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Scoters and turkeys




Good morning, all,


Had the pleasure of meeting Karen and Joe Bearden at the viewing tower overlooking Crabtree Lake, and was privileged to get a good look at the scoters through a super-cool spotting scope (try saying that last bit quickly 10 times). Thanks, Karen!

Turned out to be a day of unlooked-for surprises. After Crabtree, passed a pleasant hour with my family at RDU Airport, watching *those* big birds landing and taking off, but on the way home, around 4:30 on Hopson Road between Davis and Alexander, two wild turkeys -- a male and female -- nimbly crossed the road about 20 yards in front of our car! For one (really) wild moment, seeing them trotting through the weeds and onto the tarmac, I was reminded of very small emus or ostriches! I always forget how large they seem without any surrounding vegetation. The multi-color quality of the male's bronzy feathers in the sun was just gorgeous. It surprised me to see turkeys in such a populated environment, but there are still some undeveloped corridors in the RTP where the wildlife huddles... And I suppose the turkey population is doing pretty well. Anyway, my whole family caught the excitement (yours truly almost went through the windshield), and it was a nice end to the day.

Cheers,
Paula Mangiafico
Southern Durham, NC


--On Sunday, February 02, 2003 8:14 PM -0500 Karen Bearden <chickadeebirders@earthlink.net> wrote:


Howdy!

Joe and I also saw the two White-winged Scoters again today at Lake
Crabtree in Raleigh. We arrived about 1:30 pm, so we missed seeing Rob
and Ricky, but met a new birder and member of this listserve (howdy
Paula!) with her family. No ice on the lake like there was Tuesday and
duck numbers were much less. The Hooded Mergansers were closer to the
tower Tuesday, but this time they were closer to the area off of Old
Reedy Creek Rd. There were six snipe feeding along the beach area edge.

We also decided to get a different view of the lake by parking in the NC
Bar Center parking lot (thanks for the tip Jill and Kent) off Weston
Rd.(there weren't any signs saying no trespassing, so we figured it was
okay!), where we saw closer views of the scoters. They seemed to be
hanging close to a group of four Greater Scaup. It sure is neat to see
scoters up close instead of so far out in the distance flying low over
the ocean!

We checked the pond on the northeast corner of I-540 and I-40 where
Jill, Judy, and I saw 7 species of ducks Tuesday. Today there were only
Ring-necked and Ruddy Ducks as we pulled off the road. Warning!! If you
pull off the road there, a policeman might pull up behind you!! My heart
was beating fast as he walked up to our car. Thankfully, he asked if
everything was okay and we said, "Yes, we're just birding!"

I've received three emails (THANKS!) from CBC members saying they
received their newsletters in the mail yesterday. I was beginning to
think they had gotten lost somewhere!! I still don't have mine yet!!!
UGH!!! After not finding mine in the mail again Friday, I made a call to
the addressing company and post office. I learned some interesting
information!! I was told it takes 3-7 days for bulk mail to be delivered
within the local area (I still haven't received mine and it's been 8
days) and it takes 10-14 days to reach areas outside the mailing area.
So, this has made me decide to change the deadline for articles again.
Clyde and Judy used the 10th of every other month and I moved it to the
5th.

The 1st of every other month seems like an easy number to remember,
don't you think? The March newsletter is the one that I'm most concerned
about since it falls so close to our spring meeting (this year in
Clemson, SC April 25-27). I want to make sure members receive their
newsletter in time to choose their field trips. So, the deadline has
been moved to March 1 and I'll see how that goes this time.

By the way, I talked with Derb Carter this morning. He'll be writing an
email to Carolinabirds explaining how he'll handle the grouse trip he's
leading in April since many members haven't received their newsletters
yet.

Please be patient while I figure out this mailing process!!!

Happy birding! Karen Bearden
Raleigh, NC
chickadeebirders@earthlink.net