Re: migration party not quite over yet

[Joshua Stuart Rose <jsr6@duke.edu>]

On Thu, 23 May 2002, Donna Slyce Bailey wrote:
>
> Just when you thought the party was over, one last guest will straggle out
> of a back room.  This afternoon, just an hour before sunset, I heard a
> Veery calling from a thicket behind the yard.  He may or may not be the
> last guest.

Hi Carolinabirders,

Given how many landbirds were still passing through Texas last weekend,
I'm not too surprised that a few are still straggling through here. Also
had a yard thrush yesterday, a Swainson's, which was singing with
impressive vigor from a neighbor's overgrown yard. Think I heard a Yellow
Warbler singing too, but we were moving furniture into the new place, so I
didn't have my binoculars handy. Seemed a little incongruous to see House
Sparrows on my birdbath in the relatively woodsy yard, then see a Tufted
Titmouse foraging on the patio of the new French restaurant on Ninth
street (Le Vin Rouge).

On Sat, 25 May 2002, Lisa Dailey wrote:

> This morning just after 8am, 6 adult yellow crowned night herons flew in to
> the New Hope River waterfowl impoundment in Durham NC.

That spot's been awfully, suspiciously even, busy with Yellow-crowns this
spring. Does the species ever nest inland in NC? Might be worth skulking
around those impoundments a bit more, or at least watching for fledglings
to follow the parents to the water in a few weeks...

On Sat, 25 May 2002, Greg wrote:
>
> Unfortunately, not all of us have mulberry trees nearby to take advantage of
> the birds' offerings.  So, is there anyone out there with a yard full of
> young mulberry trees willing to part with a few?  I, for one, would be happy
> to take one.  They (the berries) are also good for human consumption--real
> tasty, but you'll have to get to them before the birds do.

Sorry, we have lots of White Mulberry saplings, but I'm determined to see
them all added to the brush pile. A botanist friend informed us today that
we have lots of nasty Nandina to get rid of too... Not sure quite how to
handle the big tree. Would love to girdle it and make a woodpecker tree
out of it, how hard is Mulberry wood? Can woodpeckers drill through it? My
wife might put up an argument though, she seconds Greg's point about the
edibility of the berries for humans, and our tree's producing so many that
the ground below is carpeted with them even after squirrels, robins, and
waxwings have gorged themselves.

Good birding,

Josh


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

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