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Happy 2002



Howdy!

Joe and I returned from our family Christmas trip to Florida a week ago
and I'm finally getting around to writing. It drove me crazy to read the
emails earlier this week about the ducks and geese seen at Santee NWR.
We were at the Bluff Unit also, a week earlier, and only saw Canada
Geese. There were ducks too far out to identify. The best part of the
walk along the Wright Bluff Nature Trail was the flock of adorable
Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets. It was also neat to see a
gnatcatcher in winter again.

Duck and coot numbers were down at Merritt Island NWR in FL. We saw 8
duck species, but the numbers were way down.  A couple Carolinabirders
warned me the rufuge might be closed, but I'm happy to say it wasn't.
Some of our favorite roads were closed off, plus we were searched going
into Cape Canaveral Seashore, but the main wildlife drive was open.
Wierd to see only one gannet (after reading about the big numbers in NC)
and no loons on the seashore.

On the way home in GA we got OFF I-95 (terrible holiday traffic!) and
saw Osprey, phoebes, pelicans, Great Blue Herons, and Bald Eagle around
Altammha State Wildlife Refuge on Hwy. 17. Back in the Carolinas, our
first visit to the Laural Hill Wildlife Drive in Savannah NWR was
successful with more ducks--Northern Shovelers were the most abundant,
along with Ring-necked Duck, BW and GW Teal, Lesser Scaup, Mallard, and
Hooded Merganser (only one female). I loved seeing the Snowy Egrets,
White Ibis, Anhingas, and Tricolored Herons--four birds we don't see in
the Piedmont generally. Black-and-white Warbler, Gray Catbird, Northern
Harrier, and Loggerhead Shrike were a few more species we saw.

Back home in Raleigh (YEAH! I like North Carolina better than Florida!),
we had a splurge of activity at the feeders on Thursday, the day of the
12" snow, with junco, goldfinch, and house finch being the most common
birds. The bird numbers have tapered off since like other birders have
reported.

A Yellow-rumped Warbler at the suet feeder was our first bird of the
year. What was yours?

Happy birding in 2002!! See ya in Nagshead!!

Karen Bearden
Raleigh