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Re: NHAS field trip 11/17



Five hardy souls and one fearless leader showed up for a cold, wet, and rainy trip to the New Hope Audubon Trail, along New Hope Creek, Durham County, NC. Much of the trail was shallow puddles, in between stretches of boardwalks, at least. Despite the rain, we glimpsed quite a bit of bird life. Mixed flocks were out foraging in the trees, despite the cold, wet drizzle. These included:
Red-bellied Woodpecker--we saw one grab and fly off with a persimmon, something I've not seen before
Pileated Woodpecker (heard giving its call while flying)
Downy Woodpecker
Flicker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Red-tailed Hawk
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Winter Wren (2, my first of the winter, one flew under the boardwalk, only about 3 inches off the ground, and flushed as we walked over it.)
Brown Creeper (2, my first of the winter)
Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets
Yellow-rumped Warbler
American Robin (flighty flocks, high in the trees)
Hermit Thrush (also a first of the winter for me)
Brown Thrasher
Rufous-sided Towhee
White-crowned Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Juncos (small flocks)


Observations of other taxa, for those interested:
We checked several woodland ponds, but could not find any egg masses of Marbled Salamanders. One of our party reported several road-killed salamanders this morning in a nearby neighborhood.


Surprisingly, two flowers were in bloom in a power-line right-of-way: Downy Lobelia (Lobelia puberula) and Self-heal (Prunella vulgaris). We noticed many Crane-fly Orchid (Tipularia discolor) leaves beginning to come up for their winter stay in the woods. Likewise, there was quite a bit of fresh foliage of a fall/winter appearing Grape fern (Botrychium species). Cobb, Field Guide to the Ferns, suggests this is something like B. dissectum, and not the Rattlesnake Fern, B. virginianum, which has foliage that appears in spring and stays through the summer. We also noted large patches of running-pine (Lycopodium flabelliforme or whatever they are calling it now).

New Hope Audubon Society hopes to develop a series of nature guides for this trail in cooperation with the City and County of Durham. (This is a regional park under development.) Watch the web site below for more details in the future--volunteers may be needed.


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Patrick Coin (patrick@coinconsult.net)
web master , field trip chair
New Hope Audubon Society
P.O. Box 2693
Chapel Hill, NC 27515-2693
http://www.newhopeaudubon.org/