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Hooper Lane and More!



Hello everyone,
This weekend, Patsy Bailey, Phil Johnson, and I left the Chapel
Hill-Durham area in search of the "Hooper Lane specials" - short-eared
owl, horned larks, and lapland longspurs. Thanks to Len Pardue and Wayne
Forsythe for providing directions and other information in advance of
our excursion. When we arrived at the site, several other birders were
most helpful in flushing the short-eared owl on Saturday afternoon,
which we then saw numerous times, sometimes in splendid light. What a
beautiful bird! We also returned to Hooper Lane on Sunday morning.
During the 2 visits, we had long and close looks at a large flock of
pipits, but did not see the other 2 target birds, although more than
once we thought we heard the larks. We did see a large flock of
meadowlarks and enjoyed watching a harrier hunting. A kestrel perched
nearby on both days and a red-tailed hawk soared overhead; other species
included white-crowned sparrow, savannah sparrow, turkey vultures, and
lots of crows. On Sunday morning, we also drove to Jackson Park and
found a nice sampling of "regulars." At some point during our driving
around Hendersonville, we saw a flock of cedar waxwings perched in a
tree beside the road. Always a treat!

On the way from Durham to Hendersonville, we had noticed a large number
of hawks perched in trees, so on our return trip yesterday, we decided
to tally our sightings. To our amazement, we counted 112, the vast
majority of which were red-tailed hawks sitting with their white breasts
gleaming in the sunshine. How wonderful to see that this species seems
to be thriving along the I-85 corrider!

Happy birding!
Carol Williamson
Durham, NC
carolw@sandler-recht.com