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In perspective!!



Carolinabirders:

We have just returned from a wonderful Venture's week of warmth and sunshine
in Puerto Rico, back to the ice and snow and general cold back in the
Carolinas. This is, however, not the point. What is the point is the "Best
(=rarest????) bird we found on the island. Never mind about wintering Palm,
Prairie, Black-throated Blue and Yellow-rumped Warblers; endemic Elfin Woods
Warblers, PR Lizard-Cuckoo and 400+ Stilt Sandpipers, and enough
hummingbirds of 5 species to keep those tropical folks happy until April. We
found a starling, a plain, ol' ordinary European Starling! I hate to say it
was the "best" bird of the trip, but it certainly was the rarest. I am
talking locally, not globally of course, and things do have to be taken into
perspective. While I must admit we did not sit around and take copious notes
on this rarity, we instead reached for the shotgun (just kidding!), but that
is indeed what has happened to a few starlings that have appeared on Puerto
Rico in the past. It may only be a matter of time before the ubiquitous
Starling conquers another Caribbean Island on it's way to world domination.

Our next Ventures are 2 day trips to Cowan's Ford to look for waterfowl on
February 19 and Hooper Lane (with the guru WF) on March 4. Plus there are
still a couple of places still open on our Texas Rio Grande Valley trip in
March-April. Please contact me for details.

Until then, only 2 more months of winter to go. The first Louis-thrush will
soon be here......
Simon

Simon Thompson
Ventures, Inc. Birding & Natural History Tours
PO Box 1095, Skyland, NC 28776
Phone/Fax: 828.859.0382
simon@teleplex.net
http://www.birdventures.com