Durham spring count

["Will Cook" <cwcook@duke.edu>]

Today (4/29/01) I did the Durham Spring Bird Count along with Rachel 
Harden, Matthew Prior, Toni Rexrode, Roger Rittmaster, and Jeanie 
Hutchins.  We covered the Knap of Reeds Creek impoundment on Old Oxford 
Hwy, the Knap of Reeds Creek sewerline, and (by myself) the north end of 
the RR causeway at Falls Lake. Gregory Georges joined us for a bit to 
photograph the Great Blue heronry, which is about a mile down the 
sewerline from Veazey Road. It was a slow day with few migrants and many 
regular species missing.  Only had 74 species this year - 9 fewer than the 
count on 4/30/00.  

Best birds/numbers included 145 D-c Cormorants, 1 Great Egret, 60 Great 
Blue Herons (including 30 chicks in about 18 nests), 2 Wild Turkeys, 1 
Blue-winged Warbler (sang once), 1 Yellow Warbler (sang once), 1 Palm 
Warbler, a Common Yellowthroat giving a pretty good rendition of a 
Kentucky Warbler song, lots of easy to see Chats, a Grasshopper Sparrow, 
and 7 White-crowned Sparrows.  We missed lots of regulars, such as N 
Flicker, E Phoebe, Prothonotary Warbler, Hooded Warbler, and Scarlet 
Tanager.  Very few migrant warblers (3 total) - not even a Black-throated 
Blue or B&W!

Butterfly highlights included a state-high-tying 14 Juniper Hairsteaks, 
many of them along the causeway, and a Dusted Skipper (full list posted to 
Carolinaleps).  Another neat sight was of a Groundhog carrying its young 
in its mouth among the rocks at the base of the causeway.  Unfortunately I 
didn't make it all the way to the bridge because of a large group (15+ ) 
of (presumed) Mexicans with shotguns at the bridge shooting (at birds?).  
Evidence of bird slaughter has been found in this area before.  I didn't 
want to risk getting close enough to see what they actually were shooting 
at.

Haven't heard from any of the other parties yet - hope they found a few 
more migrants!
-- 
Charles W. "Will" Cook                  w 919-660-7423
http://www.duke.edu/~cwcook            cwcook@duke.edu
Box 90340, Biology Dept., Duke Univ., Durham, NC 27708