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Butner Gamelands



Hi all,

Went up to the Butner Gamelands this morning for a spot of 
birding.  It was a very pleasant morning, starting off clear and chilly, 
then warming up and remaining mostly sunny, albeit a bit 
breezy/gusty at times.  I walked part of the loop to the S. of 
Brickhouse Road.  Highlights included a pair (or the same bird 
teleporting) of Rusty Blackbirds, a Common Yellowthroat, and a 
very cooperative Sharp Shinned Hawk, which spent several minutes 
fighting the wind to get across some fields, affording pretty good 
looks.  Also nice was a gorgeous female Northern Harrier out 
hunting - lots of great looks at this beaut.  My other pleasant find 
was a couple of Fox Sparrows, one of which sat up for me about 5 
feet away at eye level, albeit just briefly.

Notably missed were the White-crowned Sparrows, although I am 
pretty sure they were in a mixed flock I clumsily flushed around the 
maintenance buildings.  Northern Flickers were *very* abundant, 
seemed like one in every other tree.  Other than Flickers, 
woodpeckers were somewhat scarce - the only other ones I saw or 
heard were one each of Red-bellied WP and Yellow-bellied 
Sapsucker.

Best,

-Sandy

--
Sandy Cash
Durham, NC
scash@mindspring.com