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Easter at Saluda Shoals Park




I took our little dog Popeye out today for his first serious bird walk at
Saluda Shoals Park in the Irmo area of Columbia, SC.  Though he did
not pay any attention to the birds, he had a great time.  We had the 
park to ourselves.  There were no particularly surprising birds, but it 
was a nice mixture of winter and summer birds.  There were several 
species I had not seen at the park before.  A close view of 
a singing Blue-headed Vireo near the entrance was the highlight. 

In less than a month the new phase will open, giving us access to more
areas but also bringing far more activity to the park.  It will be
interesting to see how that affects the birds we find in the park.
The construction of a second back-up dam for Lake Murray may have an
impact as well.

As for Leps, I spotted some Tiger Swallowtails and my first-of-the-season 
Zebra Swallowtail, Common Wood Nymph, and a Black Skipper.  There was a 
Muskrat (I think) where Rawls Creek flows into the Saluda.

I didn't find any Hummingbirds, but this afternoon, at our home along
Rawls Creek, we had our season's first, a bright male Ruby-throated.

Here is the species list for today  (39 sp.)

9:30-11:00 am   Phase I Nature Trail
Warm, humid, balmy, pc 75 degrees

Double-cr. Cormorant	
Mallard
Turkey Vulture
Black Vulture
Red-sh. Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Mourning Dove	
Belted Kingfisher
Red-head. Woodpkr.
Red-bel. Woodpkr.	
Downy Woodpkr.		
N. Flicker	
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Tree Swallow            
Blue Jay	
American Crow	
Fish Crow	
Carolina Chickadee	
Tufted Titmouse		
Carolina Wren	
Ruby-cr. Kinglet
Blue-Gr. Gnatcatcher
E. Bluebird		
Hermit Thrush	
Amer. Robin	
N. Mockingbird		
Blue-headed Vireo
Yellow-rumped Warb.	
N. Parula	
Yellow-thr. Warb.	
Pine Warbler		
La. Waterthrush			
N. Cardinal		
E. Towhee		
White-thr. Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Common Grackle		
Brown-h. Cowbird	
Am. Goldfinch	

Jerry Griggs 
Columbia, SC       j@sc.edu