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Virginia Beach pelagic results; goldfinch food



Hi Carolinabirders,

Since Brian Patteson, at last check, still had lots of space left on his
pelagic trips over the next few weekends (this weekend from Virginia
Beach; next weekend and March 9 from Hatteras), I thought folks might want
to know that the trip from Virginia Beach last weekend was apparently a
huge success! A post to the Virginia listserv claims that they had 54
Razorbills, 34 Atlantic Puffins (!) and even a Dovekie (!!), as well as a
Great Skua and two Little Gulls. Maybe even more exciting is that they saw
a pod of five Orcas (!!!). Not sure how much Virginia results relate to
North Carolina pelagics, but that many puffins that close by must mean
something. And I'm still drooling over the Hammerhead Sharks and Manta
Rays they saw from the CBC Winter Meeting pelagic. Those February 16-18
trips are looking more and more tempting...

Brian's website says that two of the Memorial Day weekend trips are
already sold out, so folks hoping for a pelagic then need to get planning.

On Thu, 7 Feb 2002 Psbmt@aol.com wrote:
>
> I just noticed an Am. Goldfinch and a Pine Siskin both pulling apart and
> eating the buds of a Dogwood tree.  I have never seen them consume these
> before today.

A couple of weeks ago, while I was walking my cat Leopold on his leash and
harness, a few American Goldfinches (no siskins, I looked hard) were
eating either seeds or buds, I'm not sure which, off the Crepe Myrtles
which the city of Durham has planted all along the Ninth Street sidewalk.
They're the first birds, except maybe a Mocker or two, I've ever seen
using the Crepes for anything other than a brief perch. Many more
goldfinches were eating seeds from the big Sycamore in our backyard; there
was a beautiful rain of little yellow fuzz-tufts that would have helped
wind-disperse the Sycamore seeds had the finches not gotten there first...

Good birding,

Josh


Joshua S. Rose
Duke University
Department of Biology (Zoology, R.I.P.)

jsr6@duke.edu
http://www.duke.edu/~jsr6/