one
around Duke yet! I'm still without Black-and-white Warbler this spring as
well, but they're a little easier to overlook... (isn't it funny how
"overlook" means you didn't see it, but "overhear" means you heard it?)
On Thu, 12 Apr 2001, Steve Cox wrote:
>
> Can anyone recommend to me a CD or audio tape that has frog calls with their
> identity announced? Where can I purchase it? I want to learn to identify
> frogs when I hear their call. I am not always successful locating the calling
> frog.
I know of at least three recordings of frog and toad calls out there. The
one I use is "The Calls of Frogs and Toads" by Lang Elliott and
NatureSound Studios. I bought it on cassette at the Pea Island NWR
visitors' center, but it's also available on-line from many sources,
including NatureSound's website at
http://ww1.naturesound.com/webpages2/naturesound/guides/pages/frogs.html
The others are the Smithsonian's "Sounds of North American Frogs" by
Charles Bogert, at
http://web2.si.edu/folkways/frogmain.htm
And "Voices of the Night; The Calls of the Frogs and Toads of Eastern
North America" from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Library of Natural
Sounds at
http://www.ornith.cornell.edu/lab_cds.html
The Smithsonian version has 57 species from all over the US; the
NatureSound, which I have, has 42 species from the Eastern and Central
US; the Cornell recording is eastern US only, and has 36 species.
NatureSound's version also has a lot of detail about the acoustic
behavior and natural history of anurans, not sure about the other two.
Thanks to Clyde Sorensen and Don Hendershot for clarification on the Elk
issue. Apparently, the population is "experimental" and will be removed
if it causes problems. On the other hand, the project is being funded by
the Rocky Mountain Elk Association <http://www.elkcountry.org/>; if they
are the ones in charge of deciding whether or not there are problems, I
might suspect their objectivity and qualifications in the matter...
Clyde also wanted to clarify my warning about Bamboo; don't confuse the
Asian invasive species with the native Giant Cane, Arundinaria gigantea.
The cane distantly resembles bamboo (both are essentially giant grasses),
but unlike bamboo I believe cane is an important nesting habitat for
Hooded and Swainson's Warblers, among others. A Duke professor also tells
me that Carolina Parakeets used to feed on some part of the Giant Cane...
Joshua S. Rose
Duke University
Department of Biology (Zoology, R.I.P.)
jsr6@acpub.duke.edu
http://www.duke.edu/~jsr6/