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New Arrivals, etc.



It was a beautiful morning this morning so I drove up into the forest to see 
if any of those early arrival warblers were back yet.  I went up Wash Creek Rd 
off North Mills River Rd in the Pisgah Natl Forest.  Nothing yet except BH 
Vireo.  However, on the way I ran into that flock of Wild Turkeys that hang 
out in the corn field on the left side of N Mills R Rd just before you get 
into the forest (after Whitaker Rd on the left, but before Dave Whitaker Rd on 
the right).  The toms were gathered together doing their display lek-like 
fashion.  They were all puffed up with their tails spread out and heads bright 
blue, strutting around to impress the ladies.  I don't know about the turkey 
hens, but I was impressed.  However, by the time I came back down from the 
woods around 8:15 they were already moving back into the forest, so if you 
want to see the show you need to get there early.

Other arrivals over the weekend:
Barn Swallows - lots of places
Purple Martins (back at both the MSD plant colony in Asheville and at the 
Fanning Bridge Rd colony off 191 in Henderson County)
Common Yellowthroat - one slightly early arrival
Vesper Sparrows - a nice flock of five sitting in a small tree preening
BH Vireo - various locations
American Golden Plover - On Hooper Lane Saturday.  On Sunday it joined a flock 
of about 100 Pectoral Sandpipers and some Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs on 
Butler Bridge Rd about a mile from Hooper Lane.  This spot seems to be the 
shore bird hot spot in Henderson County so far this spring.  Lots of 
Ring-billed Gulls there, too.  There must be a good crop of worms and other 
tasty critters in there (the field is probably fertilized with manure).  That 
combined with lots of rain flooding the field seem to be the perfect 
combination.
Marilyn

Marilyn Westphal
Environmental Quality Institute
University of North Carolina-Asheville
One University Heights
Asheville, NC  28804
828/251-6823
mjwestphal@unca.edu