Eno Drive correction; fill those birdbaths!

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

Hi Carolinabirders,

A reminder: very important to keep those birdbaths clean and full of water
in hot, dry conditions like these! I have a cloud of American Robins -
adults and  recent fledglings - constantly splashing in mine, except for
the one afternoon a male Common Grackle took up residence and held 3-4
robins at bay until he finished. No other birds, except the occasional
House Sparrow; I think I may have it too far out in the open. I'm trying
to build up a brush pile near the bath so smaller birds will feel safe
using it too.

Anyway, bird baths can breed mosquitoes if left uncleaned, and can also
spread diseases as the birds generally poop in them, so keep them clean.
I've been cleaning mine twice a week, which is roughly how long it takes
the water to completely vanish from a combination of splashing, drinking,
and evaporation. Don't worry about water use restrictions, cleaning and
refilling a birdbath takes less water than flushing your toilet a single
time...

A friend pointed out a factual error in my announcement about Eno Drive. I
stated that the North Carolina Department of Transportation was repeatedly
proposing Eno Drive against great local opposition because they stood to
lose money if it wasn't built. In fact, they keep that money, and will use
it to build a road somewhere no matter what. It is the Durham city and
county government (much of which will allegedly be present at tomorrow
night's meeting) which must approve Eno Drive or risk losing a large sum
of money. Sorry for the mistake.

Again, that's
http://www.enoriver.org/eno/EnoDriveFight.htm
for details on the public hearing tomorrow night, and
http://www.enoriver.org/
for further details on Eno Drive and its alternatives and the Eno River in
general. Please come, the more the merrier!

Good birding,

Josh


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

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