Waxwing, Ceruleans, and other weekend birds

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

On Saturday I saw two Common Ravens at a parking lot near the intersection 
of US 52 and University Parkway in Winston-Salem.  They're not too unusual 
in W-S, but I'd never seen any interesting birds at this intersection before 
(in 15 years of passing by) and hadn't thought of ravens as trash birds here 
(as they are elsewhere).  Not far away, near the dump, I saw a tailless 
Turkey Vulture sailing over -- bizarre-looking thing, reminiscent of a B-2 
bomber.  Saturday morning I did a mini-BBS route in Chatham County with help 
from Heather Stewart - highlights included several Grasshopper Sparrows and 
a Kentucky Warbler singing.

On Sunday I helped out with the inaugural Dave Co. butterfly count and had 
some nice birds, too.  Best bird was another late Cedar Waxwing.  Other nice 
birds included a singing KY Warbler and Grasshopper Sparrows.  On the way to 
the Davie count I stopped for a few minutes to listen to a Cerulean Warbler 
singing - it's a dependable spot just off the Blue Ridge Parkway.  The spot 
is on Carroll Co. route 620 halfway up the mountain - stop where there's a 
guard rail and a Piedmont overlook.  620 runs between the Parkway 
(intersection about 10 miles north of the NC border) and I-77.  The 
Ceruleans will be singing from near the tops of the tallest trees (not the 
easiest birds to see).

Good birding!


-- 
Charles W. "Will" Cook                  w 919-660-7423
http://www.duke.edu/~cwcook            cwcook@duke.edu
Biology Dept., Duke Univ., Box 90340, Durham, NC 27708