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Jordan Lake trip 12/8/01
- To: "Coin, Patrick" <patrick@coinconsult.net>, "Finlayson, Kate" <katefin@yahoo.com>, "Fox, Cynthia" <wildbird@mindspring.com>, "Girolami, Marti" <MGirolami@cs.com>, "Hannon, Jean" <jeanh1@bellsouth.net>, "Inhof, Christina" <inhof@niehs.nih.gov>, "Johnson, Phil" <pjphilip@aol.com>, "Kent, John" <jkent@tmug.org>, "Krulia, Kate" <Krulia_K@yahoo.com>, "Manning, Phil" <pvmanning@mindspring.com>, "McCormick, Carol Ann" <camcc@email.unc.edu>, "Moran, Robin" <robomo@earthlink.net>, "Morse, Karen" <karen_morse@med.unc.edu>, "Murray, Judy" <jmurray@unc.edu>, "Stephens, Marsha" <marsha_stephens@unc.edu>, carolinabirds@duke.edu, Nature_Study_Network <NatureNet@yahoogroups.com>
- Subject: Jordan Lake trip 12/8/01
- From: Patrick Coin <patrick@coinconsult.net>
- Date: Sat, 8 Dec 2001 14:50:53 -0500
- Sender: carolinabirds-owner@acpub.duke.edu
Three New Hope Audubon members took a break from holiday shopping on
a very warm Saturday, December 8, to look for birds and other
critters at Jordan Lake (Chatham Cty, NC). We visited Ebenezer Point,
Vista Point, and Big Woods Road. Despite the fairly numerous
speedboats (and speeding bass boats), there were a few interesting
water birds seen from Ebenezer and Vista Points:
Common Loon (1)
Pied-billed Grebe (1)
Horned Grebe (50+)
Hooded Merganser (1)
Red-breasted Merganser (6)
Bald Eagle (1, adult)
There were almost no gulls on the lake--quite a surprise. I saw just
a dozen or so, all Ring-billed as far as I could tell.
Goldfinches, juncos, and kinglets were abundant in the woodlands
around the lake, but we saw no siskins or other irruptive winter
finches. The lake level is very low, making mammal track hunting a
lot of fun. Just north of Ebenezer Point we saw abundant tracks of
fox, raccoon, deer, and a few of grey squirrel. There were plenty of
domestic dog tracks, of course. The low water level is a great
opportunity to study mammal tracks.
At the swamp at the north end of Big Woods Road, the Red-headed
Woodpeckers put on a nice display, as is usual there. There were
plenty of Song Sparrows, but just a few White-throats. We were also
able to see last year's Great-Blue Heron nests quite easily. The
creek draining into the lake there is called "Bush Creek" according
to my North Carolina road atlas. This is the swamp just south of
where Big Woods dead-ends into Jack Bennett Road.
Most surprising, to me was the site of two dragonflies, species
unknown, mating/ovipositing in the swamp at Bush Creek. I can't
recall seeing a dragonfly in December before. They didn't come close
enough for identification, at least by me. They were not a brightly
colored species, perhaps grey or brown with un-patterned wings. The
male was still clasping the female as she oviposited, dipping her
tail into the water with short strokes. You odonatologists will no
doubt have some ideas on the species--let me know.
Check out the New Hope Audubon web site for upcoming trips in January
and beyond. Non-members are always welcome.
--
Patrick Coin (patrick@coinconsult.net)
web master (web@newhopeaudubon.org)
field trip chair (fieldtrips@newhopeaudubon.org)
New Hope Audubon Society
P.O. Box 2693
Chapel Hill, NC 27515-2693
http://www.newhopeaudubon.org/