[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Lake Murray report; Re: night birding/ foxfire



Hi c-birders,

Spent the holiday weekend with the Parnells (my mother-in-law and her
husband) on Lake Murray. They took us for a couple of spins in their
relatively new boat. The first time I walked out the back door Saturday
morning, an adult Bald Eagle flew by! Later that day, we saw a youngster
soaring over the Lake Murray marina; then another adult yesterday. Makes
me wonder if there's a nest on this end of the lake, as the only one I
definitely know about is up the Little Saluda River, all the way across
the lake and upstream several miles.

Biggest surprise was a lone Spotted Sandpiper; seems late, and I don't
think they're supposed to breed this far south. Need to pick up one of
those Avendex programs...

Lots of Osprey nests around the lake of course, mostly on platforms
provided for the purpose. The only non-feral waterfowl was a lone female
Wood DUck just a few hours ago. One Red-shouldered Hawk, and a Red-tail
which was being chased across the lake by two Fish Crows and one Common
Grackle; the crows turned back once the hawk was halfway across, but the
grackle seemed determined to stay on the hawk's back all the way to the
far shore! A few Great Blue Herons, and one fly-by Green, no other waders.
And earlier this afternoon, a trio of Northern ROugh-winged Swallows
flying along the shoreline, and landing a couple of times.

On Mon, 26 May 2003, Leah Campbell wrote:
>
>  Have any of you (perhaps while on an owl prowl) stumbled upon
> foxfire? I am very interested in bioluminescence; (I even wrote a paper on
> it for organic chemistry class!) Any of you biologists/naturalists know any
> tips on how to find foxfire? I wonder if this would be a good year for it
> with all the extra moisture. Maybe I could combine a nighttime-bird outing
> with a foxfire hunt!

I have yet to see Foxfire, but my wife and I did find Panellus stipticus,
a small bioluminescent mushroom, growing in several large clumps along the
Eno River on one night hike. This was in the fall though, when most of the
night birds have stopped calling. Falls Lake park ranger Brian Bockhahn
has gotten pretty good at identifying fireflies from their flash patterns,
an activity that might coincide with fungus season a little better...

Anyway, Panellus grows on old rotten logs, mostly hardwood I think. Unlike
fireflies, which are easily visible, Panellus and other bioluminescent
fungi are generally only visible if your eyes have had 10 minutes or so to
adjust to darkness, with no artificial lights around. So walk along a
local river or creek, one with harwood forest and lots of old fallen logs,
in an area as far as possible from streetlights and houses, well after
dark, and you'll probably have the best chance. Of course, don't do it
alone, bring a cel-phone, and let somebody know you're going; night hiking
in the woods near the water is risky in most places.

Good birding,

Josh


Joshua S. Rose
Duke University
Department of Biology (Zoology, R.I.P.)

jsr6@duke.edu
http://www.duke.edu/~jsr6/