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Jordan Lake and the Raleigh Area
- To: carolinabirds@duke.edu
- Subject: Jordan Lake and the Raleigh Area
- From: "Robert C. Perkins" <rperkins@infi.net>
- Date: Sat, 11 Nov 2000 18:19:48 -0500
- Sender: carolinabirds-owner@acpub.duke.edu
Today, Saturday, was my opportunity to spend some time at Jordan
Lake and then at the ponds on the south side of Raleigh. I started
off at Horton's Pond about 7:15 a.m. and found a mixed flock of
robins and cedar waxwings plus lots of bluebirds and some other
regulars. I continued on to Farrington Road and then turned south,
aiming for Ebenezer Church point. Just before I got to the bridge at
Crosswinds Marina, I spotted a small kettle of vultures and made a
quick stop: turkey vultures, at least one black, and plenty of crows.
At Ebenezer, I happened to meet John Dole, who joined the
Horticultural Science faculty at NCSU in August. We looked carefully
for ducks, gulls, and grebes before the wind came up and convinced us
it was time to move on. In that broad expanse of water between
Ebeneezer and Vista Point, we found a raft of coots with a few ducks.
Although the distance was extreme, we were able to identify several
of the ducks as shovelers. Then a new flight of ducks joined
them--either ring-necked (probable) or lesser scaup. The distance
was too great for a better id. We did find several p-b grebes but no
horned grebes. The only gulls I saw clearly were ring-billed, but
John identified a couple of Bonaparte's as well. He also identified
a couple of small birds that flew over as pipits.
I suggested to John that he follow me since I was planning to
stop at the waste treatment ponds and then head for the NCSU dairy
pond and Lake Wheeler. Mallards and a phoebe were the score for the
treatment ponds. We then detoured north of US 64 so I could show him
how to get to Horton's Pond before heading east to the dairy pond.
The only good bird at the dairy pond was a beautiful Cooper's hawk,
well worth stopping to see. At the upper end of Lake Wheeler we
found ruddy ducks, a cormorant, great blue herons, and more p-b
grebes.
We continued to Greenview Pond where we found green-winged
teal, a red-tailed hawk, and a possible shrike chasing a mockingbird.
We also had the pleasure of meeting John Argentati, who lives at
Greenview.
After John Dole pulled out, I spotted some interesting movement
and stayed a few minutes to watch two phoebes "flycatch" near the
road. On the way home to Fayetteville I did stop at 1010 pond
(nothing) and at a pond near Angier. There I found both ring-necked
ducks and gadwalls.
I had 33 species of birds for the trip, a good total for me.
I'm looking forward to seeing more ducks as the season progresses.
Bob
--
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Robert C. Perkins, Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Methodist College, Fayetteville, NC 28311
910-630-7037 rperkins@methodist.edu