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Jordan Lake - NAMC and misc sightings
- To: carolinabirds@duke.edu
- Subject: Jordan Lake - NAMC and misc sightings
- From: "Will Cook" <cwcook@duke.edu>
- Date: Tue, 24 Sep 2002 14:28:40 -0400
- Resent-date: Mon, 28 Oct 2002 10:16:18 -0500
- Resent-from: "Will Cook" <cwcook@duke.edu>
- Resent-message-id: <200210281516.KAA17608@niven.acpub.duke.edu>
- Resent-to: pardo@metalab.unc.edu
- Sender: carolinabirds-owner@acpub.duke.edu
I had a good time last Saturday on the Chatham County (NC) portion of the
North American Migration Count. I covered the NC 751 bridge and Indian
Creek Wildlife Observation Site (WOS) at Jordan Lake and the nearby
Northeast Creek Waterfowl Impoundment on O'Kelley Ch. Rd. It didn't seem
like that outstanding a day, but when I added up the totals, I'd found 72
species (including 12 warblers), more than any other team on this count has
ever had before.
Unfortunately the recent rains flooded all the mudflats at the bridge (lake
was a little over 214 feet above sea level), so there were no shorebirds,
but huge numbers of Great Egrets (I counted 230) and Great Blue Herons (60)
were still hanging out. There were decent numbers of warblers in the woods
nearby mixed in with the flocks of chicks and tits. Apart from the
ubiquitous Pine Warblers, most abundant was Am. Redstart -- I counted 24,
probably more than I've ever seen in a day before. Other numerous warblers
were N. Parula (9), Black-throated Blue (7), and B&W (6). Directions:
http://www.duke.edu/~cwcook/tbg/751.html
The best flocks, however, were in the low woods near the WOS platform. In a
single flock here, in semi-open woods before the platform, surrounding a
Blackgum tree loaded with fruit, I found: Yb Cuckoo, Red-eyed Vireo, Wood
Thrushes, Swainson's Thrushes, Veery (rare on this count), Ovenbird, Worm-
eating Warbler (rare), BTBlue, Redstarts, Parulas, B&W, Pine, Scarlet and
Summer Tanagers, and a Screech-Owl answering me back! Another spot, after
the platform, produced another Wormy, a Hooded, tanagers, and more.
Directions: http://www.duke.edu/~cwcook/tbg/wos.html
The Northeast Creek impoundment was also good for landbirds, as it usually
is (can't recall ever seeing waterfowl there...), with the highlight being a
Least Flycatcher. No grackle flock here this year. Indeed, I didn't see a
single blackbird all day. Don't have this area written up yet for the TBG.
I'll report on the totals from other groups later -- haven't received most
of them.
On Sunday I took a quick tour of Mason Farm and saw a couple of birds I
missed Saturday -- a Merlin powered overhead and a couple of Northern
Waterthrushes were hanging out in the corner by the ditch.
http://www.duke.edu/~cwcook/tbg/masonfarm.html
Today I took a spin around the Shepherd Nature Trail in Duke Forest and
didn't find very much. The highlight was eyeball-to-eyeball looks at a male
Black-throated Green Warbler. One advantage to all the dense undergrowth
along the trail is that when you manage to see birds they're often very
close. Directions: http://www.duke.edu/~cwcook/tbg/dukeforestjp.html
--
Charles W. "Will" Cook w 919-660-7423
http://www.duke.edu/~cwcook cwcook@duke.edu
Biology Dept., Duke Univ., Box 90340, Durham, NC 27708