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The wagtail -- a Twitcher's Megatick



Will Cook had the audacity to bring up Bill Oddie's Little Black Bird
Book in regard to the sighting of the White Wagtail, so I got out my
copy and starting reading it again. So -- here's my quick summary of the
events of October 22-23, at Sandling Beach at Falls Lake, Wake County,
NC:

On Tuesday, in the early afternoon, a wagtail was reported, but several
twitchers that heard about the bird thought this might be duff gen and
the reporting party might be stringers.  But, lo and behold, the bird
indeed was a White Wagtail, a cosmic mind f*cker!  As word quickly
spread, twitchers came from everywhere, and even a few dudes showed up. 
This was no ordinary tick, it was a megatick.  I thought it was a sibe,
but apparently it came from across the pond.

The next day a new set of twitchers flogged the area, but they dipped
out. Yes, it was the ultimate twitching disaster -- they had been
gripped off.

The moral of the story: The early twitcher has the tick, but he who
hesitates gets gripped off.


Now -- about that adult N. Goshawk seen recently by Scott Hartley in the
Sandhills. Do I dare burn up or flog for it, and run the risk of dipping
out? (I've dipped out many times before on this critter.) I'll not be
gripped off, so I'll stay here in Raleigh and wait for one closer to
home!


Harry LeGrand
NC Natural Heritage Program
1615 MSC
Raleigh, NC 27699-1615
(919) 715-8687 (work)
FAX: 919-715-3085
e-mail: harry.legrand@ncmail.net