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Chucks and Whips on the Jordan Lake count



I helped with the Jordan Lake (NC) Spring Bird Count yesterday, 8 May 2000, 
covering the Shearron Harris nuclear power plant area, Christian Chapel 
Road, and Seaforth Recreation Area.  Migrants were scarce and the weather 
was hot, but I still saw some good birds and ended up with 87 species in my 
territory.  Most common bird of the day was Pine Warbler (65); most 
conspicuously absent was Eastern Phoebe.

Since the road leading to Shearron Harris is great for Chuck-wills-widows, I 
had to get up at 4:05 am (ouch) in order to get to the count area by 5:10 
and have a decent amount of time to hear them before they quit near dawn 
(5:40).  At my first stop, sure enough a couple of chucks and a whip were 
calling.  I continued driving along the road, stopping every quarter mile or 
so, and had about the same results at almost every stop.  I ended up with a 
count of 12 Whip-poor-wills and 22 Chuck-wills-widows!  I didn't manage to 
finish the road before they quit singing, so the count could have been 
higher.  This was not the most fun roadside birding, because Sunday at 5:30 
am is rush hour at Shearron Harris -- apparently near a shift change.  To 
get to this area, take 751 south from Durham, continue straight when 751 
ends, and turn right onto Shearron Harris Road (which is before the 
Visitor's Center).

Other highlights: 1 late Am. Coot (poached at Crosswinds Marina), 5 Broad-
winged Hawks, 1 Wild Turkey, 1 Blue-headed Vireo (on territory), 6 Black-and-
white Warblers, 1 late Swamp Sparrow, equal numbers of Cardinals and Blue 
Grosbeaks (26), a flock of 50 Bobolinks, and a Greater Yellowlegs (cowering 
from the din of people riding their noise-makers at Seaforth).

The big field on Christian Chapel Road no longer has Bachman's Sparrows, but 
it's still loaded with things like Chats, Prairies, and Blue Grosbeaks.

I think the only unusual bird reported at the countdown was a Blue-winged 
Teal.

-- 
Charles W. "Will" Cook                w 919-660-7423
cwcook@duke.edu                       h 919-967-5446
Duke University Botany Dept., Durham, North Carolina
http://www.duke.edu/~cwcook