[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

THrush Forebodings



One of the most reliable spots for seeing and hearing Wood Thrushes
easily is the Shetley Bikeway in Carrboro. The bikeway is a serene and
mostly deserted place with a margin of woods on either side. The woods are
dense enough that Wood Thrushes breed here, and their density is hight
enough that seeing them is usually very easy. Just last week when i walked
the bikeway the woods were silent but today Wood Thrushes were trilling
from every other (I'm exaggerating) oak or maple. I have often wondered
about the breeding success of these intrepid Thrushes, for although the
Woods are protected, they are just a thin ribbon surrounding the bikeway,
and the bikeway itself splices through them. In other words, the habitat
is all edge, and thus open to the inroads of cowbirds, cats etc. It would
seem, then, to be a population 'sink' with generations of thrushes
choosing to nest here only to be ultimately thwarted. It was such grim
thoughts that were going through my head this morning even as I strolled
the peaceful walkway. So, my question is this. Is this ribbon of woods
(and others like it throughout Chapel Hill/Carrboro) thick enough to allow
Wood Thrushes to breed successfully, or do we have, instead, doomed
breeders? Has anyone seen their local Wood Thrushes successfully fledge
the young?

Beset by forebodings
Shantanu Phukan

*****************************************************
SHANTANU PHUKAN
Lecturer in Urdu-Hindi & Indian Literature
University of N. Carolina, Chapel Hill
Curriculum in Asian Studies
Alumni Hall 413C
Chapel Hill, N.C. 27599

phukan@email.unc.edu
919-962-6825
*****************************************************