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Wetlands, Black Rail, thrushes, and DTB
- To: carolinabirds@duke.edu
- Subject: Wetlands, Black Rail, thrushes, and DTB
- From: Joshua Stuart Rose <jsr6@duke.edu>
- Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 12:56:13 -0400 (EDT)
- Sender: carolinabirds-owner@acpub.duke.edu
Hi Carolinabirders,
Fans of sewage treatment wetlands should definitely visit two places
outside of the Carolinas. First, the Wakodahatchee Wetlands in Palm Beach
County, Florida, just west of Delray Beach. They've constructed a
complex of impoundments which differ subtly from each other in vegetation
and water quality. A boardwalk winds over, around, and across the pools.
It's planted over with abundant native vegetation. The place is
surrounded by a sprawl of strip malls, franchises, and cookie-cutter
housing developments, but in these wetlands I've had the best looks I've
ever gotten of Limpkin, Least Bittern, Sora, Purple Gallinule, and other
normally secretive marsh birds. I think there was even a White-cheeked
Pintail reported there once (origin undetermined, of course).
Second, the Edinburgh Scenic Wetlands in Texas. It's one of the stops on
the Great Texas Birding Trail. Similar to Wakodahatchee, there are
several separate pools which differ in depth, vegetation, and water
quality. When I visited there a few weeks ago, it was loaded with
shorebirds, including many Black-necked Stilts and an American Avocet.
There were also impressive numbers and variety of herons and egrets, plus
a Least Grebe leading its chick around, and some Lesser Nighthawks
resting in the fields. This spot also is gaining a reputation as a good
place for odonates; we visited it during the "Dragonfly Days" festival
back in May.
Both of these sites have taken wastewater, and created a tourist
attraction. Neither charges admission at present, but if they did, I
think birders would still visit frequently. While many water treatment
plants probably wouldn't think of such projects on their own, and would
probably be very amused at the idea of turning sewer water into a tourist
trap, suggestions from we birders both to them and to local chambers of
commerce and politicians and such might open some eyes...
Black Rails, now there's a smelly subject! That species has eluded me for
years. Even a predawn raid on the marshes of Cedar Island NWR came up
dry. So have after-dark vigils in the Everglades, dragging a rope across
the "rail meadow" in Anahuac NWR, and a stakeout on South Padre Island.
I've tried about everything except the old spring-tides (or hurricane
storm-swell) visit to the coastal marshes. It's appealing to think of
finding one in a local patch of cattails, but I won't hold my breath.
Sadly, the best prospect that came into my mind was the marsh at the
corner of Lake Wheeler and Penny Roads, which has now been cleared as
part of the renovation of the old mill there as a historical site. There
is a very grassy old beaver meadow at Horton Pond in Chatham County, but
the surrounding habitat is pretty densely wooded, not terribly
rail-hospitable. Hopefully this will fall under Eric Dean's theory of
"talk about them and they will come"; I usually get to cover Horton's
Pond on the Jordan Lake NAMC...
About Gray-Cheeked and Bicknell's Thrushes: I haven't had time to read my
last two issues of Birding yet. Bill Pranty, in "A Birder's Guide to
Florida", mentions that the lower mandible of Bicknell's is distinctly
yellow if one gets a good close look; I think he said GC had a pinker
one. This was the strongest field mark that Andreas Kristensen and I
noted in our sighting of Bicknell's from Fort Clinch SP in Florida. Does
the Birding article refute this as a useful field mark? Or not mention it
at all?
Lastly, I too have received my copy of Dragonflies through Binoculars!
Woo-hoo!! I was gloating yesterday on the dragonfly listserv,
particularly at the expense of people who ignored my suggestion to order
from the International Odonate Research Institute and sent their money to
big corporate goobers like Amazon or Barnes and Noble instead. Many of
them have to wait for the second shipment to arrive in October, while the
IORI customers are all receiving theirs this week...
Good birding, butterflying, dragonflying, and all else,
Josh
Joshua S. Rose
Duke University
Department of Zoology
jsr6@acpub.duke.edu
http://www.duke.edu/~jsr6/