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Re: Saluda Shoals



Hoping for a big migration push today ahead of a front, I went down
to Saluda Shoals this morning.  The River was the highest I've seen it,
several inches higher than the fishing platform, and flooding out the
river trail that starts there (in the Phase I part of the Park).  A large
fallen tree blocks the trail near the picnic shelter.  Going
in either direction from where the power lines meet the River, by the
little ampitheater, the river trail is now paved and in good shape.

It was surprisingly slow as far as migration.  For Warblers, there
were dozens of very active Yellow-rumps and some N. Parulas and Pines.
I thought I heard one Black-throated Blue.  There were a few Red-eyed
and White-eyed Vireos.

Lots of Cedar Waxwings were around, and some White-throated Sparrows
remain.  No Chimney Swifts (a few I saw at the Park yesterday were my
first of the year).

There was a loud E. Phoebe.  I heard my first Great-crested Flycatcher of
the year.  The most exciting spectacle today was watching an Osprey
circle over the rushing swollen river, with a large fish (perhaps a trout?)
in its talons.

Back at home now a couple of miles up Rawls Creek from the Park, the birds
are very active.  The Am. Goldfinches are all over.  I hear a Scarlet
Tanager.  A couple of stunning male Indigo Buntings are feeding on the
ground next to a bright male Yellow-rumped Warbler.  The big migration
push cannot be far away!

Jerry Griggs  (with Popeye the Papillon)   j@sc.edu
Columbia, SC